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CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Resources
Cycling for All - short film by Rachel Aldred
(4 posts)-
Posted 7 years ago #
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Great video. Is there anyone arguing specifically for disabled-access-for-cycling in Scotland or just the standard cycle advocacy groups?
Posted 7 years ago # -
Interesting video. As a disabled handcyclist who used to live and cycle in Cambridge (albeit whilst able-bodied), I recognised a lot of the locations.
In my experience the major hurdles for disabled people cycling are:
1) Cost. A typical clip-on cycle is around £2.5k, the same for a reasonable handcycle and a decent model will be at least £5k+
2) Fear. The first comment anyone makes to me is along the lines of "Aren't you worried cycling on the road in that...".
3) Barriers. If you limit yourself to off-road cyclepaths then you'll soon meet a barrier which will bring you to a halt. These probably contravene the Equality act but I'm not aware of anyone challenging these in the courts.Disabled cycling has been getting easier, I must admit that the council have removed all of the barriers I'm aware of in Edinburgh however groups like Sustrans aren't following their own guidelines sufficiently closely - their Round the Forth NCN75 route contains (probably illegal) barriers at both ends of the Dalmeny and Hopetoun estates.
The Edinburgh All-Ability Bike centre at Bangholm caters for disabled cyclists and the proposed West Lothian Cycle Circuit at Linlithgow also promises to be a good, safe environment to give more disabled cyclists the confidence to go further afield.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Disabled cycling has been getting easier, I must admit that the council have removed all of the barriers I'm aware of in Edinburgh
There are still hunners o the vratches in Liberton & Gilmerton.
I'd be interested in hearing your experiences of getting the council to remove barriers and gates.
Sustrans, I believe, are getting much better at this than they used to be, but are also at the mercy of the local authorities. If the council says "You absolutely need to put a chicane in here, or we're not approving your route", Sustrans need to comply. I think our ire is better directed at the local authorities in this situtation.
Posted 7 years ago #
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