Just a thought,Sue, but you seem to be rapidly becoming a green lane master, how about volunteering to be area rep ;):)

Not exactly :p:D

I am getting very good at finding routes and then following someone else round them :D:D:D
 
Disabled access has to be a good positive in most peoples eyes but it's no good just spouting it, it needs to be done. I know a few have disabled friends or family that take trips but perhaps we should liase with some organisations and do some proper focused trips.

For some reason it feels slightly distasteful but we should make a big noise about it, we need all the help we can get.....and it'd be a good thing to do anyway. Would be nice to know how to make a bigger thing of the charity laning events. How about focusing on smaller groups/deserving individuals rather than large anonymous charity organisations. It'd be nice to see some direct, tangable results of money raised anyway and I suspect it would be more 'newsworthy'

Emergency assistance for other users is the other biggy but again it's not very effective reeling it off. Examples, evidence?

Rural crime prevention/reporting? Fly tipping is on the increase and cost councils a fortune. Perhaps some work groups to help clear some places up, an opportunity to work together with others for mutual benefit, ramblers/councils.

How about voluntary work groups that could use transport for materials/equipment? These guys... Cotswolds AONB : About Us run dry-stone walling sessions for example. Probably not easy to get them to accept help but there are lots of us with all sorts of connections.

The local economy thing is maybe streching things a little but there's angles worth considering. Thinking of the Bakewell run I'd think we left a very happy publican after the weekend and maybe we should nurture relationships like that. A business that gets a boost in trade a few times a year is more likely to speak up on our behalf at a parish/council meeting than one that had a bunch in that were ok a few years ago.
 
Sorry

I think no matter how proactive, eco-friendly, knowledgeable or responsible or any other positive spin we can put on green laning, there is nothing any of us can do about wilful or accidental offroad abuse.

That's why lanes are being closed. :mad:

The only way foward as I can see is to gate the lanes and only allow certain folk to travel them. Further I think it's us that would have to gate them and police vehicle use on them.

Discuss :D
 
The biggest issue I see is that the bobbles try and make a case that we drive on their footpaths.
They seem to think that every unsurfaced road is a footpath and those dirty big vehicles are just wrecking the footpath and everyone inside the vehicle is a gosh horror hooligan.

But where a right of way is churned up like the one on the GLEAM page we just cannot justify it's use until the council have repaired it.

We all appreciate that most anti 4x4 protests are from small minded people who happen to live next door to a wet soggy by way that happens to see a few knackered disco's bomb down there courtesy of the wear your baseball cap backwards brigade.

It's still an ancient vehicular public right of way.

This is our Right to Roam battle now.
 
Cornwall has just got an area rep after some years without, I might try and email him, see if he has any comment.)

Good idea TM , I think also the GLASS lengthsman idea is one that should be pushed more , a member to check and keep an eye on just one lane in their area , checking for and addressing overgrowth , abuse , repair needs ...like Turboman says we've just got a new rep here in Cornwall , I should imagine being a rep is quite time consuming , it's up to each of us to try and take on a piece of the lane network puzzle , therefore hopefully helping to keep the bigger picture together.and helping keep the lanes used and cared for.:)
 
There needs to be a coordinated collection of a data base of evodence of all lanes driven ...not just a few photos but looking at date stamped pictures with shots of memory map coordinates and pictures at gates and signs. We need to start thinking less pretty pictures and more proof.

But we do need coordination...othrwise you'll have 500 pictures of one lane and we'll end up missing vital others.
 
I don't think anyone has done a proper analysis of those who are trying to shut the lanes down, and why.

I appreciate the bobbles are a lost cause, however they do get support from other groups who might be persuaded to change sides. Particularly as they might be next.

For example horse riders have had trouble for years with folk trying to ban horses and reclassify bridleways as footpaths. Apparently they churn up paths, frighten walkers and give loose dogs something to chase :D:D At the moment they seem to be being left alone, but for how long.

I have never heard any of the horsey lot complain about 4x4s, perhaps they do, but its not a common complaint. Our problem lies with the bikes. If you had asked me about closing lanes a couple of years ago I would have supported it, simply because of the bikes.

They just go too fast and either can't or wont stop for other users. Never mind scaring my horses to death, they have scared me in the Landy. And my horses don't mind bikes or large trucks passing them on normal road, the behaviour of bikers on lanes has to be seen (from the back of a horse) to be believed.

