Help us Save Middlewood Way

[wheels]

And all is well with the world as County win 5-1. Let the football season end now. Lol

[CllrGeoffAbell]

What's going on?
I've been away for a while and cycling back from Poynton, I see the Middlewood Way is at last clear and dry with a lovely new surface, the A555 is looking suspiciously close to completion, the double yellows on Eastwood are painted and Stockport Road's really bad and busy but has been resurfaced.  Kenny's left the Tories.  And SK6 watch has shut down.

Admittedly the pool's future is still uncertain and national government is still in a dither over Brexit.  And of course Trump is still doing his thing.

But my Marple world has been turned upside down!

[Cyberman]

Could be worse. They could put it in bags and throw it in the trees, as many dog owners do.

[CTCREP]

The fact that horse ordure is not harmful to humans is of little relevance.  The majority of people do not want to have to walk through, or at least divert their walk in order to avoid walking through horse ordure.  Those with wheeled vehicles, such as pushchairs and, if only the Middlewood Way were suitable, mobility scooters do not want to have to avoid the ordure as well. Push chairs etc that may be taken into the home.

Horses should be given a separate track to all others as is done on the Longdendale Trail so that this problem does not arise.  Now that the Middlewood Way is getting some attention I would hope the Council will recognise this.

[nbt]

But horse poo is mostly grass and is in no way harmful to humans, unlike dog poo which stinks and can spread some horrible diseases

[ringi]

And there is no doubt that horse riders are by far the most considerate and friendly users of our local rights of way.

But for some reasons they don't pick up the mess their pets make, unlike most dog owners.

[jimblob]

With Marple's history for speed humps, we'll be getting them on Middlewood way next to slow down the cyclist! 

[Dave]

neither Middlewood nor the canal towpaths are legally bridleways, so there are no “legal obligations” there whatsoever - it just boils down to common courtesy and friendliness to hopefully be exercised by each user. 

Point taken, but I hope rsh would agree that the spirit of the law here is just as important as the letter.   And the guidance issued to cyclists by the Canals and Rivers Trust makes it very clear that they (actually we, as I'm also an occasional cyclist) are expected to give way to pedestrians on canal towpaths.   And they have become sufficiently concerned about fast cyclists that they now run a campaign called 'Drop the Pace'.  See https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/cycling/cycling-faqs

But rsh's point about 'common courtesy and friendliness' is well made. And there is no doubt that horse riders are by far the most considerate and friendly users of our local rights of way.   They smile, they wave, they say thank you, they are really nice to meet. It's noticeable that the equestrian community have been engaged in a systematic 'charm offensive' for some years now. It has paid off, I think, in that nowadays motorists generally slow down and give riders plenty of space when they are riding on the road.

The rest of us would do well to emulate that.

[andrewbowden]

I'd assumed the Middlewood Way was a legal bridleway, but even the OS map lists it as a permissive bridleway.  Learning something new every day. 

[rsh]

rsh needs to read more carefully before going on the attack. This is what I actually wrote:
NB the words 'some cyclists'. If I had meant to refer to cyclists as a 'whole homogeneous group' I would not have used the word 'some'.

Well indeed Dave, you didn’t: Launching in with “And it's the cyclists who have the most to learn” certainly sounded like you’re talking about everyone who rides a bike, doesn’t it? 

But as andrewbowdon says, it's a matter of law anyway.  If cyclists will simply comply with their legal obligations there will be no problem.

Though funnily enough, neither Middlewood nor the canal towpaths are legally bridleways, so there are no “legal obligations” there whatsoever - it just boils down to common courtesy and friendliness to hopefully be exercised by each user. 

[Dave]

But of course none of these are YOU are they Dave, just like your impression of “cyclists” as a whole homogeneous group is actually just a very small minority of annoying idiots

rsh needs to read more carefully before going on the attack. This is what I actually wrote:

some cyclists hurtle towards you at a breakneck speed and expect you to flatten yourself (and your dog!) against the hedge, to allow them to shoot past.

