Footpaths are for feet

Press, 2 August 1985, Page 16

Footpaths are for feet

Two recent polls by the Automobile Association (Canterbury) have shown overwhelming public opposition to the proposal that young children should be permitted to ride bicycles on footpaths. The proposal came from Parliament’s Select Committee on Road Safety late last year. The intention is sensible enough — to reduce the risk of accidents between motor vehicles and those cyclists least able to deal with riding in traffic. But it is no advantage to separate motorists and young cyclists if the outcome is to mix up cyclists and pedestrians. The cyclists will be better off; the pedestrians, surely the least harmful and most neglected of road users, will be worse off. If cyclists and motor vehicles are to be separated it should not be done through clumsy and unenforceable regulations that set an age limit, or that would limit the places where riding on footpaths is lawful. Cyclists deserve more consideration than they often receive from traffic planners and regulators. Their demands are small, compared with those of motor vehicles. Theirs is the healthy, efficient and non-polluting method of rapid travel round

city and suburbs. The answer to their problems surely lies in giving much greater attention — and funding — to the system of cycleways that separate cyclists from motorists and pedestrians alike. In particular, more attention needs to be given to the needs of cyclists at busy intersections. Cyclists, young and old, are most at risk among turning traffic. This problem would not be solved, and might be made worse, if young children were able to ride on footpaths so that they sometimes entered intersections against the flow of the traffic. Increased inconvenience for motor vehicles, in the interests of the safety of cyclists, should be acceptable. Increased discomfort and danger for pedestrians is not acceptable. In the end, the best solution lies in improved education, especially in such things as tolerance and good manners, for all road users. On past performance such a campaign, however desirable, is likely to make slow progress in improving road safety. The practical solutions still lie in keeping apart, as far as possible, pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicles.