Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

But Bike SA has labelled the proposal “draconian” and the Government won’t support it.

Liberal transport spokesman David Pisoni will today introduce legislation to impose the speed limit, after laws to allow cyclists of all ages to ride on footpaths came into effect late last year.

Michael Zannis, of the Royal Society for the Blind, said he received regular emails from RSB members saying they had been hit or involved in a near miss with a cyclist on a footpath.


He said that while most cyclists travelled along the footpath at a safe speed, it was necessary to legislate for “the minority” that do not.

He said the Liberal proposal would allow cyclists and pedestrians – especially those with disabilities – to share the footpath “in harmony”.

Currently, cyclists can ride at or up to the speed limit on the adjacent road.

Dignity for Disability MLC Kelly Vincent told InDaily that while a 10km/h speed limit for cyclists on footpaths may be difficult to measure and enforce, it might get cyclists to think more about the speed at which they ride.

“You’d hope people would do that [ride at a safe speed] without legislation,” said Vincent.

“This is legislating for common sense.

“Even if it’s not enforceable … it may just be putting legislation in place that it might get people thinking about [cycling speed on footpaths].”

However Bike SA CEO Christian Haag told InDaily the restriction would discourage cycling and do more harm to overall public heath than good.


He said cyclists use common sense when riding along footpaths and don’t need “draconian” laws to enforce that.

“We see [10 km/h] speed limits as detrimental to encouraging people to ride on footpaths,” he said.

Haag said the ability for people of all ages to cycle on footpaths had caused a large increase in the number of South Australians cycling, and the resultant public health benefits far outweighed safety risks to pedestrians.

He said there had not been a recorded fatality from cyclist-pedestrian crash in South Australia and there was, on average, one serious injury to a pedestrian each year as a result of an encounter with a cyclist.

The legislation would impose a 10 km/h speed limit for cyclists on footpaths, but give councils the ability to adjust the speed limit in their area.

Councils would also gain the ability to ban cyclists from particular footpaths.

Pisoni said the proposal “would also give councils the ability to increase that speed if they wish, on shared paths, or dedicated bicycle paths without having to go through a bureaucratic process”.

“They can also, if they choose, ban bikes on footpaths, whether it be in shopping strips or restaurant strips or other areas where they feel it’s not appropriate for bikes to be on footpaths.

“The citizens’ jury recommended cyclists being able to travel [on footpaths] at slow speed, so this now defines what a slow speed is.

“It’s the same speed that defines a pedestrian speed for a gopher.”

But Transport Minister said the Government would not support the legislation.

“This is not something that should be supported by the Governement – it’s not supported by the police, it’s not supported by the Local Government Association,” Mullighan told reporters this morning.

He said the Liberal Party had held seven different positions on cycling laws in the past 16 months.

Asked how cyclists would be able to monitor their speed, Pisoni said “this is a lot like how a motorist know what 1 metre or a 1.5 metre [gap from a cyclist] is – people aren’t running around with a ruler”.

However, “most mobile phones now have GPS … if somebody is concerned, they can set their mobile phone up on their bike [to monitor their speed]”.

He said the legislation would also cover health bills for pedestrians hit by cyclists on footpaths that require treatment.

“They’ll be treated in the same way as if they were in a hit-and-run [involving] an unidentified car,” he said.

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