During our Neighbourhood Development Meeting yesterday I realised that although we have a footpaths maintenance group, we don’t have an equivalent for cyclists.
The area surrounding Long Ashton features a large number of cycling routes, both for commuters and cross-country biking, and they could probably benefit from a dedicated group assisting to maintain and improve them.
For example, Ashton Hill Plantation apparently needs waymarking, but there is no budget for doing this. A volunteer group might spend a day erecting waymarkers to improve the routes, at only minimal cost.
As an aside, another idea I put forward was to see whether we could create a continuous cycle route between Ashton Hill Plantation and Ashton Court. This is the kind of project that a volunteer group could help the council to see through to completion.
Is anyone interested in getting involved in this?
9 Comments
There will be a more-or-less continuous cycle route from Ashton Hill to Ashton Court in place once the Long Ashton to Cambridge Batch section of Connect 2 is complete.
I am not sure how much scope there is in Ashton Hill for a continuous ‘loop’ type ride, I have asked friends in the know to comment.
What I do know is that if trails without all-weather surfaces become over-used – particularly in winter – they tend to turn into quagmires pretty quickly. Making a facility sustainable requires money to be spent on it, as has happened with the all-weather trails in Ashton Court and Leigh Woods.
Thanks Matt. One of the other issues we looked at was the ability to purchase suitable cheap surfacing material from the local quarry. If we had volunteers to lay it, I am reasonably confident that the money could be found to purchase it.
WRT the cycle path, it wasn’t so much about having a loop (although that would be great), it was about enabling people to cycle off road from Ashton Hill to Ashton Court.
Anthony – by ‘off road’ from Ashton Hill to Ashton Court do you mean traffic-free or mountain bike style trails?
Either way, the co-operation of the golf course and university could possibly lead to the establishment of such a route along the existing public footpath and along the top of Keed’s Wood.
I suppose it would be a case of whatever is feasible; I can’t say that much thought has gone into it yet!
We could meet for a walk / ride / chat at some point if it would be useful?
Thanks for the offer. I will try to bring this up at the next Highways meeting and see what the rest of the Parish Council thinks about it and see how it goes from there.
Hi there, if I can help maintaining cycle lanes, to fit between busy family/work life, I’m up for it!
Gwen
That’s great, thanks Gwen.
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