"A bad solution that creates conflict": Delivery cyclist unconvinced council moving controversial bollards will work

I agree. I have seen less than half a dozen cars in the underpasses by Network Rail car park at night, where the petrol heads hang out. They appear to just want to take a few photos and do a few dougnuts. That's in the 25 years I've lived here and it's where I usually hang around for Deliveroo orders. Other than that, there's a few parked cars obstructing entries to redways in a few places, a few kids on motorbikes and quite a few illegal electric machines. Other than that, I only really encounter authorised motors on redways. It would be very easy to drive onto grass verges and around bollards to get onto some of the redways.

end of financial year isnt it,got to spend your surplus or the government wont give you the same budget next year 

its always one of those council convictions that if they dont put bollards in people will drive down there, tbf the way some people drive these days, Im not sure they are completely wrong on that assumption.

but the irony is even with bollards its most likely to be only the council who end up driving their vans onto those paths anyway, as Ive had one or two conversations with council gardeners who dont see the problem with driving their little trucks along cycle paths, and who dont like walking much

Could be. They've also splashed out and repainted some give way markings where redways cross roads, some at junctions where cyclists often don't. Because someone setting off or arriving at a car park or home in their cul de sac should always have priority over someone mid journey around a city. If they're on bike or foot, that is...

Awavey wrote:

end of financial year isnt it,got to spend your surplus or the government wont give you the same budget next year 

its always one of those council convictions that if they dont put bollards in people will drive down there, tbf the way some people drive these days, Im not sure they are completely wrong on that assumption.

but the irony is even with bollards its most likely to be only the council who end up driving their vans onto those paths anyway, as Ive had one or two conversations with council gardeners who dont see the problem with driving their little trucks along cycle paths, and who dont like walking much

This ^^^^

It's always the council contractors that I see happily driving up the Redways - the odd unhelmeted motorcyclist but mainly contractors,.

Runtilyoudrop wrote:

to be fair it looks quite reasonable. Try engaging them some more. It does not always have to be conflict.

MK Council were tagged whenever I have posted about this on Twitter and have replied to someone else but not me. I haven't blocked them and my DMs are open if they want to talk out of public view. I believe that Road CC has also tried to engage with them too, but no luck. Maybe it's a coincidence that these bollards have all moved at the same time, soon after they were installed and this was made more public? Either way, MK Council don't appear to want to engage. I have stated my opinions about these bollards and they are honest. I don't see why they are needed at all and they are yet another hindrance to my journeys. There could well be good reasons for them being there. I am not at this location that much and only in passing. If so, I agree that if these bollards are preventing problems, then this does look like a reasonable solution. But MK Council are silent on what the issue is here (I think that Road CC have got a few things muddled in the article in that I use the Tern and trailer to collect watse food for a charity, not Deliveroo and also that I think the council were refering to bollards at roads, not these in particular, for preventing cars getting onto redways, which a lot of them wouldn't anyway but that's another thing..) And because there is no stated reason for them being there, I will hold on to my opinion that they are probably just nonsense and an unnecessary hindrance, until I hear otherwise but accept that just because I don't know about any problems doesn't mean there aren't any.

So near yet so far pretty much describes the Milton Keynes redway network. I just don't think any of those involved in the design actually cycle properly and regularly. Most of the issues probably aren't even issues for people out for a ride on a Saturday with the kids where 2-3 miles wiht a stop at a playpark is a full day out, but if you have to do thousands of miles on it you'll soon learn every single bit where it's crap. I'd love to take the council bods out for a ride and show them round!

TBF to MK, there is quite a lot about improving the quality and directness of Redways in the documents linked above.

Si I'd say "watch that space".

It feels like a positive feed through from the requirement that in England Active Travel schemes will only get funding if they meet LTN1/20 (which is quite good).

I think they're trying to do the right thing, but in my area, I can see in that document a few glaring mistakes. One in particular where they've taken a tortuous route when they don't need to - there's a direct path there already!

They've also failed to connect the towns cycling routes to the main route out of town. You get dumped on a main A-road for 100 metres! Just not joined up.

The council recently have spent a fortune re-laying an already very good cycle path, seems a total waste of money, especially as cyclists still need to give way at every side road. Grrrr!

I do hope they'll open it up to public consultation.

This new housing estate always makes me chuckle when I pass. The bus stops placed at the most inconvenient point for pedestrians, a lovely redway cycle path that stops at the bus stop and to access the cycle path near the roundabout, you have to walk up the muddy, narrow verge! https://goo.gl/maps/nSuuidpkyLqVz9jV8

It's a bit inconsistant. The new estate off of Watling Street is another oddity. Lots of money spent building a good underpass, then they plan the redway so that you have to negotiate blind bends at the bottom of the slope to go underneath, so as usual, you have to accellerate uphill after slowing down on the downhill, which makes it as inefficient as possible. Then when you get into the housing estate it's the usual give way to every road and cul de sac from several directions.

I think it has got a little bit better at painstakingly slow pace in the 25 years I have been here, with a few things getting a bit worse, mostly like these bollards and other barriers being put up. NCN 51 being re-routed on a better route so it no lnger goes straight through one of the busuiest shopping centres in the country where shoppers wouldn't expect it is one example, though it's still a pretty bad route, it's one of the least bad. Maybe they will even re-route some of the other bits of that route so they're not on extra narrow leisure routes popuar with dog wakers? They're very nice, but only for very slow riding. 

But, it might get beter a bit faster. There's always hope...

I did look at Strava accounts of some that promote cycling in Milton Keynes. They were very barren places and IIRC I have more fingers than they had rides recroded and this did confirm what I think might be true. Though it is definitely possible that they just don't record their rides on Strava, I know where I would put my bet.

It does all seem odd. MK Council do get quite a lot right as well. The ebikes they supplied are very good. They're pretty good about sweeping up broken glass if you report it. There is *some* redway maintenance but as they are designed, it's like painting the Forth Bridge and they prioritise roads. Quite a few other good things with bike parking and fun leisure routes for the leisurely. But not so much for fast and efficient riding across the city or transport. The new Aldi at Stantonbury is right next to a redway and it's where the bicycle murial was put when it was restored from Wolverton. And when I collect the waste food from there with the trailer, I go down a footpath that links the redway to Aldi. Distance from Redway to Aldi is about 1 meter, but there's a fence around the bicycle murial and only a footpath that's just wide enough for the trailer to link the two. If I was very good and didn't go down the footpath, I would add on another half mile. But because of the instruction to the police from government to only deal with irresponsible cycling on footpaths and the fact that even if that wasn't the case, the police can't even stop many other more serious driving offences then sod it. Nobody seems to care very much and it makes the redways work better.