Shared use path obstructed by new railings
Reported in the Roads/highways category by Tim Beadle at 10:42, Fri 17 April 2009
Sent to Bath and North East Somerset Council 3 minutes later
As detailed in the Bath Chronicle [1], railings have been placed across the shared use path over Victoria Bridge, funnelling cycle and pedestrian traffic through a narrow gap. This was done seemingly without consultation or announcement on Thursday April 9th.
Not only does this make pedestrian/cyclist conflict more likely where there was little before (as the path is wide enough to accommodate both uses simultaneously) it also reduces the social safety of the path: on a bike, slowing down to below walking pace to negotiate the barrier raises the risk of being mugged at night.
The barrier is also black, making them hard to see at night. The risk of a cyclist or runner, unaware of the barrier's presence, colliding with it is now a reality.
The barrier was presumably intended to solve the non-problem of (occasional, slow and safe) use of the crossing by motorbikes and mopeds. Unfortunately, it creates more problems than it solves.
Please remove the railings as soon as possible.
[1] http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Anger-new-barrier-bridge/article-904869-detail/article.html
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