Should cycling be allowed on the pavement?

[Cycleops]

Story on the BBC's site.Apparently the police in many parts of the UK are now not stopping cyclists for this.

Should cycling be allowed on pavements? - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38688256

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[MontyVeda]

providing the 'pavement' cyclist isn't being a nobber, there's no problem.

As far as I understand it, the police are advised not to tackle pavement cyclists unless they're being reckless or causing a nuisance to pedestrians. It's a sensible approach.

 

[MarkF]

Why not? In many areas the pavements are so wide and so lightly used there is room for cycle lane to be introduced anyway, 90% of my commute to work could be on a pavement without hardly ever meeting a pedestrian. Of course that is different to cycling along a suburban pavement outside housing.

 

[Markymark]

As long as it's safe then yes. The bigger question is on that stretch why are cyclists feeling unable to use the roads?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

In many circumstances it's absolutely fine, so long as it's considerate. I've no problem with kids and less confident cyclists carefully using the pavement to avoid heavy or fast traffic. The police are turning a blind eye I see.... I suppose that since police time is so stretched, and since motorists rarely get stopped for things like phone use, no seatbelts, fog lights always on, aggressive driving and excess speed etc then I'm quite surprised that any police would even consider a stop for this.

 

[Drago]

No. "Pavements" are for peds.

Alas, the issue is self perpetuating. The more cyclists feel unsafe and use the path, the less cyclists use roads, the less motorists become accustomed to encountering them, and the less they become skilled and courteous in their dealings with cyclists.

Then there's the compulsion aspect. If the majority of cyclists end up on the path then the motoring lobby will be clamouring all the louder to keep us off their road? why not, they'll say, seeing as hardly any cyclists now use them anyway?

Ride on the road, but ride with skill, diligence, courtesy and the correct lights etc. If things really are that bad then get off and walk the short distance until it's safe to resume.

 

[sarahale]

The police quite often catch cyclists at Hampton court bridge, one side is a cycle lane but the other is not.

 

[ianrauk]

Fine with it as long as everyone is considerate and mindful of others. However as you get tosspot cyclists on the roads you will get tosspot cyclists on the pavements which gives naysayers the ammunition for the classic 'all cyclists blah blah blah'.

 

[Tin Pot]

The police quite often catch cyclists at Hampton court bridge, one side is a cycle lane but the other is not.

The police contributing helpfully to society once again.

 

[Drago]

The local population will have identified that as a priority, hence the police spending time on it now and again. Surely you can't be upset that they're delivering that which the public have requested?

 

[chr15b]

I'm in favour of it, when I started getting back into cycling I completely understood the lack of confidence people will have cycling on the roads. So long as those cycling on the pavement are considerate to pedestrians, I don't see the problem.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

My problem with the article is that nowhere does it mention that pavement cycling is legal where a local authority has redetermined the pavement to shared use. The article reinforces the mistaken, yet widely held, belief that all pavement riding is illegal.

 

[Drago]

Best ask that question of the Government, who made it compulsory that NPTs (or insert whatever local name they go by) regularly canvass local opinion to determine local community policing priorities, no matter how bizarre or ludicrous they may be. This is how 'motorcycle nuisance' was identified as a local policing priority in my parish last summer, despite no such incidents being reported to the police since 2014...

The good news is our NPT found it very easy to report back 3 months later that they'd eradicated the problem.

 

[Markymark]

Well, yes and no. Yes the local population should have some say but do they have greater ownership of that bit of road than people passing through?

And is policing but public opinion the best way to choose priorities?

 

[Drago]

The government thinks so.