Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Enforcement against errant cyclists, PMD users to be stepped up

SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will set up a dedicated enforcement team to take action against reckless cyclists and users of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs), after the Government accepted in full the recommendations made by a panel last month on rules and norms for the use of footpaths and cycling paths.

SINGAPORE —  The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will set up a dedicated enforcement team to take action against reckless cyclists and users of Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs), after the Government accepted in full the recommendations made by a panel last month on rules and norms for the use of footpaths and cycling paths. 

The LTA team will work with the Traffic Police and National Parks Board to focus on hotspots. Community volunteers will also be roped in to carry out patrols, starting in the Toa Payoh East/Novena constituencies at the end of this month. In addition, the LTA will require registration of electric bicycles for more effective enforcement, in particular against illegal modification of electric bicycles. 

Most of the changes are expected to be implemented by the end of this year or early next year. In tandem, the LTA will step up public education: From this month, it will launch an Active Mobility Campaign to raise awareness of the policies, rules and code of conduct, and the rationale behind them. The LTA will also embark on targeted engagement sessions in the coming months to familiarise key stakeholders such as community leaders, retailers and interest groups.

The Activity Mobility Advisory Panel submitted its recommendations last month following eight months of work. 

Its suggestions include a 15kmh speed limit for footpaths, which can be used by bicycles and personal mobility aids and devices, such as electric scooters, kick-scooters and hoverboards.

Announcing the new initiatives during the Ministry of Transport (MOT) Committee of Supply debates on Tuesday (April 12), Senior Minister of State (Transport) Josephine Teo said the panel’s recommendations are “fair and balanced, with sensible rules and guidelines” to ensure the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and PMD users. 

“These new rules significantly improve the mobility options for everyone,” she said. 

Mrs Teo noted that “more and more Singaporeans” are connecting to the public-transport network, or getting around their neighbourhood by cycling and using PMDs. “This is a small but rapidly expanding group. Their profile is quite diverse, ranging from neighbourhood ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’, to students going to school, and parents sending their kids to and from childcare,” she said. 

Apart from the public awareness campaign, the Singapore Road Safety Council and the LTA will pilot next month an education programme on safe-cycling practices and proper use of cycling infrastructure. 

The LTA will also be working with PMD retailers and interest groups to develop similar education programmes.

During the transition period before the policy changes come into force, retailers and the public “are encouraged to concurrently begin their preparations to comply with the new policies, rules and code of conduct”, the LTA said. For example, those who are looking to buy PMDs should look for devices that comply with the panel’s recommendations, it added. 

The LTA is working with volunteers from non-government and grassroots organisations to roll out an Active Mobility Patrol scheme, which is similar to the Tampines cycling warden scheme. Tampines started deploying wardens after it embarked on a trial introducing cycling paths to the town in 2007. 

Mr Steven Yeo, who has volunteered as a warden for close to a decade, said most pedestrians and cyclists display gracious behaviour on the paths, although sometimes he sees cyclists using both the cycling and pedestrian walkways. The 56-year-old, who volunteers about three to four times a month, recalled how he once convinced a cyclist to dismount from his bicycle and push it across a pedestrian crossing. 

The cyclist had told him that dismounting and pushing his bicycle across the road took too much time. To prove that this was not so, Mr Yeo walked alongside him to show that it took only seconds.

“The issue is to convince people because sometimes it is a perspective issue,” said Mr Yeo, who is vice-president of an asset management company. 

Apart from the Toa Payoh East/Novena areas, the Jurong Central and Taman Jurong constituencies, and the Waterways Watch Society have indicated their interest in participating in the Active Mobility Patrol scheme.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.