All road users, including pedestrians, must be mindful of others

There have recently been concerns raised over shared paths for pedestrians and cyclists, possibly because of an incident where a child was injured by a cyclist at a park connector.

But if Singaporeans are to accept cycling as a cleaning and healthier mode of transport, I hope all road users — pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and motorists — know the role they play.

While a motorist is also a pedestrian or perhaps a cyclist at some point, a pedestrian might not ride bicycles or motorcycles, or drive, which means he may not understand some of the constraints users of these modes of transport face.

On Tuesday morning, for instance, I was at a traffic crossing that had a section designated for cyclists. Such crossings allow cyclists to ride across without alighting from their bicycles. I noticed there were pedestrians waiting within the bicycle section for the lights to turn green in their favour, instead of staying within the section demarcated for pedestrians.

My point is that pedestrians are often vocal about issues that arise from sharing their paths with bicycles yet are silent about the issue of pedestrians stepping into bicycle lanes.

Singapore is a small country with limited land for housing, parks and roads. In order to make our country a liveable place, we must always share our resources and be mindful of other individuals.