I have never minded a few ruts or a bit of mud, its a good test of your horses ability and obedience.

First thing I would do is put a 20 mph speed limit on the lanes. Wouldn't bother responsible users at all, would love to see one of my horses get a ticket :D:D No idea how you would police it, but you only have to see the videos of the bikes on utube to see it would spoil their fun if someone could. It was interesting that when Difflock checked a lane with his local council they said it had a 60mph speed limit.
 
It was interesting that when Difflock checked a lane with his local council they said it had a 60mph speed limit.

Yep! ...and that was the one where it dips down to a ford across a stream and up the other side. Unless you've got one of those American trophy truck/baja racers with 3-feet-of-travel jump shocks fitted then on some parts you would not want to do 6mph :D (and it'd be too wide anyway!). It's an Unclassified County Road rather than a BOAT, so I guess the logic is that rural road speed limits apply, however crazy it seems.
 
There needs to be a coordinated collection of a data base of evodence of all lanes driven ...not just a few photos but looking at date stamped pictures with shots of memory map coordinates and pictures at gates and signs. We need to start thinking less pretty pictures and more proof.

But we do need coordination...othrwise you'll have 500 pictures of one lane and we'll end up missing vital others.
That was the original idea of the Trailwise database of ROW. The idea is that users log their usage and comments on routes to provide evidence of usage. It is a good facility, but dependent on the lane users entering the data. Tw seems to be affected by apathy too, some Tracks have had no data entered for decades, despite obviously being driven.
 
Yep! ...and that was the one where it dips down to a ford across a stream and up the other side. Unless you've got one of those American trophy truck/baja racers with 3-feet-of-travel jump shocks fitted then on some parts you would not want to do 6mph :D (and it'd be too wide anyway!). It's an Unclassified County Road rather than a BOAT, so I guess the logic is that rural road speed limits apply, however crazy it seems.

aka a 'white' they use them round here for night navagations, and really tear them up
 
i,ve just posted with our so called local club in north wales to see who i can find to send route maps and photo evidence too. for the tours i,ve run this year for disabled groups and other laners no response yet. by the looks of it as long as they've got enough land to run their competition trails on they don't seem to be interested in anything else, so i don,t think i'll be renewing my membership fee's next year, i,ll just donate them here instead. plus they seem to have to many rules about what you can have on a modified
rtv competeing, so if landyzone are intersested for next year i can organise and run 12
rtv events, but we would need enough marshalls to volunteer to cover events.
 
One issue i'm sure those who are pushing to close the lanes have not considered is where all these vehicles are going to go and how the owners will get their fill of all terrain driving.

Maybe block the ports to Spain, France, Norway, Denmark or Sweden would make people realise that it's a very silly idea.
 
Just looking at the link below. These people will be against laning, as I said before, mainly because of the bikes.

They are now pushing folk to report everything as evidence to use, hopefully mainly to get more bridleways, but I bet removing traffic from lanes is also on the agenda.


Reporting of Equestrian Related Incidents | British Horse Society


Bit of a hot potato as who to align ourselves to. Whilst I agree thatthe bikes are a huge pita and just appear to frighten the bejezus out of me and display very little consideration in my experience BUT..their representation who have fought the closure of lanes are a big powerful lobby who GLASS stood next to in court
 
Indeed, the Trail Riders Association appears to have plenty of money and clout for the cause.... at least they've got an engine I suppose...
 
Ruddy hell - easy option to want to close everything isn't it? Notwithstanding any work volunteered by 4x4 and trail bike owners to continue upkeep of some lanes...

:(
 
I feel that if lanes are signed properly, to clearly show who has rights of way, and again having signs along the routes showing the way would help with both keeping people from veering from the RoW and it will also show other users that motorists are allowed to travel down the routes. It will help with walkers to know which routes they might encounter traffic on so they can avoid if they prefer, or so it doesn't come as a surprise to them when they do see motorists. The only time I have had any issues with walkers is when they think I shouldn't be there. If it was clearly signed for all to see, perhaps it wont alarm as many people. Just a thought
 
well at 3 am. i try'd to stay awake for the reading of the deregulation bill made it through about 3/4 of it before some boring lord put me to sleep. funny thou they kept skipping over the clauses that were all concern'd about. plenty of bobble brigades concernsd raised but none of our's
 

Similar threads