Source: Radio New Zealand
The proposal would let children under 12 ride on the footpath rather than the road. (File photo) 123RF
A cycling group is praising a government proposal to allow children under the age of 12 to ride their bikes on the footpath.
The idea was floated by Transport Minister Chris Bishop, along with others including allowing E-scooters in cycle lanes and requiring drivers to leave at least a one metre gap when passing cyclists.
Bike Auckland co-chairperson Karen Hormann told Morning Report, letting children ride their bikes on the footpath made sense.
“Having young kids in 50kph traffic is not the way forward. Ideally these younger kids won’t be travelling very fast and hopefully parents and caregivers are helping them to understand how to be considerate.”
Hormann acknowledged there were some concerns about pedestrian safety, but said there were already many shared paths around Auckland and cyclists and pedestrians would need to work together to make the change work.
Motorists would also need to take extra care when coming out of driveways, Hormann said.
“You’re going to have to look threes time, maybe more, just to make sure.”
Hormann also welcomed the proposed change to allow E-scooters in bike lanes, saying vehicles travelling a similar speed should be kept together.
A proposed change would allow e-scooters in bike lanes. (File photo) 123RF
The AA earlier said the plans to update some transport rules reflected the changing times.
Chief policy and advocacy officer Simon Douglas said the AA would consider the detail over the next month, but was supportive for the most part.
He said allowing scooters on cycleways was common sense.
The chief executive for Age Concern, Karen Billings-Hensen said while some of the proposals on rules were good, they key issue would be the impact on pedestrians.
She said there should be consideration around the speed children were cycling and whether they were riding two abreast.
It needed to be clear children need to give way to pedestrians, she said.
Consultation on the proposals would be open until March 15.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand