You might have heard the news the other day that the Government is proposing a number of interesting road rule changes, many of them with significance for cycling. I’ll cover them in more detail in a future post but, for now, let me take you back to this blogpost from May 2016, when guest poster Jo Clendon introduced the question of whether cycling should be allowed on footpaths…
Do you cycle with kids? Do you sometimes let them ride on the footpath? Perhaps you’ve seen or heard in the news about my campaign to make cycling on the footpaths legal for children, their accompanying adults, seniors and the disabled. If not, you can watch or read about it here.
{Editor’s note: recall our previous post about where you can or can’t legally ride your bike}
This is a topic that has sparked some great debate. For me, as a parent, it is about keeping our kids safe. I’ve included the seniors and disabled in there too, because I can see a need there also. I hope to engage them (or their advocates) to speak on their own behalf and represent their needs. I know people have some real concerns about whether the footpath is the right place for kids on bikes. I can understand that. I just feel it is a better place for kids than the road. I explain the reasons why and address some of the concerns and objections in this YouTube video presentation.
If this is a topic that interests you you can follow progress on Facebook. If you would like to understand more in detail, including the research I reference, then I’m happy to share links to that information with you. This is democracy in action, and there will be people who support this, and those don’t, that’s all good. If you do support it, please sign the petition at change.org.
What do you think of a change to allow kids to legally ride on the footpath?