Interview with Richard Parry (submit your questions) - Cruising the Cut

[Thomas C King]

Cruising the Cut is going interview Richard Parry, thought some might be interested in submitting a question or two -

 

[LadyG]

Only one Q, there is not enough money to maintain the waterways, what is he going to do about it? 

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Only one Q, there is not enough money to maintain the waterways, what is he going to do about it? 

What do you think he can do about it, given that all the CART purse-strings are held by the government, and they're clearly not inclined to loosen them?

 

There's nothing he can do to raise another £100M a year, or whatever the required sum is to get the canals back to a decent state -- moving a million quid or so from pointless blue signs or executive salaries isn't going to even skim the surface of the problem... 😞

Edited January 21, 2022 by IanD

[robtheplod]

i put a few on the list - clear up the compost future (or not as the case may be), and with lots of people now living on the water, but not in marinas and it getting v busy around towns/cities, if this is something that will be capped or not?

 

will be an interesting vlog when David does it.... he is a pretty good journalist!

[Heartland]

It seems that only a few general question are intended.

 

These could include

(1) How much of the infrastructucture failiures has been absorbed by the budget and the effect it has on spending elsewhere

(2) Is the future intention of the Trust to continue with their program of reducing staff in favour of outside contract and volunteers.

(3) What are the plans to curb the activities of the electric scooter on the towpath and should all cyclists be licensed so that thr trust can keep track of misconduct

 

In fact it could be a long list, but then these three can be a start. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Heartland

[IanD]

12 minutes ago, Heartland said:

It seems that only a few general question are intended.

 

These could include

(1) How much of the infrastructucture failiures has been absorbed by the budget and the effect it has on spending elsewhere

(2) Is the future intention of the Trust to continue with their program of reducing staff in favour of outside contract and volunteers.

(3) What are the plans to curb the activities of the electric scooter on the towpath and should all cyclists be licensed so that thr trust can keep track of misconduct

 

In fact it could be a long list, but then these three can be a start. 

 

It would be nice to think that electric scooters might be banned or restricted on the towpath going by the speed I've seen some zooming along at, but you could say the same about cyclists...

 

The bigger problem is what to do about them everywhere -- especially on pavements -- not just the towpath, and the government and police are effectively doing very little -- ban them in theory, maybe catch and fine/crush a few, but in reality there are thousands of them out there and the numbers are rising every day, because effective enforcement is pretty much impossible and the law is widely ignored.

 

Cyclists were licensed when I started cycling the towpath in the early 1980s and it made no difference, I bet I was one of the very few people to actually have one, and I don't think I was *ever* asked for it. What good would a license do, and how would it be enforced?

Edited January 21, 2022 by IanD

[Thomas C King]

Well, I've sent your questions to David via instagram, since the video is now private. Looks like he got enough already

5 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

It would be nice to think that electric scooters might be banned or restricted on the towpath going by the speed I've seen some zooming along at, but you could say the same about cyclists...

 

The bigger problem is what to do about them everywhere -- especially on pavements -- not just the towpath, and the government and police are effectively doing very little -- ban them in theory, maybe catch and fine/crush a few, but in reality there are thousands of them out there and the numbers are rising every day, because effective enforcement is pretty much impossible and the law is widely ignored.

 

Cyclists were licensed when I started cycling the towpath in the early 1980s and it made no difference, I bet I was one of the very few people to actually have one, and I don't think I was *ever* asked for it. What good would a license do, and how would it be enforced?

 

Cheaper than enforcement is regimenting safe cycling with infrastructure (to the extent that it's possible). Get-off gates at bridges and other blind corners. Cheaper, but still expensive.

 

Still, the only accidents I've almost been involved in, have all been because of blind areas + morons. These days I shout "ding a ling" as I walk under a bridge, because cyclists won't do it.

[magnetman]

14 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

It would be nice to think that electric scooters might be banned or restricted on the towpath going by the speed I've seen some zooming along at, but you could say the same about cyclists...

 

The bigger problem is what to do about them everywhere -- especially on pavements -- not just the towpath, and the government and police are effectively doing very little -- ban them in theory, maybe catch and fine/crush a few, but in reality there are thousands of them out there and the numbers are rising every day, because effective enforcement is pretty much impossible and the law is widely ignored.

