Some Kaikohe folk have well and truly had enough of children and youths riding their bicycles and motorbikes on the town's main street, showing scant regard for vehicles or their own physical wellbeing. Others, however, defending them has just kids having some harmless fun and do not deserve to be "picked on," by the police or anyone else.
Kaikohe residents and visitors alike have long been complaining, however, one resident saying that the problem with bicycles had become increasingly concerning over the last five months. The worst problem was on the main street, Broadway, but other streets, and State Highway 12, were also popular with riders, most of them described as youths.
Whether they were on bicycles or motorcycles, they tended to ride without helmets, on the wrong side of the road, and weaved in and out of traffic "playing chicken."
Cyclists, generally in groups, had also taken to hanging around outside shops and ATM machines, blocking the footpaths for pedestrians.
Police had reportedly seized a number of bikes over the last two weeks, prompting a response from some adults to the effect that their children had done nothing wrong.
