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Cyclists reminded: Forth Road closure applies to you, tooForth Bridges

Cyclists reminded: Forth Road closure applies to you, too

Broken bridges have no mercy for cyclists faced with a potential 35 mile detour - use public transport instead, cyclists told
by Laura Laker
Sun, Dec 06, 2015 13:45
9

Forth Road Bridge operators have had to remind cyclists that the road bridge is “closed to all” after some tried to pedal across it this weekend.

The vital road crossing across the Firth, just North of Edinburgh, which normally carries 70,000 vehicles a day, was closed on 3 December after a 2cm crack was found on the southbound deck, throwing Scotland into an effective state of emergency amid warnings the closure could cost the Scottish economy £50 million in travel delays alone.

However, that hasn’t stopped a few two-wheeled travellers attempting to cycle over Europe’s largest steel structure, to avoid a 15-20 mile detour to the next nearest crossing, the Kincardine Bridge.

The Forth Road Bridge twitter account posted a message this morning saying: “We've had some cyclists trying to get onto the bridge today. Please be aware the bridge is closed to all. #SafetyFirst”

To comments “a wee bike” weighs less than the rain that falls across the structure, it added: “Safety is our number 1 priority but we need the bridge clear for inspections, assessments and repair work to be carried out.

“Our priority is to get the bridge open as quickly as possible. A full closure is the best way to get this done.

“Unfortunately there's no direct footpath available so alternatives would be Kincardine Bridge or public transport.

Kincardine Bridge is 15-23 miles away depending on which side of the Forth you are on.

Tailbacks of 11 miles are being reported on alternative routes and the Federation of Small Businesses has urged people to ditch their cars in favour of public transport to free up road capacity for Christmas delivery vehicles. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce has estimated a year-long closure could cost the economy £1 billion.

Built in 1964 the Forth Bridge, with its pedestrian and cycle path, is part of the National Cycle Network’s route 1 (NCN1)

A second Forth Road Bridge is currently under construction, but it won’t be finished in the near future. 

When it's finished, the 1960's bridge will be reserved for buses, cyclists and pedestrians only. 

Meanwhile, some unsurprising comments emerged about cyclists' supposed proclivity for rule breaking:

Forth Road Bridge
Scotland
Laura Laker

Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.

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9 comments

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fenix | 8 years ago
0 likes

Such a pity - this could be the biggest boost for cycling and improving the traffic flow in Edinburgh ever.

I wonder if Sustrans could make any headway?

Avatar
Edgeley replied to fenix | 8 years ago
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fenix wrote:

Such a pity - this could be the biggest boost for cycling and improving the traffic flow in Edinburgh ever. I wonder if Sustrans could make any headway?

 

 

If the government proposed a  new Forth bridge  made out of marzipan and old toast, Sustrans would say it was a fantastic idea.   And when bikes were banned from the new marzibridge, Sustrans would say how pleased they are that cyclists can still use the bridge 20 miles upstreaam.

 

So no, Sustrans won't make any headway.

Avatar
gmac101 | 8 years ago
1 like

I cycled over the bridge during the summer and the cycle paths are hung on the side and as the failed structures are underneath they probably form the easiest access path.  I first thought it was a bit daft closing the cycle paths but when I thought about how I would plan the repair to do the job as quickly as possible. I would be working on as many failure sites as possible (assuming you can get enough skilled tradespeople ) and that means you do both sides at the same time.  Maybe when they get themselves sorted they'll open up something. 

Avatar
Airzound | 8 years ago
0 likes

Buy a speed boat with a 200hp Evinrude outboard engine. Would only take 10 minutes to cross the Firth of Forth. Could charge £5 per head one way. Soon pay for itself.

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A V Lowe | 8 years ago
0 likes

A tran service solely between North Queensferry and Dalmeny, solely for moving coach passengers across the bridge between coaches on each side  could save a huge number of extra coaches, and at least twice that number of extra drivers  and give the coach users a journey time little different from that they currently have, AND remove those coaches from adding to the congestion across the Kincardine Bridge. A shuttle service between these stations would require just 1 train carrying up to 600 (9-10 coaches) passngers and fitting in bikes as well, and would not deliver additional trains to create congestion getting in to Edinburgh.  (there are sidings at Dalmeny and Inverkeithing to hold ths shuttle train and slip it in to spaces between the other services. 

Avatar
Docroddy | 8 years ago
7 likes

The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge with a double carriageway comprising two motorised traffic lanes in each direction AND a separated footway/cycle way. Emergency vehicles, if on an emergency, are being escorted across the bridge by FRB vehicles. The footway/ cycle way is wide enough for a motorised vehicle and it is these lanes that are used by construction vehicles/ workers to access parts of the bridge. Therefore, it is completely unsafe for any members of the public to be using the bridge at the moment. I think it's fairly clear to everyone by now that they haven't shut the bridge to everyone just to be nasty. This is a major structural fault having huge implications for East Central Scotland and everyone is going to have to adapt. Roll on December 2016!

Avatar
crazy-legs replied to Docroddy | 8 years ago
6 likes
Docroddy wrote:

The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge with a double carriageway comprising two motorised traffic lanes in each direction AND a separated footway/cycle way. Emergency vehicles, if on an emergency, are being escorted across the bridge by FRB vehicles. The footway/ cycle way is wide enough for a motorised vehicle and it is these lanes that are used by construction vehicles/ workers to access parts of the bridge. Therefore, it is completely unsafe for any members of the public to be using the bridge at the moment. I think it's fairly clear to everyone by now that they haven't shut the bridge to everyone just to be nasty. This is a major structural fault having huge implications for East Central Scotland and everyone is going to have to adapt. Roll on December 2016!

I appreciate the practicalities of doing this but you could cut a massive amount of vehicle congestion by simply allocating a lane for bikes thus allowing the people that can walk/cycle from one side to the other to do so and save adding to the massive queues of cars or the packed out trains.

The fact that there are people working on the bridge and vehicles accessing it means its not in any danger of collapse so surely there's enough space on it to simply put a line of cones down a bit of it and to move that "cycle lane" around as and when necessary depending on where you happen to be working?

Even 1000 cyclists on it at any one time is still only 10 tonnes which is about a quarter of an articulated lorry.

 

Avatar
rasalati | 8 years ago
4 likes
Quote:

We've had some cyclists trying to get onto the bridge today. Please be aware the bridge is closed to all. #SafetyFirst

Technically not true. It's still open to emergency vehicles, right? If they're not worried about a fire engine damaging it further, then a couple of dozen cyclists at any given time should be OK.. (And I'll bet they'll have maintanence vehicles on it!)

Avatar
Al__S | 8 years ago
0 likes

Adding to that, the trains between Dalmeny and Inverkeithing would usually be an alternative but given they're absolutely packed at the moment I wouldn't rely on being able to get a bike onboard

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