Safe to Cross Campaign
Broken stiles and barbed wire fences can really spoil a walk,
but probably the most intimidating obstruction on the footpath
network is that posed by busy, dangerous roads.
Please help us to put this issue firmly
on the Government's agenda.
Across England thousands of paths are severed by busy roads, often rated at the national speed limit, with no safe place to cross.
In 2003 the Ramblers' Association (RA) launched the Safe to Cross Campaign and published the third edition of 'You're Either Quick or Dead' - a dossier of more than 1000 dangerous crossings.
There is no shortage of evidence that this is a real problem facing walkers and other vulnerable users of the path network.
Safe to Cross Links
You're
Either Quick or Dead
(PDF version) (510 Kb)
Safe to Cross
campaign launch news release
Government agency admits scale of the problem
In 2002 the RA thought there had been a real breakthrough on
this issue, when the Highways Agency (responsible for trunk
roads in England) announced its 'non-motorised user (NMU)
crossings improvement programme'. The programme had £250m
attached for implementation and it really seemed that the
Government was committed to taking action.
After much hard work by RA volunteers over many months,
identifying problem locations, the Agency released a list of
crossings in need of improvement late in 2003. Finally it
seemed that the need for safe crossings for walkers, cyclists
and horse riders was being taken seriously.
Budget cuts
Unfortunately the Highways Agency's budget for 2004/5 was
drastically cut. Unsurprisingly, one of the first things to go
was the work on improving crossings for non-motorised users.
Despite rumours that funding may have become available there
has been no contact from the Highways Agency to confirm this to
stakeholders, such as the RA.
The Agency is now talking about crossing improvement schemes
being included in 'Route Management Strategies'. These are
complex and involve many other issues relating to each route –
crossing improvements will soon become 'lost'. The RA believes
that the non-motorised user crossings improvement programme
should be properly costed and timetabled, and that progress
against the programme should be monitored.
What you can do to help
Please contact your MP, asking them to raise this issue with Stephen Ladyman MP, the Minister responsible for the Highways Agency. Using your own words, here are a few points you might like to make in your letter, email, fax or in person at a surgery *:
- Express your disappointment at the cut in the Highways Agency's budget and the lack of dialogue with stakeholder organisations.
- Ask for a commitment from Government to properly fund the non-motorised user (NMU) crossings improvement programme.
- Explain that Route Management Strategies are not the right place to consider crossing improvements. The schemes in the NMU programme should be properly costed and timetabled and monitored through the programme itself.
- Call for action now on this issue.
- Stress that this is the Government’s opportunity to challenge decades of blinkered 'car is king' thinking, and to do something of great value for millions of walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
- If possible, include specific examples of dangerous crossings in your area. (Check in You're Either Quick or Dead for "Highways Agency roads")
* Most MPs hold 'surgeries', where you will be able to raise this issue most effectively.
How to contact your MP – by letter, fax, email or at a surgery
If you know who your MP is, you can write to them at: House
of Commons, LONDON, SW1A 0AA
If you don't know who your MP is, or need their contact details
these can be found at:
http://www.locata.co.uk/commons
You could also use the website
http://www.faxyourmp.co.uk to send a fax.
Please let us know what your MP has to say, by
emailing us.
Thanks for your help.