Sidewalks are for pedestrians

It may be an obvious thing to say, but sidewalks are for walking on. Cars, motorbikes and bikes have their own lanes. In most Spanish cities there are now even cycle paths, exclusively laid out for their sole use. But as pedestrians will attest in recent years we have had to put up with growing numbers of cyclists taking over the sidewalk. In Madrid, bikes now regularly weave in and out of pedestrians at high speed, jumping in and out of the traffic as they see fit. The result is that we now have to share our sidewalks with bikes that are multiplying like rabbits. Little wonder that there has been an upsurge in violent incidents between pedestrians and cyclists in many major cities throughout Spain. Accidents are also on the increase.

In Barcelona last week, a cyclist knocked down a 69-year-old woman, leaving her in a coma. The cyclist insists he was using the cycle path by the side of the sidewalk, but in reality, that path is simply a line of paint. We can expect many more such incidents in the coming months and years.

The reason for the growing popularity of bikes in Spain, where they have arrived relatively late compared to the rest of Europe, is simple: they are seen as environmentally friendly, they’re cheap and handy for short journeys. Some city authorities, notably Madrid and Barcelona, have even introduced rent-a-bike schemes aimed as much at tourists as locals, but that have turned out to be massive loss makers.

Sadly, as is often the way in Spain, our elected officials rarely consider the consequences of their actions. We now face a situation where the ever-growing numbers of cyclists, driven by fashion or incited by City Hall, have nowhere to ride safely. Neither have they bothered to introduce laws on where bikes can and cannot circulate. As a result, cyclists no longer dismount when they are on the sidewalk, and instead have taken these spaces nominally reserved for walking as their own. In short, pedestrians are paying the price for politicians’ short-sightedness.

Our Municipal Police, so fond of closing down streets or blocking off entire neighborhoods with no previous warning, seem curiously lenient toward these sidewalk-hogging cyclists. At best they might remind them they should dismount, but most of the time seem not even to notice. Perhaps they have not been given clear instructions.

And of course until we see more serious incidents such as took place in Barcelona, the authorities will do nothing to regulate the use by bikes of public spaces. What is required is a manifesto: the sidewalks are for pedestrians.

 English version by Nick Lyne.