National Access Project

A NEW national project is being launched by British Waterways to keep a real-time virtual picture of the condition of its towpaths and note any obstructions to access.

It states that this will provide valuable information for people with restricted mobility, as well as families with buggies, cyclists and other towpath users. The thousands of visitors who enjoy the canals are being called upon to play their part in the project.

Volunteers

As a first stage of the project, British Waterways is looking for volunteers to undertake detailed mapping of towpath access before the project is widened out later this summer to invite the general public to help keep the picture updated in real time.

By giving up-to-date information about the towpath condition, British Waterways hopes to help people choose where they use the towpath and encourage more people to visit the waterways. The data is primarily based around the needs of wheelchair users but will also be useful to anyone wanting to know a bit more about what the towpath looks like before they visit.

Alas, as far as boaters are concerned it will not 'give a virtual picture' of the waterways themselves, only the towpaths.