On 12 Jul 2020 at 6:44pm Nevillman wrote:
Respect to the people protesting in town about facilities for cyclists. People on bikes are very vulnerable and sharing the road with cars is dangerous so things do need to be done. My first practical suggestion would be to save the money being spent on the egrets way and spend it on a proper cycle path nearer the road. Noone who has to cycle to newhaven like people cycling from London to Paris will make the detour to go on a track. We don't actually need another leisure path and loads of people have been cycling by the river for years anyway. We need a proper cycle path to newhaven.
Could I ask the usual posters who want to tell us that they saw someone jump a red light on a bike do it on a different thread please. This is about facilities for bikes.
On 12 Jul 2020 at 7:19pm Ferret wrote:
I love that. "We don't actually need another leisure path". We are not exactly overwhelmed with leisure paths suitable for cycling. Your point seems to be that Egrets Way is not in the right place. I think I agree with you to some extent, but it's better to have it alongside the river than not at all. The real issue is the standard of the surface not being suitable for road bikes. The thing about road bike cyclists is that they want to get from A to B as quickly as possible, so would almost certainly use the road anyway, as they don't have to stop to open gates, or slow down for dog walkers or children on bikes. Many don't use the Lewes to Ringmer path, preferring the road, which is their right. Egrets Way is about leisure cycling, safe for the family, and older people. Let's be grateful for the inadequate path so far being provided. We can but dream, but one day....
On 12 Jul 2020 at 8:43pm pickle wrote:
Another day another protest
On 12 Jul 2020 at 9:37pm I say Ding Dong wrote:
As a cyclist of more than 45 years within the Lewes area the one thing that I can say without fear of contradiction is that we have plenty of hills. I also agree we need more dedicated cycle routes that are both effective as a means of commuting or getting from a to b relatively easily as they are of providing either leisure routes in their own rights or that open up access to other leisure resources. If it is possible to include within the selected routes a degree of leisure cycling and use then it would be a win win solution. Having cycled to Newhaven more times than I care to recall I can vouch for one thing, the C7 is more suited to being the C7 than it was to being the A275 (Newhaven to Wych Cross). The route when travelled by car appears to be relatively flat, when cycled you'll find it is nothing of the sort. Any cycleway built alongside will therefore follow the same undulating route. The benefit of the Egrets Way is that by the very fact that it effectively follows the river it is to all intents and purposes flat (both ends are within 1 m of being the same height) making it more attractive to cyclists particularly families with children. I would therefore suggest that as it links the town centre to Newhaven it is actually a very good route and combines many of the best features and meets the needs whilst avoiding many potential pitfalls.
On 13 Jul 2020 at 10:23am Ferret wrote:
There's a need to connect Lewes to the countryside north of the town too. There's a rough traffic free route from Landport to Offham which is in desperate need of improvement to make it suitable for family cycling. It could be connected to the Neville area by relatively cheap improvements on Neville Road, and via Landport Farm Road (currently no legal right for cyclists or pedestrians). A cyclepath from Malling alongside the A26 to Wellingham Lane would be a great asset too. We can but dream, as I said.
On 13 Jul 2020 at 12:44pm David Stanley wrote:
It's a shame the old Uckfield line was allowed to be incorporated into people gardens and farms after closure as it would have made a great sustrans route out of Lewes. I can't imagine there is any way to get it back from the farms now.
On 13 Jul 2020 at 5:56pm Ferret wrote:
There's no need to go that far, as the section from Malling playing fields to the river is still undeveloped, as is the section on the other side of the river to Ivor's Lane, by Hamsey Church. A bridge to join the two sections is all that's needed.
On 13 Jul 2020 at 7:23pm ManOfHighStreet wrote:
such a bent protest
On 14 Jul 2020 at 11:30am Nevillman wrote:
With the South downs way and miles of bridleway on our doorstep I think we are pretty well off for tracks suitable for leisure cycling, particularly as many people have been cycling by the river for years anyway. As suggested above, a cycle path alongside the C7 and A26 are a much greater priority than the egrets way. Given there is a limited budget for cycle paths, why is public money still being spent on it?
On 14 Jul 2020 at 10:29pm Ferret wrote:
Why is public money being spent on it? Maybe because there are people prepared to campaign for a safe cycling route from Lewes to Brighton which takes in the lovely countryside along the river, and because a path beside a 50 or 60mph race track is less appealing. Thank you to the Egrets Way campaigners one and all.
