what the hell happened to my fave singletrack?

cchris2lou":2gqy8ff7 said:

Not that i respect this , as I ride on any tracks whatever it is .

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Ditto

I tend to ride anywhere, until someone in authority tells me not to. Generally, that person in authority tends to be a farmer However, one of my local farmers in politely telling me I was riding on his land, advised me of miles of footpaths and bridleways that has ended up in forming one of my local loops

had a quick look at the map for the park,

half of the track i use is Bridleway the other half is Footpath, so i was naughty, but not as naughty as i thought,

there is nothing on the track which states the change of status and the track naturally follows the route, so it is all a bit confusing,

the footpath bit has now been turned in to an "easy access" route, which has no definition apart from a wheel chair symbol,

anyway i have found another route through the park, so all good, maybe they should invest in some signage,

amt27":2xe4ejla said:

had a quick look at the map for the park,

half of the track i use is Bridleway the other half is Footpath, so i was naughty, but not as naughty as i thought,

there is nothing on the track which states the change of status and the track naturally follows the route, so it is all a bit confusing,

the footpath bit has now been turned in to an "easy access" route, which has no definition apart from a wheel chair symbol,

anyway i have found another route through the park, so all good, maybe they should invest in some signage,

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I agree but I was told recently that a sign costs more than a gate and they can't afford either. And a second-rate sandwich lunch for a local authority committee costs more than either and doesn't get eaten, but they can afford that.

Seriously though, local authorities have very limited funds for things like signage and it's easy to see why if they're choosing between something to improve disabled access and some signs, disabled access is the more difficult to say no to. A lot of what is done is done on a volunteer basis, so you might think that if we could get a local group going under IMBA-UK we could offer to maybe make some signs in return for something we wanted - say a gate somewhere or a change of status, whatever. What do you think?

orange71":2b5x2b4c said:

anybody know anything about this? How does it work?

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The only way to be 100% sure is go take a look at the Definitive Map for your area...this is usually 100% accurate and is more reliable than signs that fall down or never get put up in the first place. Any changes to boundaries and paths etc get entered onto this map.


Extract from 'somewhere online' explaining this:

A definitive map is a map prepared by a surveying authority which is a legal record of the public's rights of way in one of four categories (footpath, bridleway, road used as a public path or byway open to all traffic). If a way is shown on the map, then that is legal, or conclusive, evidence that the public had those rights along the way at the relevant date of the map (and has them still, unless there has been a legally authorised change). But the reverse is not true. So the showing of a way as a footpath does not prove that there are not, for example, additional unrecorded rights for horseriders to use the way. Nor is the fact that a way is not shown at all on the definitive map proof that the public has no rights over it.

The definitive map is therefore useful in providing evidence of the public's rights, but may not tell the whole story. A check should be made with the surveying authority to see if it has reason to believe that there are additional rights, as yet unrecorded, over any particular area of land. This can be especially important if the land is for sale or is the subject of a planning application for development.

Definitive maps have to be compiled for all of England (and Wales) except the 12 inner London boroughs.

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Brightons....

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.c ... t=c1000053

orange71":1m07erih said:

I only (knowingly) ride bridleways, but it bugs me when I see lovely footpaths that are rarely used by walkers that could be re-classified, but nothing seems to be happening on that front

anybody know anything about this? How does it work?

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Your local authority will have recently adopted a RoWIP - a Rights of Way Improvement Plan for the period 2007 to 2017. The improvements they are aiming for will have been based on their own ideas and suggestions from ramblers, equestrians and possibly bikers - if they happened to know somebody they could consult (but many didn't and I think IMBA-UK got off the ground a bit too late to play the role that it might have liked to play in this process). You should be able to access the RoWIP on your local authority's website. As part of the same initiative by the government, each local authority had to establish a Local Access Forum to develop the RoWIP and then to supervise its implementation. Many LAFs have no biker representation.

RpWIPS include some good stuff like the restoration of lost rights of way and the completion of 'circular routes' by incorporating stretches where there has never been a right of way, but it would be useful for there to be one to connect up RoWs that lead nowhere.

The downside to this is that it is difficult and costly to make changes in rights of way, the local authorities have no money and landowners have to be persuaded to agree to changes, they can't be forced to accept them. And the status of each trail is based on historical use rather than on the characteristics of the trail itself - so a ten foot wide path can be classified as a footpath if it has not historically been used by horses, and the landowner can insist that it remains so.

The other big downside is that no further additional rights of way can be introduced after 2017 except for uncompleted parts of thr RoWIP 2007-17, so if there is anything that should be in the RoWIP but isn't, it will be necessary to get the RoWIP altered well before 2017, like now preferably.

And the worst downside of all is that mountain bikers, unlike roadies IMPE, tend to be free spirits who can't be bothered with committees and administrative procedures, nor in getting together to form associations to further their common interests. Is anybody reading this thread a member of IMBA-UK for example?

I have dipped into IMBA-UK. But you're right - I'm not committee minded - hell I go to enough meetings thanks - I work for the NHS :roll:

What is a Definitive Map though? I take it that's not the same as Ordnance Survey?

orange71":1d9bijs8 said:

What is a Definitive Map though? I take it that's not the same as Ordnance Survey?

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You're right; it's not.

That's the one that all of our rights of way have got to be recorded on by 2017 or we're all screwed! :roll:

where I live I have no choice , if I dont use footpath I cant ride offroad .

I am always polite to walkers and stop first etc....

The Government plan to reclaim historic and unused tracks/paths and get them on the definitive map....has just been scrapped.

They spent a lot of money on research etc, and recaimed exactly 0.000 miles.