Irresponsible Scout Leaders blocking cycle path

[captain nemo1701]

This took the biscuit tonight on my way home.
I have posted about the segregated cycle path on Cattle Market Road in Bristol being used as a free car park by anglers but what I encountered this evening staggered me. Parked up blocking the cycle path were:

Two cars
One minibus with trailer
20 kids in life vests
Three adults attempting to launch a makeshift raft into the water.

We had a fatal drowning near here recently, they were illegally parked and there is no slipway or launching facility. Stupid and irresponsible in my view, so rather than create a 'scene', I reported it to the police.

Did any other Bristol cc'ers see them tonight - about 6.30pm?.

 

[fossyant]

Oh great ! They are Scouts, you trying to stop some proper fun ? Climbing, etc all have risks.

Yes they shouldn't block the cycle path, but its hardly a big inconvenience. The leaders should at least be warning people approaching and making sure there is a way through. I'd be happy to see something like that going on.

 

[Drago]

Its hardly setting a good example to the children in their care. By the time they're old enough to drive themselves they'll be subliminally conditioned to thinknits acceptable to dump their cars on any bitnof tarmac they fancy.

 

[ufkacbln]

We have the same issue with a local BMX track

They prevent families form accessing the beach and coast as vehicles empty a series of kids and BMX bikes whilst parking on the cycle track

 

[captain nemo1701]

Oh great ! They are Scouts, you trying to stop some proper fun ? Climbing, etc all have risks.

Yes they shouldn't block the cycle path, but its hardly a big inconvenience. The leaders should at least be warning people approaching and making sure there is a way through. I'd be happy to see something like that going on.

I am not against kids having fun, but scout groups in Bristol have an arrangement with local sailing clubs to use their facilities. This, in my opinion, was wholly irresponsible as it is not a launch facility, there is no slipway. They had to get this thing over a fence, down a slope into the water. BTW, they were completely blocking the path, parked up beside double yellow lines. There are proper, safer facilities in the area for this stuff. A cycle path is not a boat yard!.

 

[fossyant]

That explains it better!

 

[FishFright]

I am not against kids having fun, but scout groups in Bristol have an arrangement with local sailing clubs to use their facilities. This, in my opinion, was wholly irresponsible as it is not a launch facility, there is no slipway. They had to get this thing over a fence, down a slope into the water. BTW, they were completely blocking the path, parked up beside double yellow lines. There are proper, safer facilities in the area for this stuff. A cycle path is not a boat yard!.

So how did you communicate your fears to the Scout leaders concerned ? Or did you scoot home as fast as you can to get on the phone and internet while rubbing yourself with used copies of the Daily Mail ?

 

[Banjo]

Great to see 20 kids doing something like that instead of lying on their beds on playstations etc.

 

[snorri]

Sounds like there might be a volunteering opportunity going a begging there, a responsible individual required to organise training exercises in transporting awkwardly shaped things through obstacle courses

 

[captain nemo1701]

The key here is safe facilities. For example, a boating lake with a slipway. I am not agianst getting kids out and being active and yes, things have risks. But this just looked amateurish and wasn't really appropriate considering the police divers a few months ago were searching this spot for someone who vanished on his way home from the Motion nightclub. As I stated before, I didn't want to create a scene, but on reflection, maybe I should have 'had a word' - I most certainly will if I encounter them again. Better scout groups would have gone to proper facilities. There was no need for them to be there.
BTW, I loathe the Daily Mail.

 

[Dogtrousers]

So you dib dib dobbed them in.

Woggle they do now?

 

[winjim]

Write to the DC.

 

[Biff600]

What a miserable killjoy

 

[Vegan1]

Appears to me like some much needed experience an education for a group of youngsters with respect to the near fatal drowning that you said occurred.

A bit of give and take needed me thinks, and involving the old bill - sorry but.

 

[Jimidh]

My memories of the scouts includes doing lots of daft stuff up hills, in water and playing with fires, axes and saws.

Part of the fun was doing stuff that felt a bit dangerous even though they were were pretty well supervised by adults who knew what they were doing.

I suspect that that the adults in charge tonight knew exactly what they were doing - let's face it launch boats from a field is much more Scoutish than doing it from a boring mooring.

Phoning the police was way over the top.