Cycleway scooters rile push bike users

Cyclists fear for their safety on Auckland's most popular cycleway because of its increasing illegal use by motor-scooter riders.

They have begun supplying police with scooter registration numbers after close shaves on some of the narrower parts of the 12km-plus Northwestern Cycleway between Central Park Drive in Henderson and Newton Rd in the inner city.

Auckland Regional Council transport committee chairwoman Christine Rose, who pedals to and from work on the cycleway most week days, said yesterday the rogue scooter riders were marring an otherwise idyllic journey.

"The cycleway is supposed to be the refuge for cyclists, not for everyone else in a low-powered vehicle who wants to take a short cut," she said.

"The scooterists have no regard for cyclist safety - they don't slow down around bends or going downhill when overtaking or passing."

When she and other cyclists tried to remonstrate with the scooter riders, the invaders on their turf became even more "flagrant and dismissive and hazardous to our safety".

One frequent offender, whose registration number she had passed to the police, told a fellow cyclist who accosted him this week: "You're in my way. I'm going to work."

Ms Rose said she usually came across one to three scooters each time she used the cycleway, and was constantly in fear of meeting one on a blind bend.

She feared an increase in angry confrontations, if not serious injuries, as the numbers of cyclists and scooters increased and winter delivered fewer daylight hours and less visibility.

Waitemata police district road policing manager Superintendent John Kelly said he had referred a complaint by Ms Rose to the Henderson police, who intended taking enforcement action against the scooter riders.

"Unfortunately a few people are seeing it as an easy option for commuting but it is not allowed. People expect to be able to use it [the cycleway] without their safety being threatened."

Mr Kelly said operators of motor vehicles on footpaths could be fined $150, and he expected the same would apply to those who used the cycleway illegally.