Trikes blocked by barriers on permitted routes

[squeaker]

What problems do you have with access barriers, using your trike?

Locally, not a lot as most bridleways have a fairly wide zig-zag barrier, which in some cases can be easily ridden under I do recall one under a block of flats in Brighton that I had to carry the trike through on its side 'cos there wasn't room to get the necessary approach angle (This was following a cycle.travel route on gps - I stayed on the road next time I went that way )

[pwa]

What problems do you have with access barriers, using your trike?

Locally, not a lot as most bridleways have a fairly wide zig-zag barrier, which in some cases can be easily ridden under I do recall one under a block of flats in Brighton that I had to carry the trike through on its side 'cos there wasn't room to get the necessary approach angle (This was following a cycle.travel route on gps - I stayed on the road next time I went that way )

Yes, half the problem is not knowing what you will find on routes new to you.

[gaz]

Mention of canals has reminded me that they are governed by their own legislation. Some of the oldest posts on the forum relate to canal cycling permits (towpath, not the wet bit .. )

I've got mine somewhere from long ago, but they used to be downloadable free.

Whilst now utterly defunct you can still have your vey own free downloadable canal cycling permit.

[Slackhouse]

The simple, practical solution is to get the tape measure out, survey the routes you envisage wanting to use most, then get a bicycle or whatever that fits. Or start a local campaign to have path infrastructure changed. Only one of those two solutions is likely to benefit you in a practical way in time for next summer. That's just how it is. We have debated the rights and wrongs of this before, at great length, but for the individual, wanting a practical solution PDQ, getting a machine that works on the routes as they are is the only way to ensure trouble-free cycling in the short to medium term.

Some people cannot ride on two wheels due to disability - which is the point of this post!

[pwa]

The simple, practical solution is to get the tape measure out, survey the routes you envisage wanting to use most, then get a bicycle or whatever that fits. Or start a local campaign to have path infrastructure changed. Only one of those two solutions is likely to benefit you in a practical way in time for next summer. That's just how it is. We have debated the rights and wrongs of this before, at great length, but for the individual, wanting a practical solution PDQ, getting a machine that works on the routes as they are is the only way to ensure trouble-free cycling in the short to medium term.

Some people cannot ride on two wheels due to disability - which is the point of this post!

You can do the rolling eyes thing, but tell me your solution that gets the OP able to use the preferred routes in a few weeks, rather than months and years. Or rather, tell the OP. If knowing the widths of barriers locally means you get a trike that fits, rather than one that is 2cm too wide, it is a worthwhile exercise.

[pwa]

I ride an ICE Adventure which is slightly narrower than the HD version you are looking at. I also run a Facebook group and organise group rides. Some of the members ride the HD Adventure. Many of the barriers are accessible. Some require a careful approach. Occasionally the chicane type barriers are to short to allow the trike to turn. The A frame style barriers are generally ok, but we have encountered a few which have been set up too narrow even for a narrow track trike. I test ride every route before running a group ride so that I know that any barriers can be negotiated or avoided. I hope this answer is useful.

They can be installed badly and not to specification by mistake, so it is worth letting "the powers that be" know if you find one that is suspiciously narrow. If you can see an ID on a barrier you may be able to find specs online. Eg https://centrewire.com/wp-content/uploa ... AILS-1.pdf is a very common example. Depending how high the wide bit of a recumbent trike is, it might well get through that particular design, if installed to spec. You might have to fold any mirrors in.

[ThePinkOne]

The simple, practical solution is to get the tape measure out, survey the routes you envisage wanting to use most, then get a bicycle or whatever that fits. Or start a local campaign to have path infrastructure changed. Only one of those two solutions is likely to benefit you in a practical way in time for next summer. That's just how it is. We have debated the rights and wrongs of this before, at great length, but for the individual, wanting a practical solution PDQ, getting a machine that works on the routes as they are is the only way to ensure trouble-free cycling in the short to medium term.

