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Call for 'safety railings' along side Manchester Canals.


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The london canals were fenced from the outside world it meant the activities of the neffarious were unseen

at the bottom end breaking through and motorcycling down towpaths, graffiti , stone throwing( ifyou cant get off and chase them you cant harm them) through criminal damage assault to sex crimes ( northolt flasher) etc to rape murder. Lovely boating.

now you see people living in places where you didnt stop and happy dog walkers and locals using towpath to escape the city. Dont mention the cyclists not interested.

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If you fence the canalbank of course you make rescue far harder. Over here in oz they fenced a motorway bridge because some drug addled criminal  halfwit threw his daughter off it into the yarra after a custody row . Cost the council gzillions as the mother sued. There are at least 4 other high level bridges over the same river are they fenced? Course not 

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Fencing beside bits of canal and rail was more commonly put there for the protection of the canal/railway rather than the other way round. Having a train hit a cow that wandered onto the line would disrupt the service; having the horse or towage tractors that hauled barges on London canals getting tangled up with kids playing on the towpath ditto. Erecting fences for the protection of the dullards who can't look after themselves has only come about in recent years, along with the emergence of the blame culture.

  • Greenie 2
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When the Netherton estate was built in the 1960s, the planners suddenly realised that the Leeds and Liverpool Canal ran through the middle. Fences were erected to keep people from accessing the towpath, with the result that several children drowned whilst potential rescuers had to watch as they couldn't get over the fencing.

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Correct me if I'm wrong. In the olden days, when ships boats were made of wood and men were made of steel, didn't people get pie-eyed and fall in the water? Didn't,sadly some of these die as a result. Did they erect fences, put up signs, employ patrols? Or did they say,'silly old sod, that'll teach him' ?

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1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

Correct me if I'm wrong. In the olden days, when ships boats were made of wood and men were made of steel, didn't people get pie-eyed and fall in the water? Didn't,sadly some of these die as a result. Did they erect fences, put up signs, employ patrols? Or did they say,'silly old sod, that'll teach him' ?

In the days of Nelson, there was a strong incentive not to fall in the water, because ship would not (could not) turn back to look for you, and in any case most sailors couldn't swim.

 

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1 hour ago, Machpoint005 said:

My sympathies are with the train driver in the event of "one under". 

Quite!

I know a (former) driver who had three such occurrences in his driving career, after which he was deemed permanently unfit for further driving duties due to the stress caused.

He now works in the ticket office (on driver wages).

 

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6 hours ago, mayalld said:

Quite!

I know a (former) driver who had three such occurrences in his driving career, after which he was deemed permanently unfit for further driving duties due to the stress caused.

He now works in the ticket office (on driver wages).

 

My quip was in poor taste and If it caused anyone offense please accept my apologies. A railway man I knew in my youth took early retirement because of an 'incident' but the person involved was determined.  As kids playing on the railway was just part of learning to deal with risk I suppose and other stunts like walking along the third rail or steel bridge girders were commonplace.

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20 hours ago, Cheshire cat said:

There is already fencing along a good proportion of the Rochdale Nine. 

I'm suprised the " Manchester pusher" hasn't been brought up again.

 

It has on Facebook some even pointed to a video about it

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I have to say that this idea of fencing the towpath should be strongly resisted by all thinking boaters, once started where would it end? Would all locks need to be fenced off? On the section of canal I passed along today, had I been earlier I would have been held up by the canal and towpath closure due to another drowning https://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/details-released-deceased-found-chester-14381320   and this was out of the city. It is very sad when people die, however it happens, but unless the water is removed from all canals, whatever 'action' is taken isn't going to stop someone else in the not too distant future, drowning somewhere in the canal system.

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On 3/7/2018 at 01:25, MJG said:

If you travel to France you will see large sections of rail unfenced even near roads.

They take the attitude if you are dumb enough to wander onto a track if a train is coming then you may die...........but don't come looking to us for compo.

Some dept's answer is to erect life size wood cut out figures painted black with red paint in the area of the cause of death to bring to folks attention known in our area as "Le Morts" more so on roads but on rail crossing if unprotected

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On 07/03/2018 at 12:11, Machpoint005 said:

It's not for the sake of the "feckless minority", though, is it? It's much more about protecting the profits of the insurance companies.

I can't imagine any insurance company paying out for someone who is drunk falling into a river or canal because there are no 'idiot barriers'. People need to take responsibility for their own foolishness.

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Just now, CV32 said:

I can't imagine any insurance company paying out for someone who is drunk falling into a river or canal because there are no 'idiot barriers'. People need to take responsibility for their own foolishness.

Accidental death cover?

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On 3/6/2018 at 23:23, TheBiscuits said:

Don't be daft.  In Southern parts they don't even let level crossing lights and barriers inconvenience them!

To be fair the number of trains that Southern actually manage to run probably means that's OK.  

  • Greenie 1
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Interesting article in the Sunday Times about the "Manchester Pusher". https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2018-03-11/news/spectre-of-manchester-pusher-lingers-as-76-fall-victim-to-death-trap-canals-q5rwvtph5

"It is a tale that has become familiar to the people of Manchester. Bodies are being found in the city’s canals at a startling rate. Research by The Sunday Times has identified 76 corpses discovered in the canals and waterways of Greater Manchester since 2007. The entire West Midlands, which includes the canal-rich city of Birmingham, recorded 17 bodies in canals between 2012-16. The same period in Manchester yielded 38."

Edited by Peter Thornton
  • Greenie 1
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Interesting article in the Sunday Times about the "Manchester Pusher". https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2018-03-11/news/spectre-of-manchester-pusher-lingers-as-76-fall-victim-to-death-trap-canals-q5rwvtph5

"It is a tale that has become familiar to the people of Manchester. Bodies are being found in the city’s canals at a startling rate. Research by The Sunday Times has identified 76 corpses discovered in the canals and waterways of Greater Manchester since 2007. The entire West Midlands, which includes the canal-rich city of Birmingham, recorded 17 bodies in canals between 2012-16. The same period in Manchester yielded 38."

But he is good, not a single report of him failing and the victim escaping, that must be better than Jack the Ripper

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15 hours ago, Peter Thornton said:

Interesting article in the Sunday Times about the "Manchester Pusher". https://www.thetimes.co.uk/past-six-days/2018-03-11/news/spectre-of-manchester-pusher-lingers-as-76-fall-victim-to-death-trap-canals-q5rwvtph5

"It is a tale that has become familiar to the people of Manchester. Bodies are being found in the city’s canals at a startling rate. Research by The Sunday Times has identified 76 corpses discovered in the canals and waterways of Greater Manchester since 2007. The entire West Midlands, which includes the canal-rich city of Birmingham, recorded 17 bodies in canals between 2012-16. The same period in Manchester yielded 38."

It is highly likely that a majority of deaths are alcohol  induced and within the central area of the City of Manchester the canals are now just one linear public house. The city licensing appear not to be looking at the risk factor here.

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