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25-537: The Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail is a multi-use trail that follows part of the former route of the Ohio & Erie Canal in Northeast Ohio . The trail runs from north to south through Cuyahoga , Summit , Stark , and Tuscarawas counties. The trail is planned to be 101 miles (163 km) long and currently 87 miles (140 km) of the trail are complete. When completed, it will run from Cleveland in

50-476: A path (and therefore pedestrians may walk wherever they choose). Shared-use paths alongside the highway often look like sidewalks to motorists. Therefore, at side roads, in jurisdictions where pedestrians do not have priority at side roads, the priority situation at side roads on shared-use paths can be confusing and often cyclists are required to give way to turning motorists. Before the January 2022 revision,

75-721: Is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network . Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network , which has created 12,763 miles (20,540 kilometres) of signed cycle routes throughout the United Kingdom, including 5,273 mi (8,486 km) of traffic-free paths. The rest of the network is on previously existing and mostly minor roads, in which motor traffic will be encountered. In Scotland, Sustrans has established partnership teams, embedding officers in local councils as well as NHS Scotland ,

100-467: Is the planned section of the Bodmin & Wenford Railway between Boscarne Junction and Wadebridge . In 2000, requests by EWS and English China Clays to reopen former rail links for freight paths such as the former Weedon to Leamington Spa line were objected to by the charity. Sustrans refused to support the application unless the rail promoter provided an alternative cycle track; EWS responded it

125-513: The Beeching Axe closed many British railways that the government considered underused and too costly. One such railway was the former Midland Railway line between central Bristol and Bath , closed in favour of the more direct, former Great Western Railway between the cities. Led by John Grimshaw , Cyclebag leased part of the old route and together with many volunteers and the help of Avon County Council (Bristol and Bath were then part of

150-631: The Big Lottery 's 'Living Landmarks; The People's Millions' competition, following a public vote. In 2015, Sustrans ran the Campaign for Safer Streets, which encouraged people to write to Prime Minister David Cameron to encourage him to commit to funding safer walking and cycling routes to schools. In October 2015, Sustrans released its first Bike Life report. It was a survey of residents in seven UK cities, undertaken in conjunction with local councils and transport authorities, attempting to assess

175-478: The Highway Code gave no advice to pedestrians on how to share space with cyclists; there was also little guidance given to cyclists. (The 2023 edition covers both aspects. The UK Department for Transport advises local authorities that cyclists and pedestrians should not be expected to share space on or alongside city streets. Sustrans gives advice for cyclists, walkers and runners using shared-use paths on

200-530: The Millennium Lottery Fund to extend the National Cycle Network to smaller towns and rural areas, as well as launch the "Safe Routes to Schools" project, based on earlier state projects in Denmark. The five-year project, Connect2 was launched in 2006, and it aimed at improving local travel in 79 communities by creating new walking and cycling routes. In 2007, it received £50 million from

225-647: The National Cycle Network . The Milton Keynes redway system is an example of a city-wide network of shared-use paths. The network consists of over 200 miles (320 km) of shared-use paths that avoid the city's busy and fast grid roads (which run between neighbourhoods rather than through them). In the US, the 1999 AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities defines a shared-use path as being physically separated from motor vehicular traffic with an open space or barrier. Sustrans Sustrans

250-680: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency , Scottish Natural Heritage , and Transport for Edinburgh . Sustrans was formed in Bristol in July 1977 as Cyclebag by a group of cyclists and environmentalists , as a result of doubts about the desirability of dependence on the private car, following the 1973 oil crisis , and the almost total lack of specific provision for cyclists in most British cities, in contrast to some other European countries. A decade earlier,

275-621: The UK Department for Transport found that cyclists and pedestrians prefer wider non-segregated paths to more narrow segregated paths (e.g. a 3 m wide shared path, compared with a 3 m path split into 1.5 m sections). The principal benefit of a shared-use path is saving space. This may be important in environmentally-sensitive areas or on narrow streets, where a full cycle track may not be feasible. Shared use paths are criticised for creating conflict between pedestrians and cyclists and creating complaints from pedestrians and speed. Therefore,

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300-601: The 2004/05 financial year, its income was £23.6 million: £2.1 million from supporters' donations, £8.5 million from the Department for Transport and a further £2.5 million from the National Opportunities Fund specifically for the Safe Routes projects. Additional funding comes from charitable grants and trusts, local government, and the sales of maps and books. In Scotland in 2020, in response to

325-645: The COVID-19 pandemic, £30 million of Spaces for People funding was granted to Sustrans by the Scottish Government to assist local authorities and statutory bodies in Scotland to provide safe walking and cycling infrastructure. The National Cycle Network was officially opened in June 2000, when 5,000 mi (8,000 km) had been completed, although some routes had been open for over a decade. In 2005

