To feel unsafe when cyclists use pavements illegally?

[BridgeWalkingVideo]

Looking for constructive advice and views on how to handle cyclists illegally using one of the two pavements on a busy road across a bridge in London.

The video at the link below (8 mins) was taken when I walked across the bridge on the narrower 'no cycling' pavement at about 9am on Monday.

In the video there are several instances of potentially hazardous moments, and some reckless behaviour at the end (the cyclist going too fast and nearly ending up in the road). My experience of walking across this bridge on that side is that this is all too common, and cyclists should not be using that pavement.

Cyclists do continue to use this 'no cycling' pavement (in part because the signage at the start and end is confusing), but should be dismounting and crossing the road to use the pavement on the other side of the road (which is marked as shared) or indeed the road itself (but I quite understand why cyclists would prefer not to use the road at that point). I believe the 'no cycling' restriction was brought into effect in 2021 (both pavements were shared use before that).

I do also have a video (not uploaded yet) from walking across the bridge on the other side (the shared side), which to be honest despite being slightly wider is still not great (it also having a bus stop narrowing the pavement being one reason).

So which pavement should I as a pedestrian use? The narrower pavement for pedestrians that cyclists use illegally but where I would be safer if the rules were followed, or the wider shared pavement where it might be safe if everyone rode with due care and attention? Or should I just get the bus across the bridge? 😕

And what about people with mobility issues or sensory impairments that will be more at risk? Am I being unreasonable to think that these instances of a shared pedestrian-cycle space (one legal, one illegal) are inherently unsafe, or does the 'no cycling' side need to be enforced so that the design works as intended?

Would it be unreasonable of me to ask cyclists to stop cycling on the 'no cycling' pavement?

I don't know what to do about complaints but in my town I frequently encounter cyclists on a very narrow pavement because they do not want to cycle on the busy road.

When I use that pavement I walk as close as possible to the building walls i.e. as far away from the road as possible. I don't use my phone or headphones so I am aware of what is going on around me. If I see a cyclist on the pavement coming towards me or become aware of one coming up behind me I slow down but I do not change my position on the pavement. If the cyclist is behind me they will usually go into the road to pass me or they will slow right down and/or they will ask if I will let them pass. In the latter two situations I will stop and get as close to the wall as possible to let them by. If they are coming towards me I simply continue with my path and speed and stop (in the middle of the pavement) while they still have time to stop without knocking me down if it looks like they are trying to intimidate me. I don't remonstrate with them, I just make it clear that I won't shrink away on a pavement I have a right to use and they don't. If they are polite I will do all I can to facilitate passing safely.

Ooohmatron, if cyclists can do know wrong on mumsnet, who's starting all these anti cycling threads?

@lljkk thank you so much for those links. I had found the article about the 2021 changes, but not the 2019 proposals (it is scary quite how much of the original proposals got dropped).

I had been poking around on Streetcare, but can't quite work out how to unearth older 'resolved' reports. How did you find that one from 2021? It does look like I need to add my voice and concerns there, though it seems like the concerns are not being addressed (I have a vague recollection that the current 'no cycling' signs might actually be very recent, I wonder if it is possible to find out when they were put up?).

I have decided to upload the video I took on Tuesday on the other side of the bridge (referred to as the Strand on the Green side), it is currently uploading, and while that pavement is definitely wider I am not sure of the exact pavement widths either side (I have seen people use apps on their phones to measure distances, I won't use a tape measure as that will look weird and would be dangerous!).

To be fair, outside rush hour the bridge is often mostly deserted. Though it is at the crowded times that conflict and accidents are most likely (though cyclists are more likely to speed across the pavements on an empty bridge, and will sometimes carry on speeding when a lone pedestrian appears...).

Agreed re: mobility scooters (or did you mean e-scooters?). The other major concern is bus stops. People getting on and off buses on the actual bridge are quite likely to step right into the path of a cyclist if that cyclist is not paying attention.

Video has finally finished uploading. It is 10 mins long and includes boring waits at pedestrian crossings, so those with short attention spans busy lives may want to watch it on 2x speed or something. 🙂

It is also more boring than the other clip, with the closest thing to drama being one cyclist arguably going a bit too close to the kerb when passing two pedestrians (me and someone else passing each other) - this is either a good example of good pavement etiquette on a shared pathway, or an example of where a small slip or mis-step could have fatal consequences, depending on your perspective I suppose. The abandoned hire bike at the end will annoy some people as well.

