What's going on ...on the Bath to Bristol cycle track

trevtherev

Regular commuters on this popular route must be as perplexed as I am by the attitude of the council to smoothing out and fixing the bumps that have started to spring up along particularly the Bristol side of the cycle track ( that bit near Morrisons is like riding a rollercoaster :evil: ) Some 2 years ago yellow marks appeared highlighting the "bad" bits of the cycle track presumably with the intention of fixing them......nothing happened and the lines finally faded over time. Now in the past few weeks green marks have appeared again highlighting the "bad" bits....so far nothing has happened. What really p***es me off is Sustrans have received all this money/awards etc and are talking about great schemes ie cycles in the city for hire....but why not get the present cycle track in order, bits of it clearly need some love and attention. I for one am rather fed up bouncing over a somewhat uneven surface (in parts) So don't just mark the bad parts with green or yellow....get out there and fix them!!!! :twisted:

spen666

trevtherev wrote:

Regular commuters on this popular route must be as perplexed as I am by the attitude of the council to smoothing out and fixing the bumps that have started to spring up along particularly the Bristol side of the cycle track ( that bit near Morrisons is like riding a rollercoaster :evil: ) Some 2 years ago yellow marks appeared highlighting the "bad" bits of the cycle track presumably with the intention of fixing them......nothing happened and the lines finally faded over time. Now in the past few weeks green marks have appeared again highlighting the "bad" bits....so far nothing has happened. What really p***es me off is Sustrans have received all this money/awards etc and are talking about great schemes ie cycles in the city for hire....but why not get the present cycle track in order, bits of it clearly need some love and attention. I for one am rather fed up bouncing over a somewhat uneven surface (in parts) So don't just mark the bad parts with green or yellow....get out there and fix them!!!! :twisted:

Not sure who you are ranting about?

Are you complaining re council or re sustrans or do you not have a clue who is at fault so you are blaming anyone & everyone?

redvee

The flat section between the tunnel and Morrisons needs lookingh at too, rutted by the tree roots that line that section of the CP.

dirk_van_gently

Don't get me started on Sustrans. I am a ranger, for what it's worth, 50mil from the lottery, and what do Sustrans do? Phone me up and ask if I want to make a further contribution!! :evil:

gtvlusso

I was going to apply for a Project Manager job at sustrans, but they wanted me to fill in an application form that looked like it was designed by a child......Spoke to the HR admin and everything seemed very faffy and a slow process for recruitment - so I did not bother in the end. If they seem slow and a bit crap with recruitment, you can bet the whole company is like it - crap money offered too! I look after million pound projects for a major telco - so, I figure I was in a good position to get the job!

always_tyred

spen666 wrote:

trevtherev wrote:

Regular commuters on this popular route must be as perplexed as I am by the attitude of the council to smoothing out and fixing the bumps that have started to spring up along particularly the Bristol side of the cycle track ( that bit near Morrisons is like riding a rollercoaster :evil: ) Some 2 years ago yellow marks appeared highlighting the "bad" bits of the cycle track presumably with the intention of fixing them......nothing happened and the lines finally faded over time. Now in the past few weeks green marks have appeared again highlighting the "bad" bits....so far nothing has happened. What really p***es me off is Sustrans have received all this money/awards etc and are talking about great schemes ie cycles in the city for hire....but why not get the present cycle track in order, bits of it clearly need some love and attention. I for one am rather fed up bouncing over a somewhat uneven surface (in parts) So don't just mark the bad parts with green or yellow....get out there and fix them!!!! :twisted:

Not sure who you are ranting about?

Are you complaining re council or re sustrans or do you not have a clue who is at fault so you are blaming anyone & everyone?

Surely you must be aware that in order to effect repairs of this nature, both a council and a funding body (where external funding is applicable) must be in cooperation? I thought the rant was quite clear.

trevtherev

Primarily I blame the council, in actual fact it's 2 councils both Bristol City and South Gloucestershire, who carry out the actual work on the stretch of cycle path I am referring to. When the yellow lines first appeared I made contact with them and was assured work would be done but they then informed me that there were no funds for that year to carry out repairs on the cycle track. IMHO the cycle track is falling apart, espec roots of trees etc which make the tarmac rise and cause lots of bumps in many places. But Bristol being the home of Sustrans...they of course should have a big say in the management/maintenance of the track and as far as I can see little is being done to create a good cycling surface. Lets hope the new green lines will indicate that some repair work is about to start...it's not a rant if you cycled it 5 days a week you would expect repairs to be carried out after 2 years...I bet if this was a highway ( and for us cyclists this is the equiv of the M1) work would have been carried out long ago.

attica

I sympathise Trev, however commuting in from the direction that I do, I have to either negotiate the Cumberland Basin - impossible to do without clenching at least once, or navigate a maze of cyclepaths that add about 5 minutes to a two minute stretch and involve two sections of either pavement riding or going the wrong way up a one way street - both of which you'll notice are illegal.

Hopefully the extra funds will be able to provide both of us with satisfactory solutions.

virtuoso

I agree the bit by Morrisons in Fishponds is ridiculous, and there are numerous other tree-root affected bits further down towards Easton too. I feel like I should ask the Council to pay every time I need my wheels trued.

alfablue

That stretch of the path really rattles my fillings. I am well used to it now, but a few years ago I fell off my bike hitting similar ripples (caused by tree roots) on a path elsewhere. Okay, I was scratching my nose at the time so had only one hand on the bars, but the ripples knocked my bars sideways and I went over the top and broke my pelvis. I guess that was an unfortunate coincidence of events, but these could be hazardous to someone who doesn't know that stretch of path. Has anyone asked Sustrans about it? (If not, I will).

Given that the Railway Path is Sustrans' first and flagship path, and they are Bristol based, and Bristol is now the first cycling city, something really should be done. If they can't get that right, what hope...?