Forum Topic

Pavement Cyclists

Yesterday I was walking along Tottenham Court Rd and had reached the section outside Heals.  A man on a bike suddenly cycled fast out of a side road pavement and was cycling straight at me on the pavement.  He wasn’t even looking at the pedestrians, but looking at the road.  I shrieked as I thought I was going to get hit and moved aside quickly, he turned his head to look ahead, saw me, tried to move out my way and moved to the direction I was now walking in.  He then changed direction again and sped away in the space between me and Heals shopfront. A man walking behind me, saw it all and sympathetically said, why isn’t he cycling in the road as it is empty? I try to walk everywhere and don’t understand why I have to look out for my safety on the pavement.  It was an empty road and a fairly busy pavement.

Martine Guy ● 387d10 Comments

If an Emergency Vehicle is making a noise to pass you, you let it by moving out of the way. Or obviously having to pull into a cycle lane. Every sensible car or van driver has the sense to do so. We have more traffic because of he closure of Hammersmith Bridge which has been going on for 5 yrs. But the young men on bikes are dangerous as, somebody put on here about Lacy Rd the other day pedestrians having to jump out of the way. Also the poor elderly lady knocked into the air by a motor bike,  did anybody actually know the lady or what happened to her. Lacy Road you have to keep looking left or right, even when you have attempted to cross. Same as the crossing at the end of Sainsbury's road, cyclists do not stop. they go through the lights. Also the delivery drivers on their bikes.

Barbara Stevens ● 379d

> There are so many speeding and there have been a lot of incidents lately of cyclists trying to pinch your phone and they go so fast. They seem to think it's OK for them to go the wrong way down roads or speed on the pavements and most seem to think by covering their faces they won't be caught.The ones on illegally derestricted electric bikes are often out to steal mobile phones, so it's no great surprise that they're happy to break other laws whilst trying to steal phones.In terms of general cycling behaviour, more enforcement is required, but you can thank the austerity policies of the current Government for the fact that there aren't enough Police out on the streets. We'll see if a change of Government makes a difference.It's the same (if not worse given the more extreme consequences) with driving. The behaviour of drivers on the roads has dropped sharply over the last 10 years and the number of people killed and seriously injured is rising.> All the new cycle lanes are causing more problems than needed.Not really. They've helped a huge number of people ditch their cars and get on their bikes. This has helped reduce congestion (since it takes a few cars off the road) and lessened the burden on the NHS by helping people become healthier. The more bikes on the road the fewer cars and the more space there is for people who can't ditch their car.The biggest thing cyclists could do to highlight how much they reduce congestion is to all decide to drive their journeys instead.> Narrowing roads doesn't help Emergency vehicles. All they are doing is wasting money on pavements cycle lanes and it's really unnecessary, when one of their own is delayed getting to hospital or their house being burnt down I suppose they will change it back to how it used to be.There's absolutely no evidence that cycle lanes have had any negative effect on emergency service response times. In fact they often improve it by changing the road configuration from, say, two lanes of motor vehicles that an emergency vehicle can't get past to a single lane of motor vehicles which can now temporarily move into the cycle lane space to let the emergency vehicles past.The biggest thing that stops emergency vehicles getting to their destination quickly is traffic, of which bicycles are a tiny minority. If we want faster response times then we need less traffic on the roads, and motor vehicles are the vast majority of traffic.

John Kettlekey ● 379d

There are so many speeding and there have been a lot of incidents lately of cyclists trying to pinch your phone and they go so fast. They seem to think it's OK for them to go the wrong way down roads or speed on the pavements and most seem to think by covering their faces they won't be caught. All the new cycle lanes are causing more problems than needed. Narrowing roads doesn't help Emergency vehicles. All they are doing is wasting money on pavements cycle lanes and it's really unnecessary, when one of their own is delayed getting to hospital or their house being burnt down I suppose they will change it back to how it used to be.

