Branch groing across cycle track hit in the dark

[meic]

This brings to mind the old IQ Fly with its three notched positions for the beam direction.

My light has a spillage which seams to go almost vertically up and I often get a momentary shock from a bit of light reflecting on branches above, which I misinterpret as the presence of another vehicle lighting things up. I imagine it would be too late a warning for me to get my head out of the way though.

[andrew_s]

Maybe use a head torch in addition to the dynamo light for those sections?

I've generally got a puncture-mending headtorch in the saddlebag, but forget about it until after I've met a branch, and afterwards I just take more care, as it's only about half a mile of overhung track.

[Bmblbzzz]

Well that sounds exactly like me too then.

Actually I've just noticed you're talking about Alney Island; I know it, lovely place. I don't recall ever being caught by low branches there, but there are a couple of low bridges you have to duck for. At least, I've never risked not ducking!

[mjr]

Maybe use a head torch in addition to the dynamo light for those sections?

Because dazzling oncoming cyclists is going to make things so much better.

The above-horizon light spill on my Pico or Lidl lights seems enough for me to spot most head-height branches in time to duck. The ones I struggle with are about elbow-height and not sticking out enough to contact my body.

But keep reporting them on www.fixmystreet.com and it should get the council to cut them - or at least the report will be public for the next time a rider hits it, so the council won't be able to defend their inaction so easily.

[hjd10]

Hi all,

Last week, I was riding at night along the cycle track at the side of the A590 between Haverthwaite and Greenodd, it was a dark moonless night and so I had several lights and reflectables pointed at the road. What wasn't illuminated was the space around head height as I found out when I hit a tree branch growing across the cycle track. Luckily I had my goggles on as I glanced off the branch and by some miracle I managed to stay upright.

It strikes me (every pun intended) that I quite frequently come across vegetation growing unchecked across cycle tracks, but in daylight it is easy to avoid this. At night however, it is an entirely different matter. Surely the local authorities have a duty to keep the byways clear of this danger.

Does nayone have any advice as to how I might persue this?

Cheers/KBO

Hi,
Is the route on part of the Sustrans cycle network? The reason I ask is that usually they have volunteers who normally report issues like this, maybe you could contact them if you spot issues.

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/volunteer/o ... le-network

[Bmblbzzz]

Maybe use a head torch in addition to the dynamo light for those sections?

Because dazzling oncoming cyclists is going to make things so much better.

The above-horizon light spill on my Pico or Lidl lights seems enough for me to spot most head-height branches in time to duck. The ones I struggle with are about elbow-height and not sticking out enough to contact my body.

But keep reporting them on http://www.fixmystreet.com and it should get the council to cut them - or at least the report will be public for the next time a rider hits it, so the council won't be able to defend their inaction so easily.

I see no reason to assume Andrew_s is too inconsiderate to aim a headtorch correctly and not set it too bright.

[sirmy]

Quod est necessarium est licitum - if an action is taken with a view to public safety then a charge would be difficult to prove

..... I imagine that Sustrans will have accepted the responsibility to maintain it.

More like that please, I haven't laughed so much in ages

[MikeF]

The time this catches me out is when one day the route (NCN45, on Alney Island) is clear, then the next day it rains and the water on the leaves weighs down the tree branches enough to bring what was safe down to head height.
It's a drawback of StVZO dynamo lights that the light all goes underneath so you don't get time to stop, just to try to duck.

I've got to the stage of carrying a pair of secateurs (mostly for brambles, but also useful for many sagging branches).

The weight of leaves causes branches to lower. If you compare photographs in the winter and summer and taken at the same location, you will see a very noticeable difference.

[MikeF]

Surely the local authorities have a duty to keep the byways clear of this danger.

Does nayone have any advice as to how I might persue this?

