Iain Woodfield says:
I currently commute daily between Denbury and Ashprington and the only really unpleasant/dangerous part of the journey is the main road section between Littlehempston and Totnes. Everything else is on quiet lanes or cycle paths. This scheme would be really beneficial for anyone that commutes to Totnes from the villages between Newton Abbot and Totnes.
Please spare a moment to sign our cycle path e-petition!
Please read our aims below and sign up on the right if you agree.
We believe there should be a safe cycle route between Totnes and Newton Abbot, enabling cyclists and walkers to avoid the dangerous A381 Newton Abbot road. This route should also complete the missing link in the National Cycle Network (known as NCN2).
The route must be accessible to all, and therefore relatively direct and flat. Excessive gradients rule out most of the proposed alternative routes. The new route must also represent value for money, solutions therefore involving a new bridge over the river Dart are unlikely to be affordable.
After carefully analysing all the possible solutions over a number of years we believe that the best route by far runs along existing quiet lanes from the village of Littlehempston (north of Totnes) towards the South Devon Railway (SDR) station, crossing the Dart over the existing SDR footbridge. Having said that we will support any route which is accessible to families, safe, and affordable.
We understand that the SDR management have concerns about allowing shared access across the footbridge. We believe that it is vital that any solution resulting in the use of the SDR footbridge must involve adequate council-funded measures to ensure the security of SDR and the Totnes Rare Breeds Farm, both of which excellent businesses we support and wish to prosper. Security measures would also need to be implemented sensitively to avoid compromising the aesthetic appearance of the station or the farm.
The missing link in the cycle network needs fixing. However we urge Devon County Council (DCC) NOT to sign off a route that bypasses Totnes and is hardly used currently. Instead we ask DCC to work with SDR and Rare Breeds Farm to find a mutually acceptable way forwards. And we ask that SDR enter these negotiations in the spirit of compromise, particularly in recognition of the fact that approximately 50% of the funding for their bridge was provided by the public. Please SDR, support the local community and help make this fantastic project a reality.
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