350-536: The County of Avon) turned it into its first route, the Bristol & Bath Railway Path . In the early 1980s, when unemployment rose, the organisation took advantage of government schemes to provide temporary employment to build similar "green routes". British Waterways and Cyclebag collaborated to improve towpaths along some canals , which resulted in increased use of the towpaths, especially by cyclists. In 1983,

375-645: The Cycling Embassy of Great Britain criticised Sustrans for the extensive use of "shared use" provision—in which cycle routes are placed on pavements and footpaths without separation from pedestrians—in designs that Sustrans prepared for London. In 2016, the University of the West of England 's Centre for Transport and Society identified shared use designs, and in particular Sustrans Design Guidance which encouraged such designs, because shared-use paths can offer

400-1306: The Tuscarawas County Park Department. In 2003, The Stark County Park District voted to rename the 25 miles (40 km) of the trail within Stark County the " Congressman Ralph Regula Towpath Trail". Regula was honored for his support in Congress for the Ohio & Erie National Heritage Canalway. The trail has multiple surface types including asphalt, cement, concrete, crushed limestone and hard-packed earth. The trail currently consists of four segments of trails connected by short portions of roadway. The segments are, from north to south: Multi-use trail The path may also permit other users such as inline skating . Contrastingly, motorcycles and mopeds are normally prohibited. Shared-use paths sometimes provide different lanes for users who travel at different speeds to prevent conflicts between user groups on high-use trails. Shared-use paths are criticised for creating conflict between different users. The UK's Department for Transport deprecates this kind of route in denser urban environments. In

425-517: The UK, cyclists are legally permitted to cycle on bridleways (paths open to horse riders), but not on public footpaths. Therefore, bridleways are, in effect, a form of shared-use path. On segregated or divided paths, the path is split into a section for pedestrians and a section for cyclists. This may be achieved with a painted line or different surface. It may also be delineated with tactile paving for blind and visually impaired pedestrians. Research by

450-409: The charity Sustrans was founded. It had 11 directors (trustees, members, and board members of the charity) chosen by the existing board. The executive board was composed of the chief executive, John Grimshaw, and one of the two company secretaries. By the early 1990s, Sustrans had a growing number of supporters, and the network of national routes was emerging. In 1995, it was granted £43.5 million from

475-424: The current state of cycling in the UK. It covered areas such as safety, provision of cycling infrastructure and people's attitudes towards cycling. In 2020–2021, Sustrans' executive team had a combined payroll cost of £715,000 , with its CEO receiving over £110,000 . The National Cycle Network was the first project to receive Millennium Commission funding in 1995. Sustrans has many sources of funding, and in

500-507: The figure had risen to over 420,000,000 journeys. The data collected by Sustrans to compile monitoring reports, from traffic counters and user surveys, showed that National Cycle Network usage is predominantly urban and on traffic-free sections. Furthermore, surveys show that only 35% of usage on urban sections of the NCN is for leisure purposes. In 2018, Sustrans published the "National Cycle Network Review: Paths for Everyone" report which reviewed

525-407: The network reached 10,000 mi (16,000 km). In urban areas, almost 20% of the network is free from motor traffic, though these sections can account for up to 80% of use. The more rural parts of the network see less motor traffic and are used primarily for leisure cycling. Sustrans estimated that in 2005, the network carried 232,000,000 journeys by all classes of non-motorized users. In 2010,

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550-484: The north to New Philadelphia in the south. The Ohio to Erie Trail follows a portion of the towpath trail in Northeast Ohio. The Great American Rail-Trail will follow another portion of the trail, from Clinton southward. The towpath trail has been developed by a number of organizations. It is currently managed by Cleveland Metroparks , Cuyahoga Valley National Park , Summit Metro Parks , Stark Parks, and

575-509: The paths do not properly take into account the different needs of different road users. For example a study by the Institute for Chartered Engineers found that users of shared use paths were confused about the nature of the path and who has priority on them. Pedestrians are sometimes unsure how to behave on shared-use paths. The question arises whether the path is to be treated as a road (therefore pedestrians should face oncoming traffic), or

600-550: The quality and usage of the Network and set out a vision for its future. It estimated that in 2017–2018, 4.4 million users carried out 786 million cycling and walking trips on the Network. Sustrans has opponents within organisations that wish to reduce road haulage and motor travel by promoting the expansion of the modern railway network. It has also received criticism from members of the heritage railway movement. It has been accused of being uncompromising on route sharing; an example

625-440: Was an uneconomic provision for both reopening and building replacement pathway expenses. Sustrans have occasionally been criticised by other cycling organisations and activists over allegedly giving approval to cycle facilities regarded by critics as inadequate or dangerous, allowing local councils and similar bodies to reject criticism by pointing out that Sustrans have approved of the design being questioned. In 2013, for example,

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