Motorised Users

From GPG

At a national level, concerns exist over both the unauthorised use of motor vehicles on open land and on rights of way which do not carry vehicular rights of passage. There are also concerns regarding the damage and issues of user conflict caused by motor vehicles on those rights of way that do carry rights for motor vehicles.

(for more information see DEFRA)

However motorised users have a legitimate right to use sections of the rights of way network and their needs should be taken into account when any network changes are considered.

A number of authorities have looked in detail at this issue as part of their ROWIP.

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire County Council carried out research into the needs of motorised users as part of the Countryside Agency ROWIP demonstration project.

The research aimed to:

• Review current problems, issues and opportunities relating to lawful and unlawful vehicle use withinthree local authority areas
• Identify options for improved management of the 'off road' network for the benefit of lawful vehicular users.

This involved:

• a review of relevant local, regional and national hard-copy and electronic literature;
• an assessment of the presence and accessibility of the ROW network to motor vehicle users; and
• extensive stakeholder consultation to identify lawful and unlawful motor vehicle use and the opinions of users.

The Literature Review highlighted an existing strong foundation of network management and a commitment to improvement in national, regional and local policies. However the Network Assessment identified a severe network deficiency for lawful motor vehicle users both within and outside the study area. This absence of an effective resource results in widespread unauthorised use of other resources both within the study area and its hinterland.

The stakeholder consultation exercise identified opportunities for providing a network that offers a 'sense of challenge' and circular routes.

Motor vehicle users generally appear content with sharing network use. However, some users feel discriminated against by the limited network available for their lawful use. A high proportion of motor vehicle users are members of specialist clubs and participate in organised events.

The report recommends diverse generic strategies for managing and improving the network for lawful vehicle use and for managing the intensity, distribution and type of unlawful vehicular use which;

• Are realistic, practical and hence deliverable;
• Address stakeholder needs/ demands and are responsive to their concerns;
• Consist of a 'toolkit' of potential measures, ranging from physical, hard engineering strategies to 'soft',
• Marketing/ liaison and policy-based strategies;
• Are economically and technically feasible; and
• Are both generic in nature but also applicable locally.

In addition to findings from this specific research exercise, development of management/ improvement strategies has drawn upon DETR's report, 'Making the Best of Byways' (1997)

The Nottinghamshire report proposed the following strategies as relevant for inclusion in the RoWIP's Statement of Action;

• In the absence of the realistic prospect of extending the network for motor vehicle users, management strategies must focus on securing improvements to sites and resources currently subject to either authorised or unauthorised motor vehicle use;
• These management strategies should be diverse and encompass 'soft' measures e.g. marketing and communication;
• If motor vehicle users are denied opportunities within the study area, they will transfer their use to resources and sites further afield. Improvement strategies should adopt a broad geographical focus;
• The opportunity exists for establishing a Hierarchy of Trail Routes (HoTR), classified according to their suitability for lawful vehicular use and managed by voluntary constraint.
• There is scope for developing new off-road facilities;
• Consultation with illegal users has proved difficult to facilitate, and addressing ways forward to embrace the illegal use of motorcycles in particular requires further consideration;
• Physical management measures must be carefully formulated to avoid eroding the 'challenge factor' of a particular route; and
• The high membership of specialist motor vehicle organisations and clubs provides an effective outlet for marketing and communication strategies;

Fundamentally, Nottinghamshire County Council must adopt a proactive approach to motor vehicle use, reflected in management strategies proposed in the RoWIP.

The full report and executive summary are available and the draft ROWIP.

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire County Council also addressed the needs of vehicular users in their ROWIP in Action theme 6 - Understanding present and future needs of different users

Motorised Users — The Bedfordshire local resident's survey found that 2% of the sample took part in off road vehicle use in Bedfordshire. This would suggest that there are potentially 8,000 people participating in this type of countryside access in the county. Over 500,000 people in England participate in off road activities in the countryside.

Motorised users felt that the county network of byways was poor, disjointed and often had restricted access. Byways were subject to sporadic maintenance and ad hoc closures. They thought that there was no apparent intent from the Highway Authority to improve or increase the byway network. There are huge gaps in the byway network with concentrations of routes being found only in parts of the north and the south of the county. Motorised users have strong feelings the county was poorly represented for vehicular access but that there was plenty of opportunity to improve the network for their use. The definitive map was considered to be incomplete with many routes of suspect status, undefined or not apparent.

Motorised users stated that accessibility to the byway network was good where signed but at some locations signage was a problem. Signs were often vandalised and the removal of date plates on those routes with temporary Traffic Regulation Orders was particularly frustrating. Byway signs were often illegally removed making things difficult for users. Locked and secured gates on byways was a common concern expressed by motorised users. Locked gates at the start of byways that were not being opened for the first day of use after temporary closures were an issue. Overall users felt the provision of lane furniture was good.

