Dylan Lewis-CreserNov 19, 2022
Harrie Larrington-Spencer

Councils often use barriers like these on traffic-free walking & cycling routes.

They say that they're to stop illegitimate users, like off-road motorcyclists, but in reality they fail to stop these.

But they do stop disabled people like me who use adapted cycles & other types of mobility aids. And we'd really like to access these safe and quiet routes too.

#CyclingDisabled #ActiveTravel #CargoTrike #CargoBike

Nov 18, 2022 at 8:59pmMastodon for Android
Show threadTerence EdenNov 18, 2022
@TricycleMayor that dog looks *exceptionally* pissed off. And quite right!
Show threadHarrie Larrington-SpencerNov 18, 2022
@Edent she is the sternest ally around
Show threadRobⓋNov 18, 2022

@TricycleMayor council planners aren’t renowned for their intelligence. I think an email directly to them with these pictures would make them see the issue.

These barriers don’t stop motorcyclists

Show threadWheelyDivergent Nov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor I hate these so much. As a powerchair user it bars me completely.
Show threadHarrie Larrington-SpencerNov 19, 2022
@wheelydivergent makes me so cross. Slowly getting them removed where I live 💪
Show threadWheelyDivergent Nov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor I’ve been working on it for years, with no success. The trail motorbikes are all over the park and I still can’t access very easily.
Show threadMartyn HurtNov 20, 2022
@wheelydivergent @TricycleMayor I have the same problem with quite a few of these too for the same reason.
Show threadWheelyDivergent Nov 20, 2022
@mhurt @TricycleMayor it’s so frustrating.
Show threadDave WarnockNov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor yes, yes and yes.
They also stop cargobike (often used for child transport) and trailers (often used for child transport as well).
Basically they stop lots of legitimate users while not blocking motorbikes.
Show threadYou S BluesNov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor @Dave42W Thank you for highlighting the issues with the chicane design. I would not have known they stopped cargo bikes and those with trailers.
Show threadSavageHKNov 20, 2022

@patmikemid it's technically possible to design an accessible chicane, but often the ones that are installed are too close together for it to work (and/or some other issue, such as incline or other poles or obstacles that reduce the available space).

I would still prefer not to see them as a general rule, an accessible chicane wouldn't slow "normal" bikes much at all, rather defeating the usual reason for installation.

Show threadMostly harmlessNov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor we went on a 1000 km #bike tour in 2018 thru the NL, UK, Fr & Belgium. These were our biggest obstacles, in #Kent, on #NCN1 - #NationalCycleRoute1. Embarrassing. Our handlebars were too wide to get thru the barrier. #Trekkingbikers are not welcome around #Sittingbourne & #Faversham
Show thread2ManyCarsInBaselNov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor This is a very UK feature... something about those awful teenagers on their awful bikes terrorising everybody.
Show threadOut of Control   🇨🇦Nov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor my wife is a city councillor, I’ve forwarded this to her as our town recently installed a couple of these “gates” . For awareness and maybe get ahead of the problem.
Show threadFinal Round Player 😷🇪🇺🍸Nov 19, 2022

@TricycleMayor This! I absolutely hate this stuff. So many assumptions wrapped up in it. Common on towpaths. And on cycle paths that meet a road.

Closely related, Bridleways with 30cm barriers so the horses can step over them, but cars can't. Hello? Bicycles are legal on bridleways.

Show threaddragonfrogNov 20, 2022
@jbond @TricycleMayor the assumption too often is that if you're riding a bicycle you're "athletic" because you're using "sports equipment", when it's really an in-line wheelchair for a lot of users.
Show threadFinal Round Player 😷🇪🇺🍸Nov 20, 2022
@dragonfrog @TricycleMayor Yes, indeed. Let's hear it for utility bicycling.
Show threadsortiusNov 19, 2022
@TricycleMayor it's sad that us cargo bike riders literally have to map out the worst of these anti-motorcycle gates, but I've yet to see a motorcyclist stopped by one. Hell, the valley near my house has motorcycle tracks everywhere, and several of these stupid gates
Show threadMasks save livesNov 20, 2022
@TricycleMayor These barriers are a nightmare for people who use a power wheelchair or a mobility scooter.
Show threadDebra StorrNov 20, 2022
As well as the physical barrier, it also adds to the effort. It’s reckons that each stop and start is 100m of cycling effort. That can add up to a lot of extra ‘distance’.
Show threadMeikelNov 20, 2022
@TricycleMayor
@fedibikes
Show threadA Fife EnvironmentalistNov 20, 2022
@TricycleMayor motor-traffic-free walking and cycling routes. Bikes and their riders are traffic.
Show threadJames Gleave🚶🚲🚌🚄🚊🚇🤘⚽🎮Nov 20, 2022
@TricycleMayor and often to tackle the non-existent problem of people on mopeds. So making life harder for everyone to tackle a problem that rarely, if ever, happens.
Show threaddragonfrogNov 20, 2022
@TricycleMayor gosh, that second one looks so narrow at the top I don't know if I could even get through it on my bike, and I don't even have a special bike, it just has somewhat wide handle bars.
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPENov 20, 2022

@TricycleMayor We removed some in Cambridge, back in the days when councillors could afford to vote themselves a few grand for a pet project. Primarily to help cyclists[#] but the officers preferred to document the project as being for disabled access.

The feared abuse by children on illegal motorcycles never materialised.

[#] When one of these things got in the way of a particular disabled person, eg on the way from their home to the shops, it got dealt with in the normal course of events, it didn't have to wait for this project.

Show threadJim MayerNov 21, 2022
@TricycleMayor I hate these things! I started noticing them when I got my cargo bike, especially with an adult passenger, and that got me thinking about how much worse they are for three wheelers. Thankfully. I don't see many new ones here in Victoria, BC, but they are nasty.
Show threadHarrie Larrington-SpencerNov 21, 2022
@pentastich I hate these as well. Never dismount as trikes are hell to push.
Show threadJim MayerNov 21, 2022
@TricycleMayor There's been an explosion in the number of cargo bikes and trikes here since Victoria's AAA network started getting well connected. Unsurprisingly, when utility cycling becomes practical people start doing it.
Show threadKinetixNov 21, 2022
@pentastich
We've got at least one here in my BC town as well, and I pay no attention to the dismount request. Sorry.
@TricycleMayor
Show threadJim MayerNov 21, 2022
@kinetix @TricycleMayor I don't ride in the park, it's really not suitable, but it's across the street. The path behind me is a major bike commuter route, cycling is allowed on the path I'm on, and that THING is blocking people from turning left or right onto the 30 km/h traffic calmed street!
Show threadDanNov 21, 2022
@kinetix @pentastich @TricycleMayor absolutely. And many people who are riding adaptive cycles simply can't dismount!
If it goes through a park just put signs saying "cyclists slow. Shared area ahead - give way to pedestrians" or something along those lines
Show threadKinetixNov 21, 2022
@Dasy2k1 @pentastich @TricycleMayor I'm with you on that.