THE RAMBLERS - SANDWELL GROUP

Walking in Sandwell - the Strategy.

A "Walking in Sandwell" forum was formed by Sandwell MBC in February 1999 to produce a Strategy for Walking in the Borough of Sandwell. It defines the way in which the needs of pedestrians will be approached within Sandwell in the next five years.
Meetings originally took place at monthly intervals and are now held quarterly. The participants have included:-
Sandwell Group of The Ramblers, Pedestrian Association, Sandwell Health Authority, British Waterways, Transport 2000, Sandwell Motorcycle Forum, West Midlands Police, Groundwork Black Country, and various sections of Sandwell Council.
The finished Strategy was presented to Councillor Bob Badham, Cabinet Member of Sandwell Council for Urban Form, on Saturday 22 September 2001 at a ceremony at Savacentre in Oldbury. The presentation was followed by a 5 miles celebratory walk along the Birmingham Canal towpath and around Sheepwash Nature Reserve.
Proposals from The Strategy have been used in the preparation of the Sandwell Rights of Way Improvement Plan which is scheduled for implementation in 2007.

The Strategy - Vision, Objectives and Aims:

Vision
An environment and culture where people choose walking as the primary means of making local journeys as part of a safer, healthier, more accessible and sustainable lifestyle for all.

Objectives

• Encourage people to walk more often for purposeful and leisure trips, preferably instead of using their cars for short journeys.
• Improve the quality of, and satisfaction in, the walking environment.

Aims, these include:-

• To make walking Sandwell as pleasant an experience as possible.
• To promote regular walking as an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
• To reduce the number of road accidents involving pedestrians.
• To increase the number of children walking to school in preference to travelling by car.
• To encourage walking by reducing fears for personal security.
• To ensure that the walking environment in Sandwell meets the access requirements of people with disabilities.

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Representatives of Sandwell Group of The Ramblers have attended every one of the monthly meetings held to date of the WALKING IN SANDWELL forum. Whilst fully contributing to all of the various sections of the draft Strategy, our main concern has been in the formation and presentation of the section on leisure walking. The section on Leisure Walking is shown below:-

Aim:
To encourage more people to walk within the Borough for recreational and health reasons, and with Agenda 21 aims in mind, to promote walking as a healthy alternative to using the car for short trips.

Background:
Sandwell, with its comprehensive network of canal towpaths and natural corridors, has enormous potential for the development of routes for leisure walking. Ever increasing transport costs will restrict the opportunities for its residents to travel afar to experience the joys of walking, thus increasing the need to provide such recreational facilities within the Borough.
Leisure walking is a natural progression for people who are taking up walking upon medical advice as a means of achieving physical fitness. An increase in the level and awareness of leisure walking will lead to more people walking for utility reasons as an alternative to using the car for short journeys.
For many people walking the dog is one of the few ways they actually take any exercise. As such it is important and needs to be addressed as part of a walking strategy.

Particular problems in Sandwell:
Very few of the footpaths are signposted both where they meet roads and regularly along the route. There is very little encouragement for residents to get out and walk.
Many of the paths, and particularly the connecting links, are badly littered eg supermarket trolleys and rubbish in Princes End Walkway, rubbish and litter in Haines Branch walkway at Great Bridge, etc.
Even after 25 years in existence, Sandwell is a somewhat disparate place. Footpath trails would be a way of unifying and linking up communities, and creating interest for both residents and visitors in the former towns and districts within the Borough.
With its immense industrial heritage, Sandwell has a great deal to offer the visitor and walking trails could prove to be an enormous boost for tourism.

Strategies to encourage and increase leisure walking:-

• Signposts
  Existing footpaths should be properly signposted both where they meet roads and regularly along the route. The current fitness walking initiatives being undertaken by the Sandwell Area Health Authority will stimulate more interest in leisure walking but this could be nullified if people do not know where they can walk.
• Maintenance
  All footpaths and signposts should be maintained in a usable condition.
• Definitive Map
  The Definitive Maps for Smethwick, West Bromwich and Great Barr should be completed. This provides a measure of protection and is the ultimate basic reference on rights of way, without which it is difficult to plan leisure routes. It also prevents anyone from taking unilateral action in blocking off a recognised path.
• Building Developments
  When new building developments are being considered, provision for walking routes should be triggered automatically, in the planning process. This is particularly important along rivers and canals, and other sites with recreational walking potential.
  It should be an aim, which may be longer term, to develop a walkway along the entirety of Sandwell's principal river, the River Tame.
• Cross Borough Walking Trails
  A network of cross borough walking trails should be developed that would link together open spaces, recreational areas and places of historical interest.
  The basis for these trails already exists and local interest groups, such as the Ramblers' Association, would be prepared to work closely with the local authority to set them up. (see route proposals plan)
  With a little ingenuity, these trails and paths could be routed to avoid roads, be well-marked and signposted, and publicised with trail leaflets. They would provide environmentally friendly and healthy family recreational opportunities.
  Many more people, and particularly families, could be tempted to venture out walking for leisure if they were made aware of local walks, and if they knew where to go!
  A feeling of civic pride and contentment of living in a desirable area without containment would be generated, providing an antidote to antisocial behaviour.
• Footpath Custodians
  It is recommended that a network of voluntary footpath custodians should be set up, initially to look after the proposed leisure routes. This could be extended to cover trouble spots such as alleyways and connecting paths between centres of population.
  The custodians would be assigned a path or paths near to their homes and would undertake to walk them regularly. For the scheme to be successful, they would need to have a "hot line" telephone number to ring when problems occurred such as vandalism, dumping of rubbish, lighting out of action, etc., so that prompt remedial action could be taken.
  The Sandwell Group of The Ramblers is prepared to provide the nucleus for such a team, to which could be added other concerned citizens.
  More people walking a path and swift repair work are seen as deterrents to anti-social behaviour.

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(amended 10/1/07)

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