At the moment, it is illegal to ride your bicycle on the footpath in N.S.W unless you are under the age of 12.
The fine if you are caught is $106 (so start carrying loose $2s), and both Bicycle NSW and Bicycle Network want this law overturned.
Bicycle NSW Craig Meagher told the Tele that the law is dangerous and counter-productive.
“Children are being forced to ride on the road at the age of 12,” he said.
“Adults who are rediscovering bike riding are being left with no option but to battle the roads.”
This is a good point. The law runs counter to the idea that we should be encouraging more people to ride bikes.
What $106 in local council revenue when the cost of the entire planet is at stake? Plus, bike riders on roads is super annoying, too.
Both WA and SA overturned the law in the past few years, with only Victoria and NSW currently enforcing it.
Other proposals, such as reducing speed limits in residential areas to 30km/hr, make less sense, and won’t fix the main issue: that inexperienced bike riders are currently expected to make up part of a traffic stream including heavy vehicles hurtling along at deadly speeds.
