Author Topic: Slow Maps  (Read 6844 times)

gunwharfman

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #45 on: 09:37:38, 17/10/20 »
'Anything that helps get people away from the tv, computer games, Facebook or the pub is worthwhile in my opinion.'

I like that sentence, it made me smile, from my daily experience of the lockdown the majority of the people who I've seen only seem to be willing to venture 100yds from these items, or 100 yds from their cars! And then dive into Micks Monster Burgers to revive themselves from the effort made.  :)

pauldawes

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #46 on: 09:56:29, 17/10/20 »
Very unlikely in this case. An encampment of caravans and vans was set up on 'wasteland' adjacent to the footpath. The entrance to the footpath was barricaded at the same time with barbed wire, etc. nailed in place, and the fingerpost was destroyed. I assume the new residents didn't like the idea of a footpath bordering their settlement.

It might be that Kent County Council is lacking in comparison with other local authorities, I don't know. I've been very active dealing with the Kent PRoW department and I've had a fair degree of success. I've also had complaints ignored and I know that reported complaints can often take years to process. As I've said, councils do not have the funding or staffing to deal with existing issues, so unless we're prepared to do something about that first, schemes such as Slow Maps will have difficulty being established.

So who'll join me in calling for a substantial increase in Council Tax in order to improve the resources available to PRoW departments?


Sympathy. Didn’t realise you’d got a specific case in mind...I didn’t read all the thread carefully beforehand.


On rise in council tax? Or tax in general?


I suppose I’m one of many people with “mixed feelings” on that one. I know a great deal of tax spend represents money well spent...education, roads, NHS. But I also know that a lot of it is goes on costly projects I don’t support, “featherbedding”, etc.


I would support increased tax...if mps, local councillors, etc, redoubled their efforts to control spend wisely, prevent fraud, etc.


Obviously irrelevant (my personal bias) anyway...we are all going to end up paying more tax.

barewirewalker

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #47 on: 10:32:40, 17/10/20 »
Anything that increases awareness should be a good thing.
That said I have often found that there is no sensible "slow route" available in the existing ROW network. Should we therefore be looking for that logical route that maybe once existed but didn't find it's way onto the definitive map.
Where's BWW?

 
Not too far away Andies.
My first inkling of this was ITV's late news last night and I got the the impression that it was a Rambler's initiative, my first reaction was to think, "At Last", we break out of the set piece of Short Circular walks led by the local RA leader with a penchant for command and a pocketful of membership forms.
However, I think the news reader did refer to the news item as an slow network rather than a map. My first reaction 'At Last a Brilliant Concept', but 30 years too late, but still a usable concept if it is part of a strategy linking Lostways to 2026, then adding all the additional links and infrastructure that should have been built in since the 1949 Act.
Why 30 years too late, it was in 1990 that Natural England's survey of the Pennine Way earned the local rural economy £8000/mile/year? Yet even to this day the CLA does not recognize footpaths as part of a National Asset.
The idea seems to have come from Dan Raven-Ellison and I applaud him, yet I wonder if he has done enough homework on the network to fully understand how good such an idea could develop into. Seeing his picture makes me realize that he probably has a few more years under his belt than I have.
That is why I find hope in this;
Quote
It is not just a tool to encourage us to walk more, it is a campaigning tool. Once a route is identified, there is something to defend and to improve. It is then more than just a new resource, it is a way of trying to change a debate.
As the most encouraging statement of intent from the website.
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

gunwharfman

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #48 on: 11:01:50, 17/10/20 »
Whitstable Dave, do you think any one on the 'encampment' was one of my relatives?  :-[

Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #49 on: 11:28:12, 17/10/20 »
I vote for a massive hike in council tax for Kent  :)

jimbob

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #50 on: 11:30:14, 17/10/20 »
Gunwharfman don't take total offence.The author has often shown his offensive capabilities in many other posts to this site. I am not sure he is even aware of this, though others have accused him of his trolling tendencies.
The whole point of the slow walk site is to use existing Rows to then allow people who want to walk from Liverpool to York the ability to look up an acceptable route on a well known bunch of sites and be given the option of not having to use the road network.  Take the Rome2Rio site and try using it for walking, which it does, and you will not ever be pointed towards Rows, Google directions ditto, for example.
This is quite a simple project, that does need feet on the ground, if you don't want to be part of it, then the simple answer is not to join in.



