What is a pavement?

roundthebend
roundthebend Posts: 205
edited March 2010 in Commuting chat
Just been thinking about some of my daily commute route and I realised that I might be riding on pavements some of the time. But I'm 99.9% certain that some of them are cycle paths as well, even though there is no explicit signage to that effect.

What's the definition of a pavement?

I'll have to dig out my local council cycle map soon to check my route.

Comments

  • downfader
    downfader Posts: 3,686
    Just been thinking about some of my daily commute route and I realised that I might be riding on pavements some of the time. But I'm 99.9% certain that some of them are cycle paths as well, even though there is no explicit signage to that effect.

    What's the definition of a pavement?

    I'll have to dig out my local council cycle map soon to check my route.

    A word of warning, some of the various council cycle maps are out of date so you could well be. I just read a post on another forum where cyclists were being stopped for riding on what they thought was a "cycle path", yet were being fined for it.

    If in doubt every council should have a cycling officer and he/she will be able to tell you which bits are legal.
  • Agreed - even TfL's website gets it wrong sometimes. I looked up a route a few months ago and TfL's route planner directed me through a park. As I entered the park, I noted a sign stating that cycling was not allowed. And the parkie who was doing some gardening was certainly of the opinion that the sign on the gate trumped TfL's route planner. :lol:
    Never be tempted to race against a Barclays Cycle Hire bike. If you do, there are only two outcomes. Of these, by far the better is that you now have the scalp of a Boris Bike.
  • nwallace
    nwallace Posts: 1,465
    A pavement is something along the lines of any footpath provided along side a road for the purposes of separating pedestrians from vehicles.
    This pre-dates both the motor car and bicycle.

    A Pavement is only also a cyclepath if it is signed with the TRSG standard signs for segregated and non-segregated shared use paths.

    The TRSG standard sign is the blue disc, not a painted bike on the ground, I keep meaning to question the one at Tay Bridge South Access which doesn't have signs between the car park and Newport/Tayport road junction.
    Do Nellyphants count?

    Commuter: FCN 9
    Cheapo Roadie: FCN 5
    Off Road: FCN 11

    +1 when I don't get round to shaving for x days
  • Jay dubbleU
    Jay dubbleU Posts: 3,159
    Footway - a paved area which runs parallel to a carriageway or highway - usually pedestrians only

    Pavement - any paved area including pedestrianised areas where traffic may be totally excluded or have restricted access
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,550
    Actually, a pavement is the surfacing of a carriageway. :wink:

    A footway is the route that runs alongside a carriageway for pedestrians to use. If it can be used by cyclists there should be some form of sign either showing a cycle and person one above the other or seperated by a white line (unsegregated or segregated use respectively). Unless signed to show it is a cycleway then I would assume it is just a footway.
  • Eau Rouge
    Eau Rouge Posts: 1,118
    http://www.bikeforall.net/content/cycli ... he_law.php

    That offers some definitions and tries to clarify what seems like a bit of a mess of laws,
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,550
    Something else worth noting - if you see a 'you must not' sign (i.e. a circular sign with a red border) that has nothing inside it means no vehicles including pedal cycles beyond that point. You get these on approaches to pedestrianised areas but in a tedious dissertation I produced only 2 people out of 25 knew what it meant and half of those asked work in highway design!