Cyclists have made my home city too stressful to live in any more

What do you want a police officer to do? Chase a cyclist on foot? 😂

Sounds like more pedestrians in these places need cameras on their heads like cyclists use
Then send images into the police and papers
If everyone bombards the police they’ll hopefully crack down on these cyclists

I don’t see this problem as I’m not in a city but if I’m in town on a pavement just for pedestrians I don’t move out of the way for those who shouldn’t be there.

I think this concretes my theory that being a cyclist is a mentality. As in to be a cyclist is to be a certain way. It's to be a bully, arrogant, smarmy and intellectually bereft.

(I'm not including leisurely bike riders or the elderly who like to pop to the shops on their bikes.)

All of the traits that make for a miserable society. I think that cyclists and motorcyclists, basically anyone whose main mode of travel is on two wheels instead of four, became emboldened when the Highway Code changes took effect. That two wheels can legally sit in the middle of the lane and hold traffic up, because they apparently deserve to be higher up in the pecking order. More vulnerable road users because they chose to not surround themselves with metal.

Don't get me started on takeaway food riders, or as I call them slop couriers. I've had more than my fair share of nearly being knocked over by them or waxed across the street by them. They have no sense of direction.

Just my two pence.

Completely agree, it's generally not cyclists that are the problem, but "riders" and other menaces on illegally adapted e-bikes. The council spent a fortune on a cycle path on one of the main arterial routes near my home and I am now too nervous to use it as it's full of delivery riders flying up and down, going far too fast for a cycle path and often on the wrong side.

Edited to say: thanks for the lock recommendation!

OP is talking about Edinburgh and I know this because the busy central square was St Andrews Sq and it was my partners bike they were trying to nick! We made the BBC website *preens.

They didn't get it, spent about 15 minutes trying to get through the lock but only got about a third of the way through. Kryptonite NY fugheddaboutit lock, worth it's weight in gold!

And OP is right, those council E-Bikes are a fucking danger - saw someone wobbling about on one like they'd never ridden a bike before on the insanely busy pavement outside St Johns. He had headphones on, holding his phone staring at it and was trying to cycle (I use the term loosely) down the pavement past all the bus stops etc at Shandwick Plc. Absolutely mental. Just Eat riders are another scourge - a danger to both cyclists and pedestrians. I will admit to sometimes drifting along on a green man on my bike but never at speed, and always after all pedestrians have crossed - cyclists do this because drivers are incredibly aggressive and try to mow us down with regularity. (As an examples - I had one driver the other week swerve at me beeping and when I caught up with him at the red light further on (where he was sitting in the yellow box) he genuinely tried to pull me in the car through the window?! Cut my hand with his manky nails, roaring at me that I was a danger. Fucking unhinged behavior in retaliation for me slowing slightly as he pulled out of a junction because he hadn't seen me, and I tend not to yeet myself in front of moving cars with shite drivers - so then when he did see me he got a fright, and decided I was the problem)

The problem isn't cyclists. Cyclists are on the road, and yield to pedestrians. We also have to be really aware of how cars are behaving as if they clip us, it's not my wing mirror they break - it's my legs. The problem is antisocial behavior and a lack of consequences from police/govt.

I don’t cycle on the pavement unless it’s a cycle path and I stop at red lights. I am absolutely in the minority. I hate all bikes on the pavement, not just e bikes. It’s so dangerous. I have young children who have almost been hit several times by inconsiderate cyclists. I also hate the fact the police do nothing about it.

I’m sick of teenage boys (and yes it is always boys) riding their bikes on the pavement. One coming towards me today on a narrow pavement but fortunately he had to stop as his phone fell out of his pocket.

Are cyclists using pavements due to lack of cycle lanes? In my area there are no cycle lanes, the roads are busy, so I figure until the government/councils catch up with the rest of Europe and prioritise cycle infrastructure (instead of just penalising combustion engines) I will hold back my judgement.

However, my health-motivated walks (not quite 10 miles, but quite unusually long in my car-centric area) are going probably to lead my premature death due to the massive pollution I am exposed to. I would swap the polluting vehicles for more cyclists, preferably in cycle lanes (I would even join them if there were cycle lanes).

The yobbos with balaklavas need addressing. It is ridiculous that open criminality or intimidation is tolerated in this country.

I think you live in Edinburgh, like me, and I would agree that the JE/ Deliveroo guys on e-bikes are a menace, although that’s as much down to JE/ Deliveroo business practice as anything. Normal considerate cylists are fine, but i do get a bit annoyed with people apparently trying to do a PB on the canal
path and getting pissed off with pesestrians out for a Sunday stroll.

The boys on dirt bikes are dreadful, I’m not sure what can be done about them. I live near an area they frequent (2 mins from a police station) and they’re just wild, somebody is going to get really injured one day.

Btw excellent posts @Benvenuto ; I agree with everything you say.

Oxford does have a decent cycling infrastructure compared to other UK cities (compared to the Netherlands, not so much!). However, the cycle lanes aren't set up for the illegal e-bikes driving at car speed.

“Significant jail time” is rare even for driving offences even when the victim is hurt / killed. Defendants can also put forward special reasons to mitigate sentences - the local press reports of these are worth reading as they are quite eye-opening.

Cycling on the pavement is banned, but the police have stated that they will use discretion here as they recognise that cyclists can be too frightened to use the roads. Again it comes back to how your local council are designing your streets - if they aren’t designing safe cycle routes, the inevitable consequence will be cyclists on the pavement and police discretion.

We have this problem in Oxford. As others have said, it's not the 'normal' cyclists who are the issue; it's the riders of illegally modified e-bikes. They have huge wheels and are effectively small unlicensed motorbikes. The drivers tend to work for Deliveroo/UberEats/JustEat etc; they wear balaclavas and disregard traffic rules.

