THIS IS THE BLOG OF COLIN JONES, RHYL TOWN COUNCILLOR: BODFOR WARDl
The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and not the views of the town council.
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Some months ago in the Bodfor ward I rounded a street corner and had a near-collision with an oncoming cyclist on the pavement. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was speaking into a mobile phone while holding the handlebars with one hand. On seeing me, he wobbled, then stopped and glared as if I were causing an obstruction.
Last year some residents who raised concerns about the growing incidence of cycling on the pavement, were told at a community police meeting that it was not an offence (unless the bicycle was being ridden dangerously). Nevertheless a recent enquiry from town council elicited an official police response to the effect that:
Yes, it is an offence to ride a pedal cycle on a footway. Police constables and police support officers can issue riders aged 16 and over with a fixed penalty of £30.
To raise public awareness of this, I've suggested that perhaps there ought to be a local poster campaign. The chances of police being able to make a sustained attack against cyclists on the pavement are remote. I can just hear cheeky and cheerful enforcers of the law saying, “What do you want us to do, Councillor? Chase after bikes or catch criminals?’
To which I would reply, 'Both, dammit!'
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