Back in 2021 we ran a short campaign focussing on barriers and obstructions which hinder people on bikes from accessing paths. We invited you to send in your suggestions and we collated those and passed them on to Aberdeen City Council (and a few to Aberdeenshire). We’re pleased to say that some (not all) have been fixed. The Deeside Way and Formartine-Buchan Way are both much improved!
Although some progress is being made on barriers to access, there are still a lot of obstacles out there that we either come across or people get in touch to tell us about. It might be a chicane or a badly-placed bollard, or somewhere that just needs a dropped-kerb. These types of barrier can be awkward for cyclists, but a show-stopper for someone on an adaptive bike, or a cargo bike or with a trailer, or indeed a wheelchair.
So, we’re re-opening the campaign – and you’ll be again able to submit your suggestions through our dedicated pages on the Award Force platform (the same platform we now use for your membership info). You’ll be asked for a description of the problem, an accurate location (ideally a grid reference or what3words tag), and you can upload photographs. There is also a gallery of horrors where you can see some of the barriers submitted in 2021.
Any path barrier in Aberdeen City or Aberdeenshire can be submitted. Existing ACF members can access the pages using their existing login. If you aren’t currently a member and want to take part, the good news it is free to join ACF. The campaign will run from now (early November) until the end of the year.
