Question:
Many residents have for some long time complained about the often near misses that have occurred when walking on shared pavement areas with cyclists.
Indeed, in walking myself, along only a short stretch of Smiths Walk at Woosehill with my dog, l often encounter speeding cyclists who give the impression of owning that entire walkway and who cycle at high speeds with a total disregard for any unfortunate resident, young or old that is also trying to share that space. These are mostly adult male cyclists but can also be school boys.
Usually if it is suggested that they should respect other users and slow down you simply get a profanity in reply!
Despite all l have said, l am a big supporter of shared pedestrian cycle ways and this Council has invested millions in developing a network of them across our Borough for the enjoyment of all. This is being spoilt and l would add lives are being put at risk from the rogue cycle users who bring shame on all cyclists, disrespect those walking and cycle at high speeds to and from work or school.
Indeed, despite there being a legal requirement that bikes should be sold with a bell or horn, few seem either to have them or at the very least wish to alert pedestrians of their presence.
So, what can the Council do to slow these cyclists down, educate them and ensure the safety of young and old pedestrians?
Minutes:
Many residents have for some long time complained about the, often, near misses that have occurred when walking on shared pavement areas with cyclists.
Indeed, in walking myself, along only a short stretch of Smiths Walk at Woosehill with my dog, l often encounter speeding cyclists who give the impression of owning that entire walkway and who cycle at high speeds with a total disregard for any unfortunate resident, young or old, that is also trying to share that space. These are mostly adult male cyclists but can also be school boys. Usually if it is suggested that they should respect other users and slow down you simply get a profanity in reply!
Despite all l have said, l am a big supporter of shared pedestrian cycle ways and this Council has invested millions in developing a network of them across our Borough for the enjoyment of all. This is being spoilt and l would add lives are being put at risk from the rogue cycle users who bring shame on all cyclists, disrespect those walking and cycle at high speeds to and from work or school.
Indeed, despite there being a legal requirement that bikes should be sold with a bell or horn, few seem either to have them or at the very least wish to alert pedestrians of their presence.
So, what can the Council do to slow these cyclists down, educate them and ensure the safety of young and old pedestrians?
Answer
The Council carries out significant work to educate cyclists including the “Bikeability” training programme which is aimed at 10 to 11 year olds. Around 1,500 children are trained each year, before they go to secondary school. We aim to educate local cyclists to do the right thing from a young age. In the last 9 years we have educated over 11,300 children in Wokingham Borough.
Wokingham’s Bikeability Team are recognised by DfT as being high achievers and are regularly cited as examples of best practice and asked to speak at national events on the effectiveness of the programme.
Cycling safety is also built into Wokingham’s “My Journey” sustainable transport initiative, including travel planning advice given to new home owners in the Borough.Maps of cycle routes are provided as part of this initiative, which indicate the designated cycle routes across the Borough as we want our new residents to feel safe and to encourage transport behaviour change to include increased walking, cycling and use of public transport.
To compliment road safety education the Council has made best use of government grant and developer funding to deliver new cycle infrastructure, which is designed to encourage good transport behaviour, a recent example being the A329 cycle scheme.
The Council is also developing stronger partnership with Sustrans and, locally, the Reading Cycle Campaign. Both organisations do excellent work in promoting cycling and how to be safe while doing it. This includes being courteous to other road users.
A bell is not a legal requirement for cyclists. Some pedestrians think that cyclists using a bell are being rude or pushy demanding pedestrians get out of their way. There are many pages on the internet devoted to “bike bells” and how to use them; however as a Borough we do promote bell use for cyclists using shared facilities.
The message promoted by the Council for cyclists is to be safe, be courteous and to have respect for other highway users, and we hope as cycle use continues to grow in the Borough this will become universally embraced by all cyclists.
Supplementary Question
Are there any legal steps that can be taken by this Council against abusive speeding cyclists?
Supplementary Answer
In the case that you refer to, with the shared pedestrian cycleway facility, the safe operation is based on pedestrians and cyclists behaving in a considerate and courteous manner. It is a bit of a jump to go to legal action. You would need pretty strong evidence that a criminal offence had been committed in order to achieve fines and you would also require the Police to judge that it was criminal. Due to pressures on the police force I would suggest that any breach would need to be of a significant nature, with the necessary evidence or witnesses available in order to proceed.