Pedestrians’ safety first when building a ‘cycling paradise’

The challenges that cyclists face here is well-documented.

Cyclists and users of personal mobility devices (PMDs) have always pushed for more lane space, more speed, less rules and greater liberty for joyful rides.

I tend to agree that recent rules such as the registration of bicycles and PMDs are quite restrictive, meaningless and impossible to properly enforce.

Let’s be real: Cyclists and PMD riders will do what they want, regardless. These are instruments of freedom and are totally different from cars.

You can build a million kilometre of bike lanes on the road and have bike paths parallel to all pedestrian walkways and these riders will still do what they want.

Along with the Land Transport Authority’s regulations, there ought to be a relentless or long-term campaign to educate cyclists, PMD users and pedestrians, and to change their behaviours.

Some of the messages are:

• They should be considerate and not speed.

• While they may have amazing riding skills, they also have parents and young ones who should not be at the receiving end of a rider’s “manoeuvring” mistake that can ruin lives. (I still feel for the brain-damaged woman hit by a young PMD rider last year and many more such accidents in recent years.)

• For pedestrians to be alert at all times, not to be engrossed looking at their mobile phones, and to be conscious that they, their children and their older parents can no longer walk without being mindful of dangers on their pathways.

Singapore has been a “campaign” nation, but so little has been done to try and inculcate responsible riding behaviour.

There is multi-media coverage when it comes to terminating analog TV, huge and frequent advertisements about Orchard Road’s no smoking zone, even banners on the registration of PMDs and so on, but I have yet to get a sense that there is any campaign on how to be a responsible rider.

I may have missed it but the safety of pedestrians seems to have been missed in building our “cycling paradise”.

Would the relevant authorities care to comment on why this is so? Behavioural experts might want to weigh in on this because I only see more pain for pedestrians as the push for the National Cycling Plan and use of PMDs continues.