 

Cyclists were licensed when I started cycling the towpath in the early 1980s and it made no difference, I bet I was one of the very few people to actually have one, and I don't think I was *ever* asked for it. What good would a license do, and how would it be enforced?

Require hi Viz waistcoat with registration/insurance reference number for 2 wheel vehicle operators other than motorcyclists.  

 

Police patrols to nick anyone not using these and apply 3 points to driving license and confiscate bike/scooter. Media outlets to be given details to get it into people's heads. 

 

It's about time 2 wheel vehicles were brought under the requirement to have insurance.. the rider is the insured item not the vehicle. 

 

I have to have 3rd party insurance for my boats which lets face it will never injure anyone and even if they did it would be very difficult for me to disappear fast. 

 

Without insurance and active enforcement these contraptions are going to breed a whole new group of idiots who are going to cause harm to others. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by magnetman

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, Thomas C King said:

Well, I've sent your questions to David via instagram, since the video is now private. Looks like he got enough already

 

Cheaper than enforcement is regimenting safe cycling with infrastructure (to the extent that it's possible). Get-off gates at bridges and other blind corners. Cheaper, but still expensive.

 

Still, the only accidents I've almost been involved in, have all been because of blind areas + morons. These days I shout "ding a ling" as I walk under a bridge, because cyclists won't do it.

When cycling I go "ding ding" at things like bridges, other cyclists don't (or listen) and I've had several near-misses -- people cycling (or walking) while wearing headphones is a particular annoyance, they're effectively deaf.

 

The problem with gates and so on is that they help for the 1% of the canal where they're fitted, but not the other 99% where cyclists (and scooter riders) still zoom along without taking any real care -- and they tend to get vandalised by people who don't like them. It's also difficult to devise a gate that stops cyclists (or makes them dismount and walk) which you can also get a bike with a cargo trailer through, which is what quite a few boaters nowadays legitimately use for shifting shopping/fuel/water/cassettes/wood.

[magnetman]

As for barriers it's easy. 

 

3 sections of kee klamp type 48mm handrail with ground anchors. Place them about 6ft apart staggered across the path. Impossible to cycle straight through but easy for everyone to slowly filter through. Yes they will probably get broken. Fill the Allen key grub screws with body filler after assembly or drill out the hexagon. 

 

 

[IanD]

14 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Require hi Viz waistcoat with registration/insurance reference number for 2 wheel vehicle operators other than motorcyclists.  

 

Police patrols to nick anyone not using these and apply 3 points to driving license and confiscate bike/scooter. Media outlets to be given details to get it into people's heads. 

 

It's about time 2 wheel vehicles were brought under the requirement to have insurance.. the rider is the insured item not the vehicle. 

 

I have to have 3rd party insurance for my boats which lets face it will never injure anyone and even if they did it would be very difficult for me to disappear fast.

 

Oh come on, be realistic -- there will never be the police manpower to enforce rules on cyclists by seeing/stopping them, any more than there is for cars -- the only way car drivers get nicked is by ANPR by either officers in cars on patrol or roadside cameras, because they have big easily visible numberplates which are tied into the insurance and car tax/VIN databases. Unless you propose to make cycles the same -- V5 transfer whenever you buy a bike, compulsory insurance, number plates, databases, ANPR cameras on the towpath -- it's impossible to enforce.

 

9 minutes ago, magnetman said:

As for barriers it's easy. 

 

3 sections of kee klamp type 48mm handrail with ground anchors. Place them about 6ft apart staggered across the path. Impossible to cycle straight through but easy for everyone to slowly filter through. Yes they will probably get broken. Fill the Allen key grub screws with body filler after assembly or drill out the hexagon. 

 

 

There was one like that on the GU near me. From memory it lasted almost a week before somebody -- possibly a miffed cyclist -- took an angle grinder to it...

 

I'm not making excuses for cyclists (and e-scooter riders), some of them are tw*ts, but any attempt to stop them being tw*ts needs to be practical and enforceable and not inconvenience other people by more than the tw*ttishness it saves -- and not cost CART a load of money that they don't have.

 

If anyone can come up with something that does this that would be great, but if enforcement doesn't work education is all that's left -- and I somehow doubt that the tw*t cyclists would take any notice of being asked to ride nicely (with no sanction if they don't), just like they don't today... 😞

Edited January 21, 2022 by IanD

[magnetman]

Top view. These to be U shaped barriers about 3ft high. 

 

2 minutes ago, IanD said:

Oh come on, be realistic -- there will never be the police manpower to enforce rules on cyclists by seeing/stopping them, any more than there is for cars -- the only way car drivers get nicked is by ANPR by either officers in cars on patrol or roadside cameras, because they have big easily visible numberplates which are tied into the insurance and car tax/VIN databases. Unless you propose to make cycles the same -- V5 transfer whenever you buy a bike, compulsory insurance, number plates -- it's impossible to police.

There was one like that on the GU near me. From memory it lasted almost a week before somebody -- possibly a miffed cyclist -- took an angle grinder to it...

I know there won't be a lot of people stopped but if those that did were subject to a lot of publicity it might get into people's heads. 

 

Maybe it is just unenforceable and should just be allowed. I somehow think not though. 

 

There were a few cases where drunk people on e scooters lost their driving licenses but I don't know how widespread the publicity about that was and whether "everyone and their dog" knew about it. 

[magnetman]

8 minutes ago, IanD said:

Oh come on, be realistic -- there will never be the police manpower to enforce rules on cyclists by seeing/stopping them, any more than there is for cars -- the only way car drivers get nicked is by ANPR by either officers in cars on patrol or roadside cameras, because they have big easily visible numberplates which are tied into the insurance and car tax/VIN databases. Unless you propose to make cycles the same -- V5 transfer whenever you buy a bike, compulsory insurance, number plates, databases, ANPR cameras on the towpath -- it's impossible to enforce.

 

 

You can't really compare this to vehicles getting speeding tickets. We are talking about risk of serious injury to others not routine breaking of speed limits. If people riding these things were obliged to display a number on a hi viz jacket they may behave less recklessly. 

 

I'm sure a few dozen people without the requirement picked up by the rozzers here and there being subjected to correct procedure and lots of publicity would help. 

 

As I said it is the person not the vehicle which needs to be insured. 

 

Mentioning v5 and ownership transfer and anpr is a red herring. 

 

Insure and identify the rider. That's all that is needed. 

 

And yes this should apply to everyone. There is no way of knowing if someone is a sensible respectful person or an idiot. In most walks of life (pun intended) idiots rule the place and cause behaviour changes by non idiots that's just the way it is. 

 

Fast time trial joggers should be shot at dawn. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thomas C King]

I've got it, a little jump ramp under a bridge or on a blind bend. Going slowly? No problem, you'll see it in time. Going fast? You'll be launched into the canal. In-between speeds? Still a significant chance of injury. Boaters with trolleys are not affected. It's like a speed bump, but more dangerous.

[IanD]

9 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Top view. These to be U shaped barriers about 3ft high. 

 

I know there won't be a lot of people stopped but if those that did were subject to a lot of publicity it might get into people's heads. 

 

Maybe it is just unenforceable and should just be allowed. I somehow think not though. 

 

There were a few cases where drunk people on e scooters lost their driving licenses but I don't know how widespread the publicity about that was and whether "everyone and their dog" knew about it. 

 

It's very hard controlling behaviour/usage of something that it's legal to buy and use in some circumstances but not others, like e-scooters. There are really only two ways to go, ban them completely -- and I think that ship has already sailed -- or allow them to be used anywhere a bike or e-bike is, meaning not on the pavements. The current situation is farcical. Threatening to remove driving licenses will only work if riders have a license (I'm sure many haven't going by their age) and if they think there's more than 0.001% chance of being caught.

[IanD]

6 minutes ago, magnetman said:

You can't really compare this to vehicles getting speeding tickets. We are talking about risk of serious injury to others not routine breaking of speed limits. If people riding these things were obliged to display a number on a hi viz jacket they may behave less recklessly. 

 

I'm sure a few dozen people without the requirement picked up by the rozzers here and there being subjected to correct procedure and lots of publicity would help. 

 

As I said it is the person not the vehicle which needs to be insured. 

 

Mentioning v5 and ownership transfer and anpr is a red herring. 

 

Insure and identify the rider. That's all that is needed. 