Oxford is also a city with a high concentration of pedestrians in the centre (students, tourists, locals), so the e-bikes whizzing through pedestrianised zones are an accident waiting to happen.

I was just saying to my DH last night that it's only a matter of time till someone is seriously injured or killed.

The council and police need to confiscate these bikes and fine the drivers, or establish a licensing system like the one for motorbikes.

I realise the drivers are whizzing around as fast as possible because they're on a very low wage, but as an ordinary cyclist who has cycled in Oxford for more than 20 years, I'm terrified.

Can't help. I live in the rural southwest and was nearly mown down by some moron on a huge ebike, on a footpath. I won't say what I shouted after him.

I'd rather police time and money was invested in dealing with the greater threat of dangerous / illegal driving.

Have you seen the stats for the number of pedestrians kills or injured by cars on the pavement?

Ummmm, I don't know where you live, but it is reasonably well known in my city that the 'deliveroo' riders (especially the ones on e-bikes and scooters that have had been modified to go over the limited speed) are often (not all) in fact drug dealers. They use the uniform, bag and council scheme bikes/scooters as cover. They cover their faces with masks and hoodies too...The balaclava lot (on very fast and expensive scooters) are often higher up the food chain and are moving their product across the city to the network of deliveroo riders.
Obviously there are actual deliveroo drivers too, but my guess is that the pavement light skipping lot are highly unlikely to care about their risk taking antisocial behaviour given that a good many of them are already involved in criminal behaviour.....

We have so called "floating bus stops" where bus users and cyclists are supposed to co mingle and they are awful. Here is what my council says about them:

"There are short areas of 'shared use' at bus stops where bus users will be getting on and off of buses. This type of layout has been successfully used in other parts of the UK and in Europe. Cyclists are expected to make safe and sensible allowance for bus passengers at bus stops."

Ha ha, no the cyclists often don't give way and bus passengers are genuinely in danger.

Just think how much worse it would be if they were behind the wheel or on a moped. My former quiet, one way, 20mph road has been made so dangerous by a minority of car drivers going super fast the wrong way as it saves them a set of traffic lights. Makes it so dangerous and miserable walking to school/work.

E-bikes can be legal, but what I tried to explain is that they don’t always class as bicycles.

Having just looked up the rules (Riding an electric bicycle:the rules on gov.uk), anyone over 14 can ride an e-bike as long as it counts as an “electrically-assisted pedal cycle” (which means that the motor cannot exceed 250 Watts and the motor cannot propel the bike at more that 15.5 mph). So your council’s bikes sound like they do class as bicycles so they can be ridden anywhere you can cycle.

If an e-bike exceeds those limits, then it is classed as a motorbike so should only be ridden on the road. It needs to be taxed and insured, and the rider needs a licence and a motorcycle helmet. If this type of bike isn’t insured, the police can issue a fine and seize a bike.

If you don’t like the e-bikes that your council has licensed because they are creating problems, then you need to complain to your councillor so they can take it up with the operator as they might be able to force them to make changes.

Re delivery bikes, the journalist Laura Laker recently did an investigation into that issue which is worth reading - it’s too complicated to summarize.

I’m a cyclist and been out on my bike today. I don’t break any laws or intimidate anyone. Cars were courteous to me, and I pulled over to let some go past too. No drama. Just respectful either way. It’s not all cyclists, it’s anti socials you have an issue with

Edinburgh? There was an attempted theft using an angle grinder but it was unsuccessful I believe.

I (partly) share your concerns. I have no issue with cyclists but there is an increasing number of balaclava clad numpties on modified e-bikes and it’s bloody terrifying. They put me off cycling as they use cycle paths at excessive speeds behaving aggressively. They’re dangerous to pedestrians and not great for drivers either. I don’t lump them in with cyclists though - they’re a different beast

The pavement thing is not difficult - not bikes.
We have a split pavement arrangement where I live - the cyclists refuse to use it unless the traffic is stopped at the lights, then they swerve at speed onto the pavement and beep at any poor bastard to get out of the way before weaving back on to the road infront of some unsuspecting driver. Like i said a small number want roads, pavements, lanes etc for them first and the rest second.

the law changes have made manners worse from cyclists who feel entitled to scream their rights even when they are in the wrong.

Look at places like Denmark and The Netherlands, where the vast majority of short and routine journeys are made on bikes by people of all ages. Their quality of life and their shared spaces are actively enhanced by increased bike traffic.
I haven't been to Denmark for many many years but the last time I went to Amsterdam a few years ago cycling was hellish with aggressive cyclists who obviously had no patience with people who were a bit usure and also e bikes in the cycle lanes. I think the speeding e bikes and the balaclavas are deliveroo/ just eat etc riders ( some of whom are working illegally hence the balaclavas). These delivery companies need to be sanctioned far more harshly if they encourage or turn a blind eye to people delivering for them, but people also need to realise that their need for McDonalds to deliver to their house at any time they feel like on a whim is part of the problem.

Not sure why you are targeting cyclists. Do you not have an issue with other means of transport when, for example, many road users illegally fly through red lists, fail to indicate, travel beyond the speed limits etc?

Cyclists are not your problem, those that fail to follow the law are.

The speed of some bikes means that they are definitely vehicles. I've seen people on pedal cycles speeding off without pedalling, so a covert motorbike basically. These need cracking down on.

The pavement thing is difficult because in my local city many designated cycle routes are a pavement with a line painted down it or just a sign indicating it is shared. Its not any wider than it was when it was just for pedestrians.