Barbara Stevens ● 380d

A horrible experience Martine.  However you do have to look out for your safety on the pavement.  The problem seems to grow as you age in our experience with nattering pedestrians or phone-reading pedestrians walking straight at you!There is definitely a decrease in consideration for others on our streets.  It is really unusual to see a cyclist wheeling their bike on the pavement nowadays!  I and many others would find it nigh impossible to jump sideways and the last time I tried that I nearly fell as I was being pushed onto the slope leading onto a zebra crossing.Although unlikely to be where you had the problem - look out for the pavements that have been signed as being shared by cyclists and pedestrians. And revisit the Green Cross Code for pedestrians and the new Highway Code which is for pedestrians as well. Remember that drivers reverse their cars and don't always look and cyclists often are allowed to cycle against the traffic on One Way streets.  So it is always safer to look both ways when crossing roads and driveways!

Philippa Bond ● 380d

This was a very sad case for everyone.What was shocking was the pavement wasn't a cycle path and the cyclist didn't stop to give way to the pedestrian on the narrow path, yet it seems in the rush to convict her they neglected to prove 'the fundamental question of whether a base offence was established'.After the ruling, Ms Grey's lawyers slammed the decision to ever charge the 'vulnerable' woman, who has cerebral palsy and partial blindness, in the first place. They said: 'Ms Grey simply should never have been charged.'https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13396299/Why-woman-sent-prison-Prosecutors-face-questions-judges-quash-conviction-disabled-woman-spent-year-jail-causing-cyclist-fall-path-car-say-simply-never-charged.html

Ed Robinson ● 381d

I had a similar experience several months ago on Piccadilly (south side), walking past Fortnum &Mason. Readers might remember there were roadworks underway on Piccadilly with traffic diversions for both cars and cycles and a fairly narrow walkway for pedestrians on the pavement. Walking towards the tube after dinner I was shocked to narrowly avoid being flattened by some cad on a cycle, unwilling to follow the traffic diversion, careering down the pavement at top speed in complete disregard to the heavy throng of pedestrians walking towards him. This was in the evening so visibility was relatively poor, although surprisingly the ruffian had a bike light on which is probably what saved the day. If it hadn’t been for my eagle-eyed companion spotting the fellow and shouting a warning, I would certainly have been hospitalised. Fortunately new laws are on the way to prosecute this kind of behaviour but far too late in my view- and unlikely to go far enough. What is the best way for pedestrians to deter this sort of cyclist behaviour, a suitable implement to introduce to the spokes? A handful of tacks to scatter in their path?

Lock ● 381d

Thanks for the replies.  It was a green coloured bike.  He was going so fast, straight at me, I thought I am going to be knocked down, Help!   The roads of the West End seem much emptier than in the past, except for Oxford Street.  I have even thought of hiring a bike and riding round!  Doubt I will though.  TCR was quiet, only an idiot would think of riding instead on a fairly busy pavement like this.

Martine Guy ● 387d

Inexcusable behaviour that happens far too often with various kinds of bikes."The Lime/Forest eBikes are the worst, as they're not only capable of going very fast but they seem too often to be ridden by people with little knowledge and less concern for the rules of the road"If the Mayor had a proper bike hire scheme or reasonable policing to ensure bikes were not stolen in broad daylight then things may be different. I hear even Brompton bike users carry their bike with them into the shop for fear of theft.Lime bikes are used by lots of people legally to commute.Many do get hijacked and dumped in inappropriate locations.It is a private company fulfilling a service in a high crime city!

Ed Robinson ● 387d

Omg that must have been so scary Martine. It's such a pity the dangerous,  entitled imbecile didn't fall off his bike and break a few bones.

Sue Hammond ● 387d

That's a horrible experience, Martine; there's absolutely no excuse for it. The Lime/Forest eBikes are the worst, as they're not only capable of going very fast but they seem too often to be ridden by people with little knowledge and less concern for the rules of the road.

Richard Carter ● 387d