{"id":199819,"date":"2025-10-09T09:46:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/199819\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T09:46:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:46:08","slug":"cyclists-are-not-the-problem-plan-to-ban-all-bikes-from-city-centre-due-to-safety-concerns-about-delivery-riders-on-illegal-e-motorbikes-slammed-but-locals-say-an","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/199819\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCyclists are not the problem\u201d: Plan to ban all bikes from city centre due to safety concerns about delivery riders on illegal e-motorbikes slammed \u2013 but locals say \u201canyone with common decency would get off and push!\u201d + more on the live blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we\u2019ve seen in Grimsby<\/a>, Bedford<\/a>, Swindon<\/a>, Maidenhead<\/a>, Windsor<\/a>,\u00a0Birmingham<\/a>, and countless other places across the UK in recent years, town centre bike bans \u2013 and their accompanying divisive debates<\/a> \u2013 are all the rage these days. Literally.<\/p>\n

And this week, Leeds decided to join in on the fun, after the Yorkshire city\u2019s council announced that stricter measures could soon be implemented to prevent anyone from riding any kind of bike through a busy pedestrianised area\u2026 after locals raised safety concerns about delivery riders using fast, illegally modified e-motorbikes.<\/p>\n

Leeds City Council said in a statement yesterday that the proposals were a response to the issues raised in a public survey relating to the \u201cheavy\u201d e-motorbikes favoured by many delivery riders on Briggate, the city centre shopping street used by approximately 1,100 cyclists and e-bike users each day.<\/p>\n

The local authority noted that some of these 1,100 riders were using bikes which have been modified to exceed the maximum legal speed of 15.5mph for electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs), or are in fact simply high-powered electric motorbikes, which require a licence, registration, Vehicle Excise Duty, and the rider to wear an approved motorcycle helmet.<\/p>\n

\"Talaria<\/p>\n

>\u00a0“Stop calling them e-bikes”: BBC corrects inaccurate coverage claiming powerful electric motorbike was an e-bike<\/a><\/p>\n

A council spokesperson said these illegal bikes potentially represent a \u201cserious risk to pedestrian safety in the event of a collision\u201d.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in last year\u2019s public survey, 61 per cent of respondents noted delivery riders in pedestrianised areas \u201cnegatively impacted\u201d their experience of the city centre.<\/p>\n

However, despite this focus on illegal e-motorbikes, Leeds\u2019 Briggate Action Plan would make it a requirement for all cyclists to dismount and walk with their bikes on Briggate, Lands Lane, Commercial Street, Albion Place, and lower Albion Street during extended pedestrianised hours. The council has also proposed to ban street vendors from certain areas within these streets.<\/p>\n

According to the plans, which will soon be considered by councillors, anyone breaching the restrictions on cycling and street selling will be given a fixed penalty notice (which, as we\u2019ve seen in Grimsby<\/a>, could rake in quite a bit of money for the council).<\/p>\n

\u201cBriggate in particular is one of the city\u2019s retail crown jewels and we want to do all we can to ensure it remains an attractive, appealing, and above all safe destination,\u201d Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport, and sustainable development, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese proposals are designed to be a starting point and an important opportunity to bring about some changes in the city centre in light of issues the public have raised with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0\u201cE-bikes aren\u2019t a problem when 99.5% of road deaths involve cars\u201d: Chris Boardman calls for \u201canger to be pointed in right direction\u201d amid Reform\u2019s anti-cycling rhetoric and \u201cembarrassing\u201d BBC Panorama e-bike episode<\/a><\/p>\n

However, the plans haven\u2019t gone down too well with the city\u2019s cyclists, who claim a blanket ban on cycling will fail to tackle the problem of dangerous e-motorbike users, as well as discriminating against those who use their bike as a mobility aid.<\/p>\n

\u201cCyclists are not the problem, it\u2019s the unregulated chipped e-bikes and e-scooters that are the problem, not only in Leeds but elsewhere,\u201d said BBC reader Pepperoni.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink it\u2019s time to take action against stores and outlets that sell them as well as the people that use them illegally on roads and pavements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese illegal e-bikes (motorbikes) are also a danger to cyclists,\u201d noted Andy Cole (who I\u2019m assuming isn\u2019t the former Manchester United forward).<\/p>\n

\u201cBirmingham recently dropped their proposed PSPO for cycling as with pressure, they realised they just had to work with police to enforce existing legislation around these illegal e-motorbikes (not e-bikes),\u201d added Martin.<\/p>\n

\u201cCycle ban PSPOs exclude people who rely on cycling as a mobility aid to get around and don\u2019t actually tackle the root problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mzungo wrote: \u201cRealistically, most cyclists can coexist with most pedestrians, and there would be minimal prompt for this proposal without the proliferation of [e-motorbikes]. Focus on them, and the problem goes away.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0Council claims e-bikes are banned and gives “Community Safety Wardens” powers to fine “reckless” cyclists up to \u00a31,000<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cE-bikes that go faster than 15.5 mph are classed as motorcycles, not bikes,\u201d added Jaxom, who reckons better infrastructure is key to making cities safer for all vulnerable road users.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to be only allowed on the roads allowed by motorcycles. Decent cycle lanes around the city centre that works to keep both cyclists and pedestrians safe would help.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentiment was echoed by MeHere, who said: \u201cI ride my bike to work in Leeds city centre. Roads into the city are fine for bike riders, but once you get there it\u2019s a nightmare.<\/p>\n

\u201cCyclists having to fend off buses, especially on Boar Lane, no wonder some ride on the path. Leeds City Council needs to extend the cycle lanes into city centre more. I do agree with banning the Uber riders from pavements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Briggate,<\/p>\n

>\u00a0Deliveroo rider who killed cyclist while riding an illegally modified e-bike given community service and four-year driving ban<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, I mentioned earlier that these debates are pretty divisive. As Red noted on social media: \u201cCue the rabid tirade of hate for cyclists by incredibly conscientious motorists that are model citizens and do everything perfectly…\u201d<\/p>\n

Deep breath, everyone\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat in theory, but who is going to police it?\u201d Rob said, after learning of the plans. \u201cThe cyclists whizz around the city centre breaching all the rules and don\u2019t care about the pedestrians, street signs etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Simon said he was \u201csick of having to look out for bikes doing ridiculous speeds when I\u2019m walking in the town centre. Cyclists should be on the road or on cycle paths, full stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave was somewhat more balanced, writing: \u201cBlanket bans will only stop the cyclists that are careful and considerate. Because they follow the rules. The ones abusing the use of the zone will keep doing it. As without any kind of enforcement available then it\u2019s not going to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s easy to catch considerate cyclists\u201d: \u00a31,000 cycling fines councillor accused of \u201cDaily Mail-style dislike of cyclists\u201d and using town bike ban to \u201cfulfil personal prejudices\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Darren, on the other hand, was not so balanced: \u201cShouldn\u2019t be any kind of vehicle on streets other than disability ones, scooters, wheelchairs and whatnot.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut no bicycle of any kind should be on any kind of walkway or in streets.\u201d Even ones used as mobility aids, Darren?<\/p>\n

And finally, Justine concluded: \u201cThose of us with common decency who ride bikes in town would automatically get off and push!!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome to the PSPO debating club, Leeds\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we\u2019ve seen in Grimsby, Bedford, Swindon, Maidenhead, Windsor,\u00a0Birmingham, and countless other places across the UK in recent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-199819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}