Like Christmas, every year it seems to come earlier. As the clocks go back, and the evenings draw in, stories emerge of the Bristol to Bath bike path becoming unsafe for people on two wheels.
The 24km-long route is an old railway line which has been converted into a completely traffic-free cycling and walking path between two cities in the southwest of England, meaning you can be taken from the heart of one to the other in just over an hour without meeting a car once. It traverses three different local authorities on route, such is its length - Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset, and is managed by Sustrans, the active travel charity.
In the light, the piece of infrastructure is a dream to some. "The thing I always start off with when I think about the B2B is that it's really lovely," George Rowland, a PhD student living in Bristol, tells Cycling Weekly. "You don't feel like you're in an urban environment, you're separate from cars, there are loads of trees and greenery. It's pleasant. It's also an important piece of green infrastructure for Bristol."
Asked for people's negative experiences on the path, one person told me: "I've had 1000s of good ones! Seeing such a diverse group of people on there moving traffic-free is a highlight of living in Bristol."
It is a great way of getting between Bristol and Bath, and it happens to be my commute. I've ridden bits of it probably hundreds of times, the whole thing dozens. I've never experienced anything too sketchy, but many have.
In the dark, away from the traffic, there are increasing reports of anti-social behaviour, robbery, and general unsafe conditions. This happens every year, from around October to March, but it feels hard to ignore, as a cyclist from Bristol.
The popular Bristol Cyclists Facebook group is full of such stories, with a Deliveroo rider having his e-bike robbed from him by three masked men, or of bikes being mugged at knife point.
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"When it's dark it gets isolated and unsurveilled," Rowland explains. "It leads to opportunities for bad things to happen and crime, and for people to feel unsafe even if crime isn't happening. There isn't a design solution that could change that."
"Someone masked up on a moped tried to kick me off my bike earlier this year in broad daylight right by Newtown Park," another cyclist, Becky, tells CW. "And now I’m scared of cycling on it alone."
"When it happened I kind of shrugged it off, then realised it was quite bad when I went to cycle up there again and couldn’t bring myself to do it."
"I've never had a really bad experience but that's because I avoid it after dark," another female rider explains.
These women are not alone, but it should be noted that the B2B seems to be making more noise than others, possibly due to volume, or to the circles I move in, or because it effects all kinds of people.
"From a female perspective, it’s very interesting to watch guys navigate the concept of an 'unsafe space'," another Bristol-based cyclist, Rosalie Hoskins, tells me.
"It’s almost refreshing and it’s great to see so much open discussion. Obviously I’m generalising but I think this is less novel for women who are well versed in the general practice of avoiding dark and isolated places.
"I would feel the same enthusiasm of traversing the cycle path as I would going through a park at night."
(Image credit: Google Maps)
"There has to be a wider approach to infrastructure, integration and safety in public spaces," Katie, another female cyclist, adds. "The pattern of experiences on the bike path in the cycling community, does extrapolate to any non-male presenting group in any open space, and it's taken up quite a big volume in the general discussion."
"More focus should be on making roads safer for cycling rather than pushing people onto dedicated bits of infrastructure," Rowland says. "The B2B is like walking down a dark alley after a night out. It could very well be fine for that time, but if there's one place that could drop you into trouble it'll be that. It shouldn't be the only route that's safe for cyclists."
It isn't just crime which deters people from the path, but general anti-social behaviour, including from speeding lycra-clad cyclists, and e-bike users. Just this week, someone from my cycling club encountered a car which had erroneously entered the usually safe space.
"I genuinely believe it was a mistake," the cyclist said. "They were as confused as we all were… but they definitely weren’t crawling along with hazards flashing. It was quite scary."
The bike path should be a haven for cycling, a paradise for active travel, but it unfortunately gets lumped with all the issues that come with being a dark, secluded space. There might be some surface-level changes which might improve the reality for now, but it feels like there are bigger issues to solve before it is always OK. Expect the same stories to emerge next year.
"Police and CCTV won't solve the problem, it will just move it," Rowland explains.
A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council, said: "Due to recent incidents reported on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, our Community Safety Team in partnership with the Police have installed targeted CCTV which will help to deter crime along our section and assist the Police with CCTV evidence in relation to any incidents. The CCTV will remain in place for as long as necessary."
Bristol City Council and Sustrans declined to comment. Avon and Somerset Police were contacted.