If anyone does have time to watch this clip and has seen the previous one as well, would be interested in views on the relative width of the pavements and whether the overall design (shared on one pavement, and in theory pedestrian-only on the other side) is reasonable, or just awful design?

Exactly, the lycra louts are worshipped by many on MN!
They should never be using the pavement, if they do and finish up in the road being fatally injured because they can't control their bike they are 100% to blame.
Millions have been spent on providing cycle lanes that aren't used, the law has been changed to allow them to rule the roads, beloved of the morons with their cycle helmet cameras! Where I livet there are many narrow roads, my local one has passing places that all the motorists use with no problem. Usually a cyclist will move into one of these and the car will pass, in my case, slowly. However one lout decided that he would have fun on the 2 mile road, 'thou shall not pass' mentality, even looking back and grinning, he was doing exactly that when he hit a pothole, coming to an abrupt halt. Schadenfreude describes it perfectly.

It wasn’t a pavement. It was a shared path. I can post pictures to prove it if you like.

I was thinking of e-scooters on pavement, not mobility scooters.

TfL says e-scooters are also illegal on pavement... shall I guess that e-scooters are very common sights on G-London pavements?

Just don't shout out 'Get off the f@king pavement!' then do something stupid 😱

I usually see them on the roads honestly. I expect they take shortcuts down pedestrianised areas, because motorbikes often do that too around here, but I haven’t noticed them zipping down normal pavements, no. Wouldn’t be enough room on most pavements, and in Brixton town centre there are too many people.

It’s rubbish design. Segregated cycle lanes on both sides of the road would be much better.

Not painted on part of the pavement, because in my experience pedestrians and their on-lead dogs, children, and hand-holding couples, weave around on both the pedestrian bit and the cycle lane trying to clothesline cyclists. Plus the pavement isn’t wide enough, so dangerous.

And not “one side of the bridge pedestrian, the other side a two-way cycle lane”, because we have a few of those in Southwark, and in my experience pedestrians ignore the bright green paint, walk down whichever side is closest, and then yell at cyclists to get off the pavement, when they themselves are actually walking down a cycle lane. Obviously a minority, but it is still bloody dangerous.

If I was cycling over that bridge I would cycle on the road. And probably have an angry driver yelling at me to get in the pavement. You can’t win. A fully segregated lane, like this, is by far the safest option. It will take away one of the car lanes though, so drivers will hate it and object.

A bus lane would work though? Then the cyclists can safely go in the bus lane, buses don’t spend 30mins in a queue to cross the bridge, and somehow drivers don’t get as pissy about bus lanes as they do about cycle lanes.

Those rubber fins killed a police officer on a motorcycle near me. It was dark and there were no upright posts and he didn't realise he was in a cycle lane. As he steered into the carriageway he clipped one of the fins on the road and lost control hitting his head on a lamp post. I think the council got in trouble for it not being marked properly.

First picture I could find on Google small enough to attach! I’m not wedded to any particular design, just an illustration of a segregated lane.

London main roads are all pretty well lit. And the cycle lanes are painted bright blue or bright green. They are quite hard to miss.

JudgeJ, I hope you don't get behind the wheel of a car, with that amount of anger

I find the segregated Vs non segregated argument a difficult one. When I have a shared bus and cycle lane (generally my preferred option) I'm far enough from the traffic that I don't need to be formally segregated.

In my town they've put a load of those little bollards up to segregate the cycle lanes but they are so narrow that they make me pretty nervous cycling in them. They force me to cycle much closer to the kerb than I would choose to generally. They also ensure the street cleaning vehicles can't get to the cycle lanes so they fill with detritus and become unusable. I often end up cycling in the road outside the bollards thus doubly pissing everyone off.

Another hearing aid wearer
I still don’t hear noises behind me until they are very close

several times I’ve had cyclists get really angry at me, because I haven’t heard them ringing their bells. On an ordinary path. Not one that is shared. I’m walking along, with my dogs (on leads) and I get abuse. It’s scarey. I’m genuinely frightened by them.

it simply isn’t safe for pedestrians for cyclists to be on pavements/paths.

When I am walking/running I hate cyclists ringing their bell at me, especially if there is ample room for them to pass me. I often wonder how much room they need!

If you keep well to the left on a path, cyclists will be able to pass you easily. Just keep an eye on what's going on.

Most conflicts arise due to path-hogging.