The condition of the byway network is the issue which has greatest impact on motorised users. Maintenance of byways by the County Council is expensive and repairs are often quickly undone by a number of irresponsible motorised vehicle users. Responsible motorised users felt that they were being penalised because of this misuse and that the Council at times was using seasonal closures to avoid maintenance responsibilities because of financial constraints.

Two wheel users felt strongly that byways could be open all year for their use as they have less of an impact on the routes. They also felt that heavy usage even in wet month by trail bikes was not a significant problem provided adequate maintenance is carried out. Motorised users felt that promotion of byways could be improved and that this could do much to reduce conflict with other users and avoid any misunderstandings about the use of byways for all users. Information could be made available on websites and pictorial notice boards could be located on byways explaining their use and how they are managed.

User groups often went on organised trips to the countryside and felt that they were bringing significant amounts of money into the rural economy through fuel, food and accommodation purchasing. Motorised users suggested that as leisure time has increased and roads become more crowded that more people are becoming interested in off- roading. Recreational use of motorised vehicles in the countryside began in the early 20th century and need to be accommodated in the 21st century. Two wheel users felt that their machines were a cheaper and more accessible alternative to horse ownership and that growth in this motorised activity was limited by the availability of byways.

Some users pointed out motorised vehicles enabled some people with restricted mobility accessibility to enjoy a countryside recreational experience which would normally not be available to them. Other users enjoyed the ability to cover greater distances cross country than they could possibly do in a day on foot. Motorised users suggested the County Council could improve on its consultation procedures in respect of byway matters and that the placement of public notices was sporadic. Better use could be made of websites for posting information on byway matters.

It was felt that the needs of the motorised users in the countryside are not being considered much above the need to provide car parking. At times they felt persecuted because their activities were being given an unfair negative image by special interest groups with an agenda of banning all motorised vehicles on unsurfaced roads. Rights of way available for motorised vehicular users are often also important to walkers, horse riders, carriage drivers and cyclists. They can provide links in the network of other paths to complete networks and routes. Vehicular rights of way can also be important to users with mobility problems. In making improvements for non-motorised users, authorities shouldn't disadvantage legitimate motorised use. Proactive management to deal with the issues of proper recording of rights, maintenance and shared use can bring benefits to all users.

Red Rose

In 2005 Red Rose Forest published the results of research into illegal motor bike use.

The report recognised that illegal off-road motorcycling has been an ongoing problem facing communities and land managers for many years. However, the current level of off-road motorcycle nuisance has increased alarmingly over the past few years, as we have seen a doubling of overall complaints to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) between 2003 and 2004. Legislation for enforcement is not lacking but is spread across several Acts of Parliament, which can make consistent levels of application a real challenge.

See DEFRA's advice on regulating use of motor vehicles on rights of way

In addition to enforcement conducted by GMP, local authorities do have enforcement tools at their disposal which can be applied. Planning legislation is regularly used to prevent sites developing on private land, and though used less commonly at present, Noise Abatement Orders have proven effective in other parts of the country.

In addition to enforcement, physical exclusion barriers are used on many public greenspaces in an attempt to secure sites against illegal off-road motorcycling. Physical exclusion is costly, particularly as vandalism can often render barriers ineffective and in need of repair or replacement.

One key concern with moving too far towards extensive physical exclusion is that it can also prevent legitimate users gaining easy access to a site. For example, providing access points to allow access for horses but restrict motorcycles is particularly problematic.

A further consideration is theDisabilities and Discrimination Act, which has implications for those designing access onto and around greenspaces.

Legal off-road highways and Rights ofWay are limited and set to decrease with new legislation, which will impact significantly on available recreational space currently used by green lane motorcyclists on street legal machines.

Solutions identified in the report include :

• Establishing a full time post of Off-Road Motorcycle Champion
• Each Local Authority/Police Division should establish an off-road motorcycle sub-group
• A centrally coordinated education and publicity campaign
• Creation of a central information point, which can act as a one-stop shop for general information surrounding off-road motorcycling
• Local Authorities could make greater use of Noise Abatement Orders, along with selective use of ASBOs and the Housing Act.
• Clever boundary design can reduce illegal motorcycle access problems, but there is a clear need for a new range of heavyweight design boundaries and access controls
• Standard signage and notices would also be of use.
• A clear and concise interpretation of the Disabilities and Discrimination Act 1995 is needed, highlighting how it relates to restricting access to off-road motorcycles.

All these matters should be brought together into a site manager's design guide.

Locally based action plans using the Home Office Crime Reduction Toolkits should bring all these various elements together.