Check it out here »
On 15 Jul 2020 at 8:48am Nevillman wrote:
Just because there are people able to organise a campaign and deal with the politics for something doesn't make them the best recipients for public money ferret. I look at the amount of public money they are given and am quite sickened when I think how much better it could be spent on projects that will help the cyclists risking death regularly cycling to newhaven who will not benefit from the egrets way. Lots of people already cycle alongside the river without a penny of public money being spent on this vanity project. I have no objection to the supporters of the egrets way making the path by the river better but don't make out their political ability means this project is the best recipient for public money to help cyclists.
On 15 Jul 2020 at 10:34am Ferret wrote:
The sort of cyclist that wants to use the C7 instead of the Egrets Way would probably never use a cycle path anyway. I often see road bikers on the road to Ringmer in spite of their being a really good surface cycle path. Egrets Way will only have a gravel surface, and several gates so serious road cyclists are never going to use it. The C7 would benefit from a lower speed limit along its length, and plentiful signs reminding drivers that cyclists use it. But widening it to include a two way cyclepath is not an option.
A better argument would be to challenge the proposed improved cycle path alongside the A27 from Glynde to Polegate, when there are very good quiet back lanes which go that way in most sections, and a reasonably good existing path in others.
On 15 Jul 2020 at 10:37am Ferret wrote:
And the existing footpaths from Lewes to Southease alongside the river are narrow, and not safe for children, besides being officially not cyclable. The unsurfaced section south of Southease is extremely bumpy in dry weather, and a bog in wet weather.
On 15 Jul 2020 at 1:02pm Tom Pain wrote:
Such a shame the government has deliberately destroyed the economy with the lockdown of the healthy, a measure never used before anywhere. Where's the money going to come from now? In the unlikely event of cycle paths being built, is it necessary for them to be two way? The miniscule use of them doesn't seem to justify this.
On 15 Jul 2020 at 1:06pm Nevillman wrote:
Why is widening the C7 to include a cycle path not an option? I fear that one of the reasons given for this in the future will be that thousands have already been spent on the egrets way. You are obviously aware that the egrets way is not going to be an option for cyclists cycling to newhaven but most car drivers are not and it will be hard to counter their view that they have already paid for a cycle route to newhaven. I've just cycled alongside the river and disagree with your appraisal of it. I have no desire to cycle on the egrets way which gives no view of the river at all and is no better surface. I met one walker for whom I stopped although the path was more than wide enough for me to continue.
I don't know anything about the proposed A27 cycle path but disagree about the back lanes route. I cycle around there regularly but would not see them as an alternative route to polegate. Cycling the bit of the A27 after middle farm is like asking to be hit by a car and I use the back lanes to avoid it and resent that the A27 has not been widened for cyclists there. Sounds like we disagree on that. Is there anywhere I can find out more about the proposed A27 and your views on it?
I suspect ferret that as cyclists we should be on the same side but are disagreeing over detail. I am pleased to see money spent on cycling infrastructure but you have not convinced me that the egrets way is anything like the best use of this spending. It may have powerful backers who are able to influence council spending but as a cyclist I am less than convinced.
On 15 Jul 2020 at 5:02pm Ferret wrote:
The A27 improvements are vastly more expensive than the Egrets Way development. The new cyclepath will run from Beddingham to Polegate, all alongside the 60 mph traffic thundering along the widened road. Not my idea of fun. It would be better to improve the Old Coach Road to a good standard.
Check it out here »
On 15 Jul 2020 at 10:22pm Nevillman wrote:
I don't think the coach road could be improved to road bike standard. Cycling by a big road isn't that great but a lot better than being in it and it gives quick access to a whole new riding area.
Thanks for the link.
On 16 Jul 2020 at 10:46am Tom Pain wrote:
It's going to be great fun cycling in a mask isn't it. Haven't you heard, there's no going back to the old normal?
On 25 Jul 2020 at 7:42pm Dr. Livingstone wrote:
Mr. Stanley , your plan is good apart from the number of times the line crossed rivers/streams.
On 2 Sep 2022 at 3:09pm quentinking wrote:
Egrets Way needs to be finished and a cycleway needs to be built along the length of the A26 to Newhaven that would join with the route from Lewes to Polegate. As a business owner working in Newhaven I have long wished to be able to commute to work on a bike. Both routes from Lewes to Newhaven are dangerous, too narrow and the odd cyclist that does venture down them delays and irritates traffic. It only takes one impatient motorist to cost society more than the cost of building a safe cycleway.