Jason is technically correct. The use of England/Wales bridleways by cyclists is a lesser right than that held by pedestrians and riders. It was added relatively recently (before, cyclists were not allowed on bridleways under common law) and is subject both to the 'give way to others' rule cited but also is not quite universal as the right of access is a default right from central government that can be overridden by regulations made locally (although I have yet to find an example of this). The reference is the Countryside Act (1968) ยง30: "1. Any member of the public shall have, as a right of way, the right to ride a bicycle, not being a mechanically propelled vehicle, on any bridleway, but in exercising that right cyclists shall give way to pedestrians and persons on horseback. 2. Subsection (1) above has effect subject to any orders made by a local authority, and to any byelaws." Nevertheless I would myself still tag as foot/horse/bicycle all 'designated' as this is at least the default and the 'give way' rule does not remove the cyclists' right (but how I wish that all bikes had bells and all cyclists USED them!). Mike Harris
_____ From: Jason Cunningham [mailto:jamicu...@googlemail.com] Sent: 15 August 2009 00:41 To: Nick Whitelegg; talk@openstreetmap.org Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] Proliferation of path vs. footway Agree here. UK bridleways for instance should have foot=designated; horse=designated; bicycle=designated as all three have equal right. It would be a mistake to assume the horse rights are greater than foot/bicycle; they are not. I would similarly guess the shared foot/cycleways in Germany would be similar, i.e. foot=designated; bicycle=designated. Nick After looking at the British Ramblers Association website today it does not appear cyclists have equal rights on Bridelways. This website give advice on access rights to footpaths etc in the UK, and it says "Pedal cyclists have a right to use bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic, but on bridleways they must give way to walkers and riders. Like horse riders, they have no right to use footpaths and if they do so they are committing a trespass against the owner of the land, unless use is by permission (see <http://www.ramblers.org.uk/info/britain/footpathlaw/footpathlaw2.htm#trespa ss> Q26). As with horse-riding (see <http://www.ramblers.org.uk/info/britain/footpathlaw/footpathlaw.htm#horses> Q10), use of any right of way by cyclists can be controlled by traffic regulation orders and byelaws imposed by local authorities. Infringement of byelaws or orders is a criminal offence. Under the Highways Act 1835, it is an offence to ride a bicycle on the pavement at the side of a road, and under the Fixed Penalty Offences Order 1999 a person who rides on a pavement can be fined on the spot by a police officer." Jason jamicu <http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Jamicu>
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