Canal towpath petition

[tykeboy2003]

Hi, I've started a government petition to get the Government to fund improvements to canal towpaths to make them into off-road cycle routes. Feel free to sign it.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/320460

[philvantwo]

Make towpaths 6ft wide and tarmac them?
Can't see that happening.........ever!

[Pete Owens]

And 2m is not wide enough for a 2-way route shared with pedestrians.

[Jdsk]

Could you correct the spelling of "complement"? Small things like that can put some people off.

Jonathan

[Tangled Metal]

Make them into a good resource for all non-motorised transport plus e-bikes. Why limit to cyclists?

Come to think about it the canal near us has a towpath you can walk or cycle on already. It's often used to commute to Lancaster from the villages along its path by people who don't like cycling the excellent route that's the A6. Having said that I used to walk the Rufford branch of the Leeds Liverpool canal. It wasn't great for walking in some stretches when I was a kid. So I expect canal access is not at the same level across the network.

I wish you success but personally canals often follow gradients so are generally not a very direct route anywhere. IMHO cycling provision should be focused on functional as in utility use for people who might turn to the bike to make short journeys if there were good routes. I think canals are often more about leisure riding. Valuable in itself but just as road improvements are about people and goods getting somewhere monies intended for cycling infrastructure should centre on the equivalent type of cycle provisions. Commuter routes, between residential areas and schools/shopping, etc.

[ratherbeintobago]

Locally we have an issue where the Council response to any request for cycling infrastructure is met with ‘but the canal towpath’.

Weren’t there big issues in e.g. London with traffic volume on towpaths which just don’t have the capacity, leading to articles like this?

[simonineaston]

Who else remembers the days when you needed a "licence" to cycle on canal towpaths, which you simply downloaded from the BWB website and printed off?

[ratherbeintobago]

Who else remembers the days when you needed a "licence" to cycle on canal towpaths, which you simply downloaded from the BWB website and printed off?

Me!

[simonineaston]

I went so far as signing the bloomin' thing and laminating it! Never got asked for it once!! Mind you, I did live on a boat,so I was a regular user

[jgurney]

tarmac them?

And, presumably, install mooring bollards all alone them, as boaters would no longer be able to drive mooring stakes into the ground as they common do at present.

[millimole]

Nothing is free, and everything comes with a cost - how will this be funded? Or should I ask how much will you be prepared to pay for this? Do you envisage a 'cycling towpath tax' and would this require displaying a disc to show you've paid?

What about the heritage of bridges? Will you demand these centuries old structures be demolished to permit construction of these paths, or do you see flyovers?

Where do anglers, boaters heritage and wildlife come into this vision?

The Canal and River Trust promote canals ides as havens away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, somewhere to find a bit of tranquility and to reconnect with nature. Towpaths aren't roads.

Valuable routes, yes, but one's where one can slow down, enjoy the space, meet other people and enjoy cycling.

In case you wonder, I won't be signing.

[Tangled Metal]

Basically leisure facilities then?

I won't be signing neither. There's got to be better options for the money. Winding canals or more direct routes for cycles? Which one is better?

[tykeboy2003]

Who else remembers the days when you needed a "licence" to cycle on canal towpaths, which you simply downloaded from the BWB website and printed off?

Me too.

[Tangled Metal]

It wasn't that long ago. I got told you needed one water moving into my current house next to the canal. I'm fact several years after moving in if say 15 years ago or less.

[tykeboy2003]

Thanks for the comments, I'm not sure if the petition can be amended to accommodate them though.

On the subject of funding, we're all prepared to pay for motorways which cost many hundreds of times more per mile than the modest sums that this would cost so why not divert a tiny proportion of that, after all it is still transport infrastructure. Mr Johnson professes to be pro cyclist after all.

Boaters would still be able to drive mooring spikes in if a small grassed over bit was left next to the canal, most canal towpaths are currently wide enough to allow for that. Where space is limited there would obviously have to be compromise.

There is no intention to convert tranquil canals into bustling transport hubs but convenient cycle ways to take cyclists off the roads where routes coincide.