Some people cannot ride on two wheels due to disability - which is the point of this post!

You can do the rolling eyes thing, but tell me your solution that gets the OP able to use the preferred routes in a few weeks, rather than months and years. Or rather, tell the OP. If knowing the widths of barriers locally means you get a trike that fits, rather than one that is 2cm too wide, it is a worthwhile exercise.

Battery powered angle grinder issued free with each trike...?

TPO

[pwa]

Some people cannot ride on two wheels due to disability - which is the point of this post!

You can do the rolling eyes thing, but tell me your solution that gets the OP able to use the preferred routes in a few weeks, rather than months and years. Or rather, tell the OP. If knowing the widths of barriers locally means you get a trike that fits, rather than one that is 2cm too wide, it is a worthwhile exercise.

Battery powered angle grinder issued free with each trike...?

TPO

I was kind of assuming that the OP has a distaste for doing Community Service or whatever they call it now

But from a brief glance at specs for an Ice trike, and looking at that common spec for A Frames, it looks as though an Ice that goes through with a bit to spare is possible. If it were me I'd be checking some local barriers to confirm this before ordering particular a trike.

[Vorpal]

I know of a couple of folks who have been successful fairly recently getting barriers removed.

They used this approach https://www.mysociety.org/2021/08/02/fr ... ccessible/

[Bmblbzzz]

I know of a couple of folks who have been successful fairly recently getting barriers removed.

They used this approach https://www.mysociety.org/2021/08/02/fr ... ccessible/

The barrier in the main image there would be trip hazard for anyone with impaired sight, or in fact anyone at all at night. Double bad.

[mjr]

Battery powered angle grinder issued free with each trike...?

TPO

I was kind of assuming that the OP has a distaste for doing Community Service or whatever they call it now

Nice to know you think desperate actions due to lack of disabled access funny.

In any sane world, any attempted prosecutions for neatly removing illegal barriers would be dropped due to not being in the public interest. And the erectors of the barriers prosecuted instead.

Can they even prosecute for clearing access to a public right of way? I'm sure I've seen advice from the Ramblers about removing obstructions.

[Bmblbzzz]

Sustrans have recently rebuilt a small section of the Bristol-Bath Railway Path – although maintenance etc are the responsibility of the various LAs it passes through – and I noticed some but not all of the previous anti-trike (anti-trailer, anti-wheelchair, etc) barriers have been removed from the relevant section.

[pwa]

Battery powered angle grinder issued free with each trike...?

TPO

I was kind of assuming that the OP has a distaste for doing Community Service or whatever they call it now

Nice to know you think desperate actions due to lack of disabled access funny.

In any sane world, any attempted prosecutions for neatly removing illegal barriers would be dropped due to not being in the public interest. And the erectors of the barriers prosecuted instead.

Can they even prosecute for clearing access to a public right of way? I'm sure I've seen advice from the Ramblers about removing obstructions.

It is the daft suggestion of using an angle grider that is funny.

Are you recommending the OP to go out with an angle grinder? Please say so if you really are recommending that. My own advice would be to not do that because if they got caught they could be in trouble. Yes, they could engage a smart lawyer and fight it in the courts, but I doubt most of us would want to go down that path.

Setting that daft proposal to one side, two other options remain. One, to conduct a campaign to have barriers altered or removed, using legal means. Time consuming, probably slow to produce results, but possibly worthwhile if you have the motivation and get a result. Or, get a tape measure against the barriers and buy an Ice trike that fits, which some probably do if the barriers are A frames installed according to spec.

[Bmblbzzz]

But probably none do if the barriers are like those in Vorpal's link.

[pwa]

But probably none do if the barriers are like those in Vorpal's link.

Chicanes? In my nearest medium sized town there has been a transition on shared use paths from chicanes, which were then replaced with A frames, then those were removed from locations where it was deemed that they weren't necessary. I don't know what the OP faces.