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Police issuing FPN to cyclist in Southend (Essex Police)“Fining is one of the few options left”: Council proposes charging cyclists £100 for riding on High Street
Southend Council has launched a consultation to impose stricter no-cycling rules in the town centre that could see cyclists being ordered to pay £100 for riding on the High Street.
Cycling is already banned in Southend’s city centre, however Martin Terry, councillor responsible for public protection, insists that the rule is frequently broken and that fining cyclists is one of the few options left and a way to completely stamp it out.
The consultation is set to be part of a plan to strengthen a public space protection order (PSPO), which was first introduced in Southend in July 2019 to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Councillor Terry, who’s also the deputy council leader said: “We’ve had a lot of complaints about cyclists and escooter users riding dangerously in the high street.
“Older people are worried about it and there’s been a number of people struck and quite badly injured by dangerous riders. We get people riding at a ridiculous speed and people find it unnerving.
“The tougher rules cover all the pedestrianised areas in the high street. I am a keen cyclist and am pro-cycling but I walk my bike through the high street.”
Southend Police has already taken actions and fined cyclists under the PSPO, after alleged complaints about reckless cyclists and the illegal riding of e-scooters.
Last April, town centre officers stopped 19 people on their bikes and issued three with Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs), along with a fine of £100 after they ignored the directions to get off their bikes and walk with it, in just one day.
In October, another cyclist from Southend received a fine of £100, £150 in costs, and a £40 victim surcharge for the single offence of cycling.
This marks another episode in councils using the PSPO to implement a “zero-tolerance policy” for cyclists riding bicycles in pedestrian areas in the city centres across the country. Just last week, a 60-year-old cyclist was ordered to pay £500 in Grimsby, with a councillor hailing the hefty fine as “a great result for our enforcement teams”.
North East Lincolnshire Council further added that it had fined 85 people last year for cycling in “prohibited areas”.
The same council had come under criticism previously, after locals accused officers of targeting “old and slow” cyclists after a pensioner was fined for riding through the town in 2022.
And in December, its neighbouring governing body, North Lincolnshire Council announced a PSPO for Scunthorpe and Brigg, saying it has “escalated” and “intensified” its “war on cycling menaces” by implementing a complete ban on riding a bike in pedestrianised zones, as part of a wider crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.
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51 comments
As I understand it, pretty much the entirety of the National Cycle Network is shared use.
As I understand it, pretty much the entirety of the National Cycle Network is "an adventure" even if you're on foot. And some parts are a boating adventure in the wet...
Meanwhile:
http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2014/04/is-that-shared-use-path-do-...
https://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/do-dutch-pedestrian...
http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2014/11/shared-use-paths-create-con...
Of course the more sensible answer is "it depends on the situation". There are indeed parts of the NCN which coincide with urban paths (there's some I regularly use). But I would guess the vast bulk is "recreational" - or indeed on roads - rather than though busy urban spaces.
Cycling and walking are rather different modes. They can co-exist - it's hardly like mixing cars and pedestrians, or trains and cars - but that is only comfortable where there are very few of either. It's not really relaxing for pedestrians, and it's similar for cyclists.
I think the Netherlands' pragmatic "only build cycle paths in the countryside" is sensible. And in fact you could say that's what the UK does already! Indeed in the countryside, next to a busy road there's sometimes an overgrown ribbon of concrete for everyone not in car...
interesting, cant say Ive ridden the entirety of it so I wouldnt know, but it seems alot more road based around me than just shared paths.
but I wasnt talking about shared use areas, which as we all know do have their share of conflict, these were specifically pedestrianised zones, where cycling is banned by a pspo, and pavements which are certainly not shared use for cyclists.
Lots of evidence that people riding bikes can share with people walking, or running. Having lived in a country where this was common I never heard of any complaints. I was surprised when at a junction a van driver actually stopped to let me pass, and another time I had stopped halfway up a mountain to get a drink. A car driver stopped to ask if I needed any help. All this negative attitude towards people cycling is perpetrated by LA'S, police, government to distract from the real issue. Drivists.
If theer is deliberately no enforcement on ASB, then a free for all is created.
I have a pretty simple rule: I avoid places that ban cycles instead of applying behaviour & risk sensible penalties.
Excellent idea . The walk won't be long and it can be factored in for any time constrained travel.
"I'm a keen cyclist"
translation:
"There's a rusty bike buried somewhere under the junk in the garden shed".
Well, that touched a nerve. Hello, councillor.
Why don't you takle the actual problem of dangerous cycling? Rather than penalising the easy target. Too difficult?
If its not on Strava, you're not a keen cyclist.
One might say the same of you.
Agreed. Cyclists should obey the rules just as soon as the police and courts begin the war on the terrordrivers with some proper penalties, as opposed to the joke advice letters and the only slightly less joke driving courses which are anyway only imposed reluctantly because ' everybody does it', and they 'didn't see [whatever]' and 'didn't mean to do it'. The bogeyman of the terror-cyclist is only introduced to distract attention from the real menace and the real cause of 95% of traffic problems: the driver and his motorised vehicle
As usual tempted to say "you've got all kinds of issues, you're strapped for cash ... and you're doing this?" Plus the bingo of "people find it unnerving / ridiculous speed".
However - some people are going to be less socially aware or even anti-social, and if they've got e-whatevers and especially ones they don't need to pedal guess what? Some are going to hoon it about and generally be a nuisance.
I'd like to assume this could be done on a "common-sense" policing basis e.g. we can tell the difference between someone essentially using a bike as a mobility aid and someone being a jerk. Unfortunately that is all new in the UK!
It does trigger me a bit about "pedestrians spooked by terrorfahrraden" but there is truth there. People aren't used to cyclists being around and a few will also seriously drop their chips however you ride - even if cycling considerately. Of course, this occurs in part because of the positives of cycling (it's quiet) - plus people have learned to be scared of things on wheels because cars...
Police common sense dictates that if you have a choice between stopping young Johnny who is doing 30 mph on his illegal e-bike or granny doing 6 mph on her Raleigh shopper you pick granny because you have far less chance of getting tyre marks all over your face!
The only people who will stop are those that are not a danger to anyone in the first place. The absolute twats I see riding like bellends in built up areas are not going to stop if a PCSO asks them nicely. I imagine they will go home and learn how to flip them the finger as they do their wheelies or they will just completely ignore them as they rush to their next deliveroo destination.
So fineing otherwise law abiding citizens does nothing except alienate them and raise funds for the LA. The problem isnt dealt with.
Fine by me. Pedestrianised areas are for pedestrians. Could they also please fine those who park cars in pedestrianised areas (a.k.a. pavements) the same £100?
I think that would be my only issue as well. Driving in a bus lane is a £70 fine reduced to £35 if you pay promptly. This is set by the Secretary of state. Same with Parking fines. Who sets the fine for cycling on the High St? Why is it higher?
In London the bus lane fine is now £160 (£80 for prompt payment), set by TfL, though I assume they have to get permission from the DfT to set it so high. That by the by, the FPN of £100 for breaching a PSPO is set by central government and is the same everywhere.
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