Cheers/KBO

From your description that does not sound like a byway, but part of the road network. I'm not sure exactly what the legal situation is, but the LA must ensure the highway is free from obstruction. This may mean the LA has to contact the land owner (as with hedges encroaching across the footway (pavement)) or they do it themselves and maybe charge the land owner. If however the branch is growing from the verge ie highway then they themselves have a duty to cut it. If it's a cycle track alongside the road ie part of the highway, the LA should be contacted.

[rmurphy195]

Doesn't the law state that branches growing over a boundary can legally be removed by the owner of the neighbouring land?

Yup, I looked into this a while back due to oversize tree in my neighbours garden. You can remove the branches but the wood belongs to the owner of the tree (so you chuck it back over the fence), and can only cut it back as far as the property boundary.

However I suspect that the OP doesn't actually own the land he is cycling over so this wouldn't apply!

[gaz]

I'm not sure exactly what the legal situation is, ...

Highways Act s154.
IME the process usually starts with a polite request, which if ignored becomes a more strongly worded request and finally the s154 notice.

If a s154 notice is not complied with the Highway Authority may do the work themselves and send their bill to the landowner. Unfortunately may is not must .

I'm currently dealing with a case at the border of two authorities. One local authority owns the cycletrack and has issued a s154 on the neighbouring local authority who own the adjacent land.

Apparently they gave a somewhat apoplectic response upon receiving it. Unfortunately neither authority has yet done anything about the problem .

[pwa]

Doesn't the law state that branches growing over a boundary can legally be removed by the owner of the neighbouring land?

Yup, I looked into this a while back due to oversize tree in my neighbours garden. You can remove the branches but the wood belongs to the owner of the tree (so you chuck it back over the fence), and can only cut it back as far as the property boundary.

However I suspect that the OP doesn't actually own the land he is cycling over so this wouldn't apply!

On the track I used to look after we once had a huge ash tree fall across the track from a neighbour's land. We were not sure who the neighbour was so could not speak to them quick enough so we just got on with it. We cut the tree into liftable portions and piled the timber on the neighbour's side of the boundary for them to claim if they wanted it.

Personally, when walking or cycling I have always taken the view that a bit of pruning is both reasonable and socially responsible, whoever owns the land. I don't ask, I just do it. I cut vegetation back and place the cuttings where they will not be in anybody's way.

[mjr]

Personally, when walking or cycling I have always taken the view that a bit of pruning is both reasonable and socially responsible, whoever owns the land. I don't ask, I just do it. I cut vegetation back and place the cuttings where they will not be in anybody's way.

Is cycling the mode of transport where users most often pay their taxes and then still have to do the maintenance of the public network themselves? It's got to be a close-run thing between cycling and walking.

[pwa]

Personally, when walking or cycling I have always taken the view that a bit of pruning is both reasonable and socially responsible, whoever owns the land. I don't ask, I just do it. I cut vegetation back and place the cuttings where they will not be in anybody's way.

Is cycling the mode of transport where users most often pay their taxes and then still have to do the maintenance of the public network themselves? It's got to be a close-run thing between cycling and walking.

That's a valid question but on a purely practical level if you go out and snip off the odd bit of offending vegetation yourself you are addressing your immediate problem and probably helping other track users at the same time.

(Public footpaths in the countryside are in a much worse state than shared use tracks)

[mjr]

Is cycling the mode of transport where users most often pay their taxes and then still have to do the maintenance of the public network themselves? It's got to be a close-run thing between cycling and walking.

That's a valid question but on a purely practical level if you go out and snip off the odd bit of offending vegetation yourself you are addressing your immediate problem and probably helping other track users at the same time.

(Public footpaths in the countryside are in a much worse state than shared use tracks)

Yeah, I still do it for stuff like eye-height brambles, but it really sucks that many councils are now failing to provide even a minimum safe level of service - we're paying for a dog and then barking ourselves.

I'm not sure about public footpaths - the ramblers seem much more willing to serve section 130 notices than cycling groups, plus there's a second "trails" council department but maybe that's just because we're a tourist area and they realise walking holidays are popular but don't seem to have grasped that people come here on cycling holidays.