Too little, too late, too bad......

Islandplodder

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #51 on: 11:32:05, 17/10/20 »
One thing I particularly like is that it is suggested that routes start and finish at bus or rail stations.  I always get enraged by LDPs which start and finish in the middle of nowhere.  The Wye valley walk, for instance, finishes 12 miles from the nearest possibility of public transport. I do wonder whether that is one reason for the success of the West Highland Way, that both ends are easy to get to.  I think another thread touched on the difficulty of getting to the start of a walk, and if you are not going to start every walk at your front door, it is something which you have to think about. 

barewirewalker

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #52 on: 11:57:24, 17/10/20 »
Not sure if I can join in as it is at the moment, all the routes I know that meet the fundamental criteria involve taking liberties with the righteous way. Reaching bus stops, by avoiding adding to road kill is an art form.

Another factor is the extension of town limits by new development, the benefit of towns being destinations is they are transport hubs. But the hub part is often a rather long way from the link by the local bus service, usually well guarded by a ring road, where the bus drivers try to make up time lost in the traffic jams contained within said ring road.
The idyllic country scenes drummed up by the TV footage can soon be lost with miles of suburban plod dodging pavement cyclists and urban vomit.


Despite small drolleries, I have enjoyed finding the surprising bus stop at the end of a leafy passageway and looked at the drivers face of amazement that tells me that I am the first person in a lifetime of to use that particular stop.  >:D
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

WhitstableDave

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #53 on: 17:59:48, 17/10/20 »
Whitstable Dave, do you think any one on the 'encampment' was one of my relatives?  :-[
GWM, I've no idea why I might think that.
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

WhitstableDave

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #54 on: 18:05:29, 17/10/20 »
I vote for a massive hike in council tax for Kent  :)
And why not? I hope the good people of Kent are also happy to pay for improvements to our infrastructure.
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

Dread

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #55 on: 18:39:52, 17/10/20 »
Nice idea. Signed up. Living in urban West Yorkshire I'm already an expert in this field. I always say that the best aspect of living in Leeds is that whichever direction you head in you hit amazing countryside. The Dales to the North, the Moors to the East, the Peak District to the South and the Pennines to the West.


From my house there's a nice 15 mile walk to Ilkley and Otley, another to Wetherby and onwards to York. There's also a walk along the Aire to Bradford. All great walks with good transport links.

Apache

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #56 on: 17:58:46, 17/12/20 »
https://slowways.uk/


Just attended a Zoom presentation about this. It basically wants to simplify walking between places where people actually live. The routes are ideally between places with facilities and in 10km chunks. It is hoping to launch in the last week of January with people actually walking the routes to see how good/bad the route is.


Have to say that with my retirement less than 2 years away this will be a great way to keep walking affordable and useful.

pdstsp

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #57 on: 19:49:31, 17/12/20 »
I have registered for a webinar in January - looking forward to being involved in this - hope it gets some traction.

pdstsp

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #58 on: 15:38:03, 31/12/20 »
Just had an email saying the launch is delayed to avoid issues with the Tiers.  Webinars are going ahead.

Roburite

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Re: Slow Maps
« Reply #59 on: 14:01:56, 13/01/21 »
There was a briefing about the "Slow Ways" project yesterday. It was recorded and can be found on Youtube here. The focus is on routes not paths and they will be hoping for lots of people to try routes and review them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yToKR5fubT4&feature=emb_logo

 

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