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

[valianttortoise]

Cycling on the pavement (on e-bikes, racing bikes, whatever) at speed, silently, no lights often, no pausing for pedestrians to cross at zebra crossings or even green men. An e-bike nearly hit me yesterday while a policeman was literally standing there watching (outside a government building in case you're wondering where on earth I saw a live one) and he did nothing, just looked at me like "wow that was close!"

I can't handle it any more it's miserable. I can't drive so it's not a car thing it's a pedestrian safety thing.

I also think seeing that it's fine to do this, in balaclavas often, is sending a message that crime and bad behaviour in general are ok. No one will stop you.

Some men (boys? hard to tell in balaclavas) on e-bikes provided by the council took an angle grinder into a busy central square last week and just calmly cut out bicycles from stands to steal them (obviously a crime I feel conflicted about in itself but how long until they realise they can just mug pedestrians at knifepoint? It was 3pm, bright sunshine).

I find it kind of hard to believe what we're just supposed to live with now. No safe spaces for walking - forget about it if you're visually impaired.

If you live somewhere with no antisocial cyclists where is it please as I'd like to join you.

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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’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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

I have experienced this twice. Rare yes but it does happen.

The hire bikes aren't a big problem in Cambridge (except for inconsiderate parking), it's illegal emopeds, including those ridden by Just Eat et al. Though these seem to have been less problematic recently following a police crackdown.

Even Holland is having problems with twattish youths on ebikes nowadays.

I think a lot of people's problems with cyclists are just down to not being bothered to look properly when walking/driving, not being considerate with the space etc. Real bad behaviour exists and is pretty commonplace, but is not as dangerous as many make it out to be.

Or on an e scooter. There’s plenty about

Since we got shared pathways with no demarcation, cyclists appear to have taken to using any pavement to cycle on with little regard for pedestrians or dogs. I have had to stop going out after dark with the dogs as it’s virtually impossible to see cyclists in black with no lights coming towards me in either direction with the expectation that I would leap out of the way (and a mouthful of abuse at times if I didn’t). The walks were no longer enjoyable as I was constantly having to look over my shoulder and I didn’t feel safe.

These people are not cyclists. Actual cyclists get enough shit from people without being lumped in with inconsiderate twats

You and your dog Wear something reflective and don’t move out of the way
I don’t, ever
You have priority

Both dogs (large and medium) have high viz reflective coats. Regardless of priority, I valued my life too much and don’t bounce as well as I used to do. I also don’t want to have two dogs who become reactive to anyone on bike and like walks to be enjoyable. I now stick to walks in daylight.

Are you aware that the vast majority of people who use cycles, also drive cars and walk? A prat is a prat no matter how they are moving around.

We've become normalised to dangerous drivers. Certain parts of the media take pride in whipping up fury against cyclists, yet remain blind to the exact same type of behavior in drivers.

So a bit of a non event then

As a pedestrian, 4 wheeled vehicles cause me far more distress

Exactly and not all e-bikes are illegal and go fast.

OP I've been saying the same about my own town recently. its getting really bad with mostly adult men and teenage boys speeding around on pavements on motorised bikes and scooters. They seem to think they have right of way on the pavement when they shouldn't be on the pavement and scooters don't seem to be legal at all. The police don't seem to be interested at all and its like the wild west out there and increasingly so. Driving is also worse, with a driver almost running down as he fully mounted the pavement recently so he could drop someone off closer to their door. So selfish and dangerous.