More money wasted

Published: Monday, 13 September 2010

MORE money has been wasted on the  £200,000 British Waterways' Regent's Ramp designed for separating speeding cyclists from pedestrians.

British Waterways erected a 'Walt Disney' style arch, at an undisclosed cost, over the entrance to the problematic ramp on the waterway, but now, just a few days after it was erected it had to be taken down!

Out of character

This not only followed complaints that it was completely out of character with the historical heritage of the area, but British Waterways had no planning permission to erect it in the first place.

The new ramp  that was intended  to separate pedestrians from cyclists, giving access from Danbury Bridge, was itself bugged by planning problems, and has proved not to have achieved its object of segregating speeding cyclists from pedestrians, as it will put people pushing buggies and prams into the track of cyclists.

Dangerous for pedestrians

The towpath of the Regent's Canal has become dangerous for pedestrians due to the increasing number of commuting cyclists.

Del Brenner, Chairman of the Regent's Canal Network, and contributor to narrowboatworld believed the entire scheme had been a British Waterways 'folly on a grand scale', remarking:

"Rather than reduce conflict it will increase it. It seems that British Waterways can't be trusted to deal competently with projects like this.

"We're pleased that the arch has been removed. It was quite decorative but it looked totally out of place on a 19th century canal bridge."

At the Angel Canal Festival  cheers were raised when we found that overnight the arch over the access to the Regent's Canal had mysteriously and suddenly disappeared.

It was considered unsightly and totally out of place in the conservation area.