While it is wonderful news that the government proposes to invest in cycling and walking to improve health and reduce inequality (Labour investment in cycling and walking will be unprecedented, says Louise Haigh, 20 August), the government must also invest in the 140,000-plus miles of public rights of way throughout England and Wales.
These footpaths, bridleways, and byways (public highways) should be open and welcoming, but many are suffering from neglect and abuse – ploughing, cropping, barbed wire, insurmountable stiles – and many are unrecorded. A recent BBC survey revealed more than 32,000 obstructions on public paths, ie one obstruction every four and a half miles – and the problems are increasing. Local authorities no longer have the funds to maintain the paths, despite it being their statutory duty to do so.
