170 years of illegal pavement cycling - and it's still ignored

4.59.43pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 5th Sep 2006

Cycling on the pavement is an offence under Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 - yet residents in Weston-super-Mare still find themselves plagued by inconsiderate cyclists more than 170 years later.

That's the claim from the town's Prospective Liberal Democrat MP, Councillor Mike Bell. He says that he has been contacted by scores of residents who have been injured or unnerved by cyclists tearing down the resort's footways.

Mike said: "It has been a common complaint over the years: why can't we put a stop of cycling on the pavements? I looked into it, and it turns out that it has been illegal for nearly 200 years, but you wouldn't know it.

"One gentleman stopped me in the High Street this week to say that he is fed up of being on his guard to avoid being knocked by a cyclist. It's tempting to think this isn't a major issue, but the RNIB say that 75% of blind and partially sighted people say pavement cycling is a problem. In 1999 one person was killed after being hit by a cyclist on a pavement. It can be that serious.

"I've asked the police to do more to take enforcement seriously. They have the power to issue on-the-spot fixed penalty notices to pavement cyclists. They need to do so. It's a particular issue in the pedestrianised parts of High Street and Big Lamp Corner and so I've also asked the council to work with the Town Centre Partnership to see what more can be done to tackle the problem.

"Of course we need to improve cycle paths and help people to cycle in safety, but we must also get the message across that the pavement is for pedestrians."