Cyclists have made Regent's Canal a ‘no go’ zone

Published: 16 July, 2010
by PETER GRUNER

CONFLICT on the towpath between walkers and cyclists in Islington is becoming so bad that it is only a matter of time before someone ends up in the canal.

That is the claim made by residents concerned with the growing number of commuter cyclists using the path along the Regent’s Canal during morning and evening peak times.

British Waterways’ efforts to cool tempers by appealing to the warring groups to “respect” each other’s right of way have been a failure, according to Howard Piper, who lives nearby.

Mr Piper, 56, a semi-retired career consultant from Angel, said that for him and many local residents the picturesque towpath, which narrows to just two feet wide along stretches near Danbury Street, has become a virtual “no go” area, making walking a “perilous” activity.

At nearby Hanover Primary School, parents have held “reclaim our towpath” walks to school  to highlight the problems.

A former cyclist, Mr Piper emphasises that he is not against two wheel transport – only those who refuse to respect the rights of walkers. 

“The towpath is a beautiful area where I used to walk and occasionally jog,” he said. “But I can’t anymore. I’ve tried walking along the towpath for 10 minutes. In that time I’ve been passed within inches by at least 30 or 40 cyclists. Many are aggressive and charge along the path ringing their bells and demanding people get out their way.   I fear it is only a matter of time before someone ends up in the canal.”

Mr Piper believes the only answer may be to ban cyclists completely along certain busy parts of the towpath: “Why should cyclists have dominance over walkers? If they need to get from A to  B or are commuting why can’t they use a dedicated cycle route?”

Caroline Russell, chairwoman of Islington Living Streets and herself a cyclist, believes that walkers and cyclists are as bad as each other. She said that a lot of work by British Waterways and her organ­isation has been done to encourage decent be­haviour from both groups.

“Cyclists need to be aware that they must ring their bells and walkers need to know that it is not very sociable to block the towpath.

“It’s all about sharing this special area and open space. 

“But I admit it is a really difficult problem and will not be easy to resolve.”

Various options have been studied by both British Waterways and Transport for London.

Local St Peter’s ward Labour Cllr Martin Klute would like to see the introduction of “kissing gates” that would force cyclists to dismount. He also advocates a parallel cycling route along less busy roads.

“It’s time to restore the balance between walkers and cyclists,” he said.