As we’ve reported on road.cc over the past couple of weeks, cyclists in
and around the Peak District have been making the most of the closure to
motor vehicles of the Snake Pass, with another “mass trespass” planned
for this weekend.

Landslides mean that a 12-mile section of the road, which carries the
A57 from Sheffield to Manchester, has been closed to traffic since
earlier this month while repairs are carried out at the specific
location where the damage has happened.

Around 100 people on bike and foot took to Snake Pass last weekend to
enjoy the traffic-free road – and with fine weather predicted this
coming weekend, many plan to do so again.

Derbyshire County Council, the highways authority responsible for the
road, insists that the closure applies to cyclists as well as motorists
– although Cycling UK has said that is not the case, and has written to
the council to set out its views on the issue.

A council spokesperson said: “The weekend before last the sheer number
of cyclists, many in very large groups, riding the A57 Snake Pass along
with residents’ cars, road maintenance and farm vehicles meant it was
simply not safe.

“As a result, we had to take the difficult decision to extend the
closure of Snake Pass to cyclists and walkers in addition to the
existing closure to vehicles, other than residents’ and highways
maintenance vehicles.

“We completely understand the attraction of the road to the cycling
community and we did not take the decision to close lightly, but our
duty to people’s safety has to come first.

“Our estimate is that around 100 cyclists and walkers chose to ignore
the Snake Pass road closure signs on Saturday.

“We will continue to work to try to balance the needs and safety of
cyclists, motorists, walkers, local residents, visitors, farmers and
businesses,” the spokesperson continued.

“As work to assess and mend this significant landslip carries on, we
will continue to keep under review if any sections of the road are safe
to open.

“It is a very complex operation because the landslip is still moving and
we thank everyone for their ongoing patience.”

Not all locals are welcoming of cyclists taking advantage of the current
situation to enjoy the motor traffic-free roads, however.

One resident of Glossop who has lived in the town for 40 years told the
Derby Telegraph: “Ordinary cyclists were going up and damaging the work
they were doing to rectify the landslides. I have seen them going up. It
doesn't bother me but if people are trying to rebuild the road and
cyclists are disrupting it, there won't be progress.”

The newspaper did note, however, that the body language of residents
changed between them describing the impact of the usual motor traffic on
the pass, and how they feel about the current closure, with interviewees
described as breaking into “a cheery smile” when asked about the latter.

<https://road.cc/content/news/not-just-cyclists-loving-snake-pass-closure-so-do-locals-291143>

--
Spike