People in Leeds urge council to take action against e-bikes

Plans to ban bikes from main pedestrian areas in Leeds are being discussed by the council. The council are proposing a ban on bikes travelling up and down areas like Briggate to improve pedestrian safety.

People in Leeds are urging the council to enforce the ban because they say the bikes are dangerous.

Ellis Barker, 22, Graduate said the bikes “can get in the way, especially on weekends when there are families involved. It can hinder people, just going about their normal shopping.

“They do razz around at high speeds and it can cause accidents.”

An estimated 1,100 bikes travel up and down Briggate each day, with a majority of them being delivery bikes.

Stephen, 52, security officer said: “It’s a tough one because if it’s busy then they should really not be going down, they should be getting off and walking them down.

“Because there are a lot of people like; people in wheelchairs, people with pushchairs, old age pensioners using ‘sticks and they don’t seem to move out of the way for them.”

When asked about the council’s plan to ban the bikes, Stephen said: “I think it’s a good idea if they can enforce it, but i haven’t seen anything to show me to prove that they are going to enforce it.”

Source: Georgia Lee

The council has previously tried to ban the bikes from being used on Briggate, but they haven’t seen any improvements.

Councillor Barry Anderson, part of the City Plans Pannel believes that the council could be doing more to protect pedestrians: “I personally, I’ll be honest, do think that the council have got the balance between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists wrong.

“They have gone far too pro-cyclist and not enough pro pedestrian.”

The council will be discussing the issue further and are expected to make developments to the plam.