Get off your bike!

The conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians along Southbank Promenade are well known.

People walking the south side of the river between Clarendon St and St Kilda Rd must constantly check that a high-speed cyclist is not about to ram them, especially in peak periods.

And the lane allocated to cyclists on the crossing of Queensbridge St is a joke. Many pedestrians fail to use their unmarked section, so cyclists ignore the part marked for their use. This frustrates both pedestrians and cyclists.

A much clearer road marking system might help.

An equally dangerous situation exists in Clarendon St, opposite Crown. Two sections of the narrow footpath in Clarendon St have been clearly marked with signs that tell cyclists to dismount. One is close to the IGA store on the south side near Whiteman St, and the other is on the north side, outside The Tea House. This is an area I walk frequently.

Do cyclists dismount? No! In my experience less than one in 50 takes notice of the signs.

On the rare occasions that I see a cyclist doing the right thing by dismounting, I thank them. I usually ask other riders to dismount, and have often copped abuse.

(“Shut up you f-----g bitch”.  Lovely, particularly when directed at a woman who is not young!) I believe if there were police in that area, on an ad hoc basis, cyclists would  learn the hard way that they must obey rules.

If the current situation continues, there is sure to be a very serious accident.

In the future I’d like to see cyclists using only specified routes that are not shared with pedestrians.

In the meantime, in Clarendon St, perhaps those of you who are pedestrians can ask cyclists to get off their bikes, and compliment those who have dismounted.

Lynne Lumsden Whiteman St, Southbank