Official - Towpath permits not needed

[roger]

Dear all,

 

BW (London) has begun its 'Two Tings' campaign, to improve safety on the canals in London. (see leflet here http://www.waterscape.com/images/two_tings...flet_FINAL.pdf)

 

Apart from the many implications of this campaign, there is one very interesting outcome. BW says a towpath cycle permit is not needed to ride the canals in London.

 

Of course this is the end of the towpath cycle permit isnt it?

 

Roger

[gaggle]

does anyone really bother to get a permit , not round here.

i would not know if they are even needed.

apply for one just so you can keep it for posterity.

[moonshadow]

Two Tings'

 

is that chav for two items?

[CanalWalker]

You dont need to apply for a permit you can just print one off the website and sign it. You should display it at all times when riding on the towpath, I have never seen anyone with one. having one means you have read the regulations etc so cant say you havent when you run someone down at a bridge etc and blame BW

 

and dont forget not all the towpaths are open to cyclists, there are some bits that are well used that are closed and some bits that are open that I wouldnt ride on.

Edited May 5, 2007 by redstarafloat

[GUCCC150]

I have had a cycle permit for ages I got it from Fadley 8 Years ago but Ive never been asked for it but it is still on my bike in the buttie just in case I do get asked

Viv

[Chris J W]

As long as this could mean that either non-permit holders or non-two-tingers are legally allowed to be pushed into the cut or made to walk, that's fine.

 

After a nice meet with Baldock today my walk to London Zoo and back was, again, ruined by bloody cyclists who wizz past without any due care or attention to pedestrains. It's bad enough on the normal pavement, but tow-paths just seem worse. (And don't get me started on families that allow the sprogs to dash ahead whilst Mommy and Pa-Pa are about 100yd behind ...)

 

If you ever want to see me in real rant mood - get me onto bloody cycle-couriers in London!

 

 

(and relax ...)

 

 

 

 

[edit for Guinness effect]

Edited May 7, 2007 by Chris J W

[Keeping Up]

As long as this could mean that either non-permit holders or non-two-tingers are legally allowed to be pushed into the cut or made to walk, that's fine.

 

... families that allow the sprogs to dash ahead whilst Mommy and Pa-Pa are about 100yd behind

 

Relax Chris and start thinking creatively. With a little care you can direct the sprogs into being your agents; if the cyclist hits the sprog, you get an argument between cyclist and parents (as well as destroying the sprog and the bike if you're lucky) and if he misses the sprog there's a 50/50 chance of cyclist and bike ending up in the cut. It's just a matter of learning to send the sprog in the right direction at athe right time, without being seen to do so (or even better, appearing to be unsuccessfully attempting to snatch it to safety out of the way of the oncoming bike)

[fender]

If you think about it, NO-ONE has been consulted on this decision to remove the towpath cycle permit on London's waterways.

 

I found though Granny Buttons a link to a cycle website which says that this is a 'trial' with a view to the cessation of the towpath cycle permit across the BW system.

[mayalld]

Dear all,

 

BW (London) has begun its 'Two Tings' campaign, to improve safety on the canals in London. (see leflet here http://www.waterscape.com/images/two_tings...flet_FINAL.pdf)

 

Apart from the many implications of this campaign, there is one very interesting outcome. BW says a towpath cycle permit is not needed to ride the canals in London.

 

Of course this is the end of the towpath cycle permit isnt it?

 

Roger

 

Yup, it is a pilot for abolishing them nationwide.

 

Which they are doing because 99% of cyclists ignore the rules, and don't have a permit.

 

Far better to enforce the permits, and re-introduce a charge.

 

IIRC, when the charge was abolished in 1994, it stood at £4.50

 

Given the above inflation rise in boat licences, I'd suggest that a figure of £10 per annum would be reasonable.

 

Coupled with enforcement, both for lack of permit, and cycling where it is prohibited, it would be a fairer system.

[buccaneer]

Yup, it is a pilot for abolishing them nationwide.

 

Which they are doing because 99% of cyclists ignore the rules, and don't have a permit.

 

Far better to enforce the permits, and re-introduce a charge.

 

IIRC, when the charge was abolished in 1994, it stood at £4.50

 

Given the above inflation rise in boat licences, I'd suggest that a figure of £10 per annum would be reasonable.

 

Coupled with enforcement, both for lack of permit, and cycling where it is prohibited, it would be a fairer system.

 

 

But for boaters who pay mooring fee's and lience if its needed, I have mine that BWW provided in a nice plastic cover it should be FREE. Anglers should pay £100

[mayalld]

But for boaters who pay mooring fee's and lience if its needed, I have mine that BWW provided in a nice plastic cover it should be FREE. Anglers should pay £100

 

Yup, a cycle permit for use of a cycle ancillary to cruising should be free.

 

That means getting to and from the boat with provisions and lockwheeling etc.

[SoggyMoggies]

After a nice meet with Baldock today my walk to London Zoo and back was, again, ruined by bloody cyclists who wizz past without any due care or attention to pedestrains. It's bad enough on the normal pavement, but tow-paths just seem worse.

 

I was down that way about the same time, and I'd just read the "two tings" web page, so I was expecting to find the towpaths were now pleasantly free of ignorant cyclists. I heard about three "tings" all day, plus one person who slowed down at a bridge and waited for a convenient gap before passing. All the rest just hurtled past as normal, not a ting to be heard (except by the idiot with what looked like a pair of subwoofers strapped to his head - must have been about 140 tings per minute!). Most of the bikes I saw weren't fitted with bells at all.

 

Towards Camden, I saw an old poster giving advice to cyclists. It said (roughly - I didn't have a pen)

 

Cycle slowly

Give way to pedestrians

Be prepared to dismount if necessary

Ring your bell

 

Of course this is no longer correct. The new-fangled advice is:

 

Ride at a sensible speed

Pass people slowly

Be prepared to slow down, or dismount if necessary

Ring your bell twice

 

It's good to see that, despite the severity of the cuts being imposed on BW, they can still find the resources to tackle the really important things

[Sir Nibble]

Doesn't matter, irrelevant. Most people will behave sensibly and with patience and civility. Some will be reckless and inconsiderate and no amount of wishful thinking will change that. In the absence of enforcement there are no rules. If some people think they can do as they please, they are quite correct.

"Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law".

[MaryP]

As someone who cycles along the Regents Canal most week days (but not at busy times) I thought that cycling behaviour had improved since the big yellow signs went up. They are really hard to miss, unlike the A3 sized ones that are now being removed.

Of course the drunk people tell you off for ringing your bell!

[OT-OLER]

What's the world coming to first they abolish the "walking permit" and now it looks like we shall loose the "cycling permit"

 

When I was on the Ashby canal association committee, we ran a lengthsmans scheme (sorry if its not PC, but I cant change the past) and we had to provide the "lengthsmen and women" with the permits to ensure they were on the towpath legally, so that they could be covered by our workparty insurance.

 

don't suppose the intend to abolish the craft licence do they?