NB the words 'some cyclists'. If I had meant to refer to cyclists as a 'whole homogeneous group' I would not have used the word 'some'.

But I'm more interested in this bit of rsh's post:

In my long experience of cycling around Marple, Mellor and Strines, always using a bell,

and this from EmmyJane:

I've had abuse on the canals, bridleways and MW from walkers when I ring my bell.

I can't imagine why anyone would 'abuse' EmmyJane for using her bell - it is extremely helpful when cyclists do that, especially when approaching from behind.  I wish there were more who were as considerate as her and rsh.

But as andrewbowdon says, it's a matter of law anyway.  If cyclists will simply comply with their legal obligations there will be no problem.

[EmmyJane Designs]

All the cyclists I know are walkers/ramblers and car drivers too.
 As mentioned above the times I've had abuse on the canals, bridleways and MW from walkers when I ring my bell.
I get told off if I don't ring it (when I have and they haven't heard) or when they have heard and jump out of their skins. Green spaces are precious and we all need to get on.

I have to complain about the surface at 'Windy Bottom farm', which I understand is partially made from recycled plastic. When this breaks down and erodes in future years it will inevitably end up in the river and other water courses. This surface is not suitable for horse riders and mountain bikers. I cannot image how much it's cost. But too late now it's down.

[andrewbowden]

Please note that I am not anti-cyclist.  I like cycling.  But also when we talk of walkers moving for cyclists etc, it's worth remembering
Section 30 of the Countryside Act 1968.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/41/section/30

Specifically "Any member of the public shall have, as a right of way, the right to ride a bicycle, [not being a mechanically propelled vehicle], on any bridleway, but in exercising that right cyclists shall give way to pedestrians and persons on horseback."

We should all be aware of everyone else and treat everyone with respect, but the law is very clear of who has to give way.

[rsh]

Absolutely right.  And it's the cyclists who have the most to learn, in my long experience walking my dog on the tracks around Marple, Mellor and Strines.

Oh good, let’s have another topic bashing cyclists.

In my long experience of cycling around Marple, Mellor and Strines, always using a bell, slowing right down for horses and giving people plenty of room when passing, there are more than a few walkers (and particularly dog walkers) who have a thing to learn about using courtesy and common sense.

Things like walking a dog (or sometimes 5+ dogs) off a lead on a linear path like Middlewood, looking shocked when a cyclist appears (on a cycle path!) and either struggling to suddenly pull them in or just standing there and leaving the cyclist to weave dangerously between them. You know who they’d blame if one of the dogs made a false move. And why do these people think dogs need to be off their lead on a linear path anyway? It’s not a big field to run around, they may as well stay on their lead for everyone’s sake. As the owner of a slightly nervous dog it also totally puts me off walking these paths and towpaths because I can’t trust we’d actually be able to get past other peoples’ marauding dogs without being surrounded.

Then there are the walkers who are too engrossed in themselves, listening to headphones or dare I say it too hard of hearing to hear a bell rung at least 5 times from various distances but continue to walk right in the middle of the path, never checking behind if someone wants to come past. The minute they do finally realise you’ve been there hanging back for the past mile, trying to say “excuse me”, they jump out of their skin and suggest you “get a bell!!”

But of course none of these are YOU are they Dave, just like your impression of “cyclists” as a whole homogeneous group is actually just a very small minority of annoying idiots, which actually exist amongst every user group. 

A smile and a thank you goes a long way from both sides. My favourite was a frightfully posh lady down the canal who as I approached ringing the bell exclaimed “my, that’s a good DING you’ve got!” 

[CTCREP]

Regrettably we all have long experience, and we can all quote instances when our particular interest is affected by others, but while some will want to squabble over who has the best case this Council will most likely go ahead yet again with an ill considered construction of a Multi User Trail which in its present form is far from Multi Useable.  I hope our Councillors are across this and will ensure The Middlewood Way will become an asset to the area and not, as I have been told, probably the worst example of a multi-user trail in this country.