Sunday 1 September 2024

It's the new way

Three years ago, I wrote about no-entry signs that had suddenly popped up on either ends of a thoroughfare between Machcin II and Adamów Rososki. The situation is as is; though the new signage suggests the old ones were defaced or torn down. Below: the farm track in question. Note the sign to the right, in the shadows... Question – has this any legal status? (My take is no – it doesn't.) But does it stop people from using it? Yes and no.

Although the unasphalted farm track is shown on local authority maps as a public right of way, according to the same maps, the actual land is privately owned. Below: as official as maps go, that yellow line is pretty unambiguous. All entirely transparent; check it out online. The light-blue lines demarcate individual plots of land, and further drilling down gives ownership details.

And yet although the road is clearly marked as being 'private, no through-road' at both ends (below); the land between the house halfway down the road and the lower end of the map is indeed shown to be privately owned; but the top end is not part of that same land. This sign, however, suggests otherwise.

Talking to local people, this unilateral decision by "new people from town" to close off the road to farm traffic has been controversial, to say the least. On today's walk, I have seen that a compromise work-around has been reached. Approaching the track heading north from Machcin II, I noticed a new way (below) carved out through bushes, running parallel to the disputed road. There's nothing like a new path to explore!

Below: I go. Further down the path; see the tape-topped staves marking the left-hand edge of the path.


This is important at this time of year, when wagon-trains of apples are hauled by tractors from the orchards to the collection points (punkty skupu – thanks Roman P for the correct translation). The unilateral closure of the road had meant a two-kilometre detour for the apples, bumping over unmade tracks (bumping means bruising, means lower prices for the crop). Interesting to see whether the new way acquires a proper surface.

Below: I have drawn in this new way in yellow and the location of the no-entry signs. Comparing the Google Maps satellite image with the local authority map (top), you can see on the latter that there is actually a space demarcated between existing land-holdings, presumably for access purposes.


A difficult issue to judge. The people in the house keep two large dogs that are allowed to run free outside the enclosure. Now, while pedestrians are not explicitly prohibited, knowledge that those dogs can rush up to you barking puts people off. I take a big stick with me when using this route. Now, local walkers have an alternative.

September begins as hot as August ended. Temperature outside at half past four in the afternoon is over 27C.

This time three years ago:
September (and Jupiter)

2 comments:

Bob said...

Always interesting to read your musings and discoveries!

Michael Dembinski said...

Thanks Bob! As Moni says, I couldn't stop blogging if I tried - and it's kind comments like yours that keep me keeping on!