Pedestrians could be put in danger if the Western Australian Government goes ahead with a proposal to allow cyclists of all ages to ride on footpaths, an inner-city Perth council mayor says.

Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey has confirmed the State Government is considering changing the law, to allow cyclists to use pedestrian paths.

Under current laws only children under the age of 12 can legally ride on footpaths.

But Victoria Park Mayor Trevor Vaughan is worried this could imperil those on foot.

"I think it has to be seriously looked at and thought through because of obviously the pedestrian dangers, paths are made for pedestrians, not for bikes," he said.

"I feel in a place like Vic Park where you've got alfresco restaurants and so on, bikes and pedestrians is going to cause quite a few problems."

Mr Vaughan said the Government must consult with councils before it went ahead with any move to allow cyclists to use footpaths.

He also raised concerns about cost-shifting onto local governments which are largely responsible for footpaths.

But Ms Harvey said it was too early to say which particular pedestrian paths would be impacted, or whether speed limits will be imposed on cyclists to safeguard pedestrians.

Cycle group welcomes proposal, warns riders will stay on road

Ms Harvey could not give a timeframe for when any changes could come into force.

"We're looking at that," she said.

"It's one of the options we're exploring as a way to try and get better cyclist safety in Western Australia.

"It's too early in this point in time to say if this is definitely going to happen or where it might happen.

"Obviously allowing cyclists to use pedestrian pathways in certain areas will make sense, in other areas it might not ... so we are looking at that as a possibility.

"Cyclists are part of our vulnerable road user group, just as are pedestrians and we need to make sure we improve safety for them."

Westcycle chief executive Matt Fulton welcomed the Government's decision to consider the idea, but said he did not believe all cyclists would be keen to use footpaths.

He envisaged the main group to benefit from such a move would be mums and dads wanting to cycle with their children.

"I think it's going to be self-selecting, so you're not going to get people riding in pelotons of 20 people wearing Lycra doing 40 kilometres per hour on footpaths," he said.

"Those sorts of people are going to want to stay on the roads anyway.

"It's going to be a very different segment of the cycling community using footpaths.

"They're probably going to only want to go 10 to 20kms an hour on those paths anyway so they'll ring their bells at pedestrians and all those sorts of things."