Better Guisborough for Pedestrians
excellent spine in town.
It just needs some love.
At present the pedestrian is getting a bad deal in Guisborough. It is ok if you are outside the town centre and want to have a walk. Some of the estates have excellent paths that join up the different areas. In fact many are perfect for widening and making into pedestrian and cycle routes as long as they are clearly marked. Putting a sign up on a narrow path indicating pedestrians and bikes can share does not a safe route make.
The old rail line would make for great walking but it needs improvement. On the picture below it can be seen it is heavily used, but on rainy days it soon becomes waterlogged. And there is a path to Sainsbury that is a mess and could be a useful walking and biking route to the supermarkets.
Having been out and about in Guisborough it is clear many paths can be widened to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists but it needs proper planning to create linked up routes so that these routes are practical for walkers to get around the town. It’s far more tempting to drive (at least it tempts me) if the walking route is unpleasant either due to mud or because it is at the side of a noisy road where the path is so narrow that two people cannot walk comfortably side-by-side.
There is a fundamental issue with road crossings in our town. For a start there isn’t enough of them. Secondly they are missing in some very important locations. For example at the junction of Dorset Road and Rectory Lane it can be extremely dangerous to cross. Personally I think the path should be extended further along Rectory lane and a pelican crossing added. A zebra would not be ideal because cars joining from Hutton Lane would not necessarily see somebody crossing due to cars queuing back from the junction.
The Dorset Road junction is one of many places where crossings and road calming are needed.
Me wishing to see Guisborough improved for pedestrians is not out of some hate of cars. Certainly I believe in car ownership. I also believe that for getting around locally walking can improve wellbeing. Walkable Neighbourhoods is a study of how how being able to move around locally without the need of a car improves overall happiness.