Plans to allow bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters on footpaths opposed

Under the proposal, cyclists and riders on e-bikes and e-scooters will be able to use the footpath. Photo / Michael Craig

A plan to allow e-scooters, e-bikes and other bikes to use the footpath at up to 15km/h is being slammed as an attack on pedestrians.

Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter is behind the proposal, saying she wants to know if people support cycles being used on footpaths at low speeds, limited only to children under 16, or whether cycling should continue to be banned from footpaths.

The plan is part of an "Accessible Streets" package of new rules aimed to improve the safety of pedestrians and encourage activities like cycling and e-scooters to create more liveable towns and cities.

Groups promoting walking and the elderly strongly oppose the plans, saying it will make the country's footpaths scary and unsafe for pedestrians.

Walk Auckland spokesman Andy Smith said it was absolutely ridiculous to change footpaths into shared paths for pedestrians, bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters across the country.

"At the moment we have got kids on bikes and skateboards on the footpath and that is fine. We don't want any more than that," said Smith, who is also a member of the national body that promotes walking, Living Streets Aotearoa.

Smith said people, particularly the elderly, would be scared to go out for a walk if they had to share the footpath with electric vehicles, like e-bikes that can weigh up to 50kg and cause serious harm from accidents with pedestrians.

Turning traffic will have to give way to pedestrians under the proposals. Photo / File

He believed Genter and the cycling lobby were behind the changes, saying cyclists "want everyone to work around them".

"The enthusiasm of Julie Anne Genter for cycling has clouded her vision of what a footpath should be.

"It doesn't work that way. We have to be considerate and think about who is around us and use the appropriate machines in the appropriate places," Smith said.

Living Streets is encouraging its members to make submissions on the plan and say 'no' to bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters on the footpath.

"Our response are guided by the principle that both riders and walkers, as well as disabled people reliant on wheelchairs and mobility devices, should be able to move about safely. Putting them all on footpaths doesn't achieve that for either group," Living Streets said.

Auckland Grey Power president Gillian Dance said footpaths were for people, saying "bikes on the footpath are a definite no-no and a definite hazard".

She does, however, support children continuing to be able to ride bikes on the footpath on the proviso they have a bell.

"When I have a near miss from a scooter or bike coming from behind me it does scare me, and I don't scare easily," the 75-year-old said.

Auckland Council does not support e-bikes, e-scooters and most bikes being allowed on footpaths.

In a submission approved yesterday, councillors agreed that allowing cyclists up to 16 years old on footpaths and an exemption for accompanying caregivers and people over 65 "strikes a more appropriate balance between the needs of pedestrians and cyclists".

Auckland councillor Pippa Coom. Photo / Dean Purcell

Councillor Pippa Coom, deputy chair of the planning committee, said the council position was a compromise to allow young people and vulnerable to ride on the footpath safely.

She believed the council submission had landed in the right place to improve pedestrian safety, encourage active modes - a term for things like bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters - and help make streets more liveable.

Currently, she said, e-scooters could not use cycle lanes and that would change under the package.

Both Coom and Smith support a "pedestrian-friendly" change requiring turning traffic to give way to pedestrians travelling straight along a main road.

Another proposal in the package is to restrict parking on berms and remove the need for signs. Auckland Transport has wanted to ban parking on grass berms, but been stymied by Land Transport Act rules which mean "no parking" signs must be installed every 100m to do so.

Auckland Transport's submission is in draft form and the council body would not be commenting on it until it had been to the board for feedback, a spokesman said.

The NZ Transport Agency has extended submissions on the package by four weeks until May 20 because of Covid-19.