Sharing pavements with cyclists and scooters is frightening

[Longlazyday]

Particularly the proliferation of motorised scooters and bicycles, and delivery people using these modes of transport and needing to be quick.

See the right of children to run freely on pavements and precincts, and people in general to walk without needing to be on high alert has been eroded.

What’s my point? Why is this considered to be reasonable. Why not just declare full on Mad Max.

I was almost run over by a Deliveroo driver when I was pregnant, I threw my handbag at his head. They don't give a shiny shite about pedestrians!

Electric scooters and bikes are illegal in most public places. The government and police just turn a blind eye.

Most people don’t consider it to be reasonable, it’s only the selfish people that are too pathetic to cycle on the road that do it.

Are you talking about people legitimately using the pavement, e.g. when it's marked as shared use or has a cycle lane painted on, or people just riding on the pavement when they shouldn't?

In my experience, the former situation is mainly workable, albeit not ideal, because people know to look out for others and everyone just has to be considerate. The latter is very annoying, but surely quite rare? Young children do ambush you on bikes and scooters, but the vast majority of adults stay on the road or in the designated bike lane. Are you living in some hot-spot of pavement riding?

We have set cycle lanes where I live but it does not stop some scooters being ridden full pelt on the pavement. Don't get me started on the cyclists using the cycle lane but in the wrong direction...

Someone local to me was hit by an e-scooter while on the pavement and very badly injured. He was self employed and had to take a significant amount of time off work which had an absolutely devastating effect on him. I have small children and it’s terrifying sharing the pavement.

I disagree that pavement cycling is rare, it happens all the time round here, and not in shared pathways.

YANBU. Going through our city centre you have to dodge them constantly now. Worse however are the parents of children in my DCs primary school allowing them to ride electric scooters home, they’re bloody lethal on the things and I’ve had to pull my toddler out of the way many times. The parents are halfway up the road and the kids can’t even hear them. Kind of defeats the purpose of exercise as well.

As someone who is visually impaired, this is something that really irritates me. I've lost count of the amount of times people have just sped past and not using their bell.

I almost got run over by a scooter user one evening. What goes through their brain when they dress head to toe in black? The scooter had no lights on either

I don't think any scooters should be ridden on pavements - even the little ones that toddlers use as the iron wheels hurt like buggery when they ram into you

Scooters are for the park, not for crashing into people on the school run

E-scooters are as illegal to drive on a pavement as a motorbike or car.

Cycles can use a pavement if there are signs up showing it's an official shared-use route but should generally be careful and considerate of more vulnerable pedestrians.

Pedestrians shouldn't wander four-abrest on a shared use path leaving no space for cycles to pass them safely, nor let their dog scamper freely along risking a them causing an accident with a cyclist.

My mum has osteoporosis and is terrified of being hit as she thinks it will ultimately kill her. Do worry about elderly people getting hit in particular

they are a menace with people going through red lights as well.

It drives me nuts. I put pavement cyclists in the same anti-social category as people who make a racket on their phones.

I’ve had cyclists ring their bell at me to move out of the way. I’m a pedestrian using the pavement so I refuse.

Ive also had cyclists fly full speed down hills and nearly hit me as I’m going through a zebra crossing.

I am pro cycling but safe cycling for pedestrians.

Imagine being a cyclist finding yourself in a whipped up culture war with 3 ton SUV's in a country with virtually zero cycling infrastructure. Not saying that cycling on the pavement is ok but the issue is, as ever, due to the faillings of the government not a guy trying to get to school without dying.

So does mine. She also has a fracture in her back now, so is terrified of scooters, bikes and people who have their dogs on extended leads.
One fall can kill for many elderly, fractures, time in hospital and they end up with pneumonia and die.
Bell ringing doesn't do anything for me and other hearing impaired people walking.

Everywhere I go in London there are cycle lanes galore! For some reason a lot of cyclists prefer to use the roads or pavement though.

I know what you mean. I feel like an NPC in some sort of racing video game.

But it is not just the odd cyclist on a pavement any more.

Nowadays, canal towpaths, seaside promenades and narrow footpaths in towns are no longer the place for pedestrians to stroll.

They have been designated shared use by default because cyclists are using them as if they were bike lanes.

I can remember back when seaside promenades were a way for families and elderly people could walk in safety next to the beach - what a shame this simple pleasure has been ruined.

As I see it, councils were tasked with 'going green' to encourage cycling and reduce the number of cars. Because having dedicated cycle lanes like the Netherlands was costly - they decided in their wisdom to denote any wide footpath, pavement, promenade and tow path should be by 'share with care'.

The problem with that is that cyclists being faster, heavier and slightly arrogant, don't care enough to share nicely with vulnerable human beings.

Cyclists riding on the pavements where I live is rampant. They're an absolute menace. The majority of them are teenagers / young men and they don't give a monkeys to be frank. The irony of there being a cycle superhighway right next to that same pavement seems to be lost on them. It's infuriating, especially given that our 2 lane A road was reduced to 1 lane in order to accommodate the cycle superhighway. So now we have traffic gridlock in the 1 remaining lane for vehicles and they still ride their bikes on the busy pavement. 😡

Meanwhile, as I was arriving home yesterday afternoon - driving my car down the one way street to my road's turn-off, a family of 5 were merrily riding their bikes down the middle of the one way street IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. 2 parents, 3 young kids and the parents looked at me like I was the one in the wrong. This is a busy part of inner London. Seriously what is wrong with people these days?!!

I’m not a driver and a big fan of London buses. What irritates me is that there is talk of getting rid of the bus lane and replacing it with a cycle lane. Buses are so important to people who struggle to walk/cycle. Why make life shitter by making them sit in traffic

Shared pathways are fine if everyone is aware that they are shared and stick to the rules.

Usually - keep to the left
Watch out around you - this is for everyone - people with dogs, children, cyclists, scooters - wearing headphones that block all noise at the same time as staring at your phone is unsafe, keep it for when you are not moving.

Children and dogs need to be supervised and kept as close as necessary commensurate with their age/recall Long leads /invisible leads are dangerous if you are ignoring other path users and do not have your dog under full control

Cyclists/scooters need to be considerate, slow down and ring bells whilst approaching

Pedestrians should avoid having a meeting/chat in the middle of the pathway, whole families holding hands across a two way path and generally assuming they are the only people allowed to be on a shared path

It can be done if all path users make the effort to consider others

I live in a city where only buses, taxis and cyclists are allowed to use the roads in the city centre, but cyclists still use the pavements.

Im a pedestrian trying to safely get to work too, I don’t drive.

No fan of bikes on pavements, but if you think it’s scary to mix w cyclists as a pedestrian, imagine how scary it is to mix w lorries and cars as a cyclist!! Just think about the speed and weight differential!

Also, 99% of people killed by a vehicle on a pavement are killed by drivers not cyclists. Motor vehicles pose a far more deadly risk to pedestrians.

I am not keen on bikes being on pavements, but I have a much bigger problem with the vans and cars who park on pavements. In fact they often drive onto them to park when there's a pedestrian around.

None of the parties have pledged to ban pavement parking - I would vote for them if they did*!

*unless it was Reform