 

And yes this should apply to everyone. There is no way of knowing if someone is a sensible respectful person or an idiot. In most walks of life (pun intended) idiots rule the place and cause behaviour changes by non idiots that's just the way it is. 

 

Fast time trial joggers should be shot at dawn. 

 

Display a number on a high-viz jacket -- really? You do realise that without all the databases and licensing/paperwork to make checking the numbers useful this is pointless?

 

If you think a few arrests will put people off, why are there still moped riders on the towpaths?

 

By "these things" do you mean just e-scooters, or also bikes? How about e-bikes?

 

If you say "only powered ones", how do you deal with the fact that many e-bikes are hard to distinguish from normal bikes?

 

What about the fact that leg-powered bikes can also easily zoom along at 15mph or more, which makes them just as dangerous?

 

Do you think it's sensible or proportionate to put all your proposed requirements onto the millions of bike riders who don't ride like tw*ts, and have never ridden on a towpath?

 

 

I get it that you don't like people who ride things like tw*ts, neither do I -- but millions of people use them sensibly as well, do you penalise all of them to (fail to) catch a few tw*ts?

[ditchcrawler]

43 minutes ago, IanD said:

The bigger problem is what to do about them everywhere -- especially on pavements -- not just the towpath, and the government and police are effectively doing very little  

The Met took 3600 last year E-scooters seized as Police launch Christmas crack down | Move Electric

[magnetman]

I don't think requiring cyclists to be insured is "punishment". It seems rather sensible and could save them a headache if they are found responsible for an accident. Having a unique identifier on your back in big letters makes running away less attractive as an option after an accident. 

 

I have to have 3P insurance to keep my boat legal on inland waterways. Insurance is a pain in the arse but it is also required for a lot of activities even very low risk activities. 

 

Regardless of power source electric or manual yes 2 wheel vehicles not already under regulation should be regulated. 

 

With all of the greenwashing nonsense going on cycling will inevitably become more popular and a lot (not all) of people use them to get from A to B as fast as possible. 

 

It needs sorting out. 

 

Or maybe it doesn't. China seems to manage so perhaps that's a good role model. 

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by magnetman

[IanD]

Just now, magnetman said:

I don't think requiring cyclists to be insured is "punishment". It seems rather sensible and could save them a headache if they are found responsible for an accident. 

 

Regardless of power source electric or manual yes 2 wheel vehicles not already under regulation should be regulated. 

 

With all of the greenwashing nonsense going on cycling will inevitably become more popular and a lot (not all) of people use them to get from A to B as fast as possible. 

 

It needs sorting out. 

 

Or maybe it doesn't. China seems to manage so perhaps that's a good role model. 

 

 

 

I think the Netherlands is a much better role model, but I don't know what they do there -- except that lots more people cycle and fewer of them seem to ride like idiots, maybe because society frowns on it as a serious problem...

[magnetman]

I suppose once the numbers get up a bit you will achieve group behaviour and people that are doing things which are considered bad by the group will tend to be shunned or prevented from doing so. 

It's probably quite difficult to cycle like an arsehole when there are a lot of other people cycling normally in the space you are using. 

 

This is why whenever I talk to anyone about cyclists on towpaths I always advocate NOT giving way by default. 

 

The last thing you want to do is jump out of the way in a 'yes sir' type of move as this installs entitlement in the brain of the cyclists. 

 

A considerate cyclist will understand that people who are walking also have a route plan and a destination in mind and have the right not to be disturbed. 

 

There will always be a moment when you can slip past. If not then perhaps consider not using a bike. 

 

Pedestrian behaviour is almost as much of a problem as the cyclists themselves. 

 

I know "might is right" but they won't just mow you down. Ignore. 

 

 

 

[IanD]

14 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

The Met took 3600 last year E-scooters seized as Police launch Christmas crack down | Move Electric

I've been trying to find out how many privately owned e-scooters there are in the UK but with no success (there are about 20000 legal shared ones).

 

Could be way off, but I suspect the chance of having your scooter confiscated and crushed is small, let's say 1%. So if you spend £500-£1000 on one your likely loss is the cost of a pint or two, so ignore it.

 

Having your license (assuming you have one) endorsed with penalty points is no worse than being caught speeding, that's not going to put people off either.

[magnetman]

To clarify my position on this I believe bicycles and other 2WV such as scooters should be banned from towpaths. 

 

Yes I know this can't be done. 

 

This may seem a bit OTT but it's what I think and I won't change that view. Towpaths should be for people walking. A linear park. There is not generally much space on towpaths. Use by cycles will put some people off as it's all a bit unrelaxing and the effect of this is to remove the amenity value of towpaths for local communities. 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by magnetman

[IanD]

16 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I suppose once the numbers get up a bit you will achieve group behaviour and people that are doing things which are considered bad by the group will tend to be shunned or prevented from doing so. 

It's probably quite difficult to cycle like an arsehole when there are a lot of other people cycling normally in the space you are using. 

 

This is why whenever I talk to anyone about cyclists on towpaths I always advocate NOT giving way by default. 

 

The last thing you want to do is jump out of the way in a 'yes sir' type of move as this installs entitlement in the brain of the cyclists. 

 

A considerate cyclist will understand that people who are walking also have a route plan and a destination in mind and have the right not to be disturbed. 

 

There will always be a moment when you can slip past. If not then perhaps consider not using a bike. 

 

Pedestrian behaviour is almost as much of a problem as the cyclists themselves. 

 

I know "might is right" but they won't just mow you down. Ignore. 

 

 

I can see you're not exactly an advocate for cyclists on towpaths then... 😉

 

If I'm approaching a pedestrian I usually give a polite "ding ding" and slow down, always if approaching from behind. If they're walking in the middle of the towpath they normally just step to one side and carry on walking, no hassle for them. I slow down a bit more when passing them and usually say "ta" or "thanks", and quite often get a "you're welcome" or "thank you" in return. No aggro, no big deal on either side, just an everyday interaction between two people.

 

The only time I've had any problem is with pedestrians with headphones on playing loud music who are effectively deaf, but I've never hit one -- though I've had to shout loudly at them to get their attention sometimes, and they're usually apologetic that they didn't hear me, and I say "No problem".

 

What you seem to be saying is that pedestrians have right of way and should in no way give way to cyclists, which not only makes no sense but is just encouraging the "us" and "them" division which is plaguing the UK today -- if you're not "one of us" you must be "one of them". AFAIK both have the right to use the towpath, neither has priority, and anyway there's no need for any aggro if both are sensible and polite 🙂

13 minutes ago, magnetman said:

To clarify my position on this I believe bicycles and other 2WV such as scooters should be banned from towpaths. 

 

Yes I know this can't be done. 

 

This may seem a bit OTT but it's what I think and I won't change that view. Towpaths should be for people walking. A linear park. There is not generally much space on towpaths. Use by cycles will put some people off as it's all a bit unrelaxing and the effect of this is to remove the amenity value of towpaths for local communities. 

 

I think pedestrians should be banned from towpaths and they should be reserved for horses and bikes and e-scooter riders 😉

 

Why do you have such a problem with other people who want to get from A to B in an eco-friendly manner, but on wheels rather than on foot? Assuming they're not tw*ts, obviously...

 

Are cyclists not also part of the "local community" with a right to use the amenities too? Does it occur to you that they might find cycling along the towpath just as relaxing as you find walking along it?

Edited January 21, 2022 by IanD

[ditchcrawler]

6 minutes ago, IanD said:

If I'm approaching a pedestrian I usually give a polite "ding ding" and slow down, always if approaching from behind. If they're walking in the middle of the towpath they normally just step to one side and carry on walking, no hassle for them. I slow down a bit more when passing them and usually say "ta" or "thanks", and quite often get a "you're welcome" or "thank you" in return. No aggro, no big deal on either side, just an everyday interaction between two people.

 

But for every one like you there are nine who just barge along, I would bet half don't even have a bell let alone ting them.

[IanD]

7 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

But for every one like you there are nine who just barge along, I would bet half don't even have a bell let alone ting them.

Going by the other cyclists I pass every day on the towpath, I think your first number is way too pessimistic -- definitely a lack of bells (and use of them) though, especially at bridges, and Murphy's law says that's where you meet up... 😞

 

Out of curiosity, how many bikes on towpaths do you encounter? I reckon I pass at least 20 a week, and the vast majority aren't riding like idiots...