A chara, – A letter writer complains about the dangers of abandoned e-scooters on the pavements of Los Angeles (August 21st) and writes that he hopes that this will not be the case in the future in Dublin also, although why he thinks this problem might apply only to Dublin puzzles me.
However, there already exists an even greater risk to pedestrians from certain two-wheel vehicles and it is being created by a growing minority of people who think that footpaths have been primarily designed for e-scooters, e-bicycles and ordinary decent bicycles. Many of these people are adults who long ago have had the training wheels taken off their bicycles but who have continued into adulthood believing that they can ride on footpaths and promenades. That most of these people are male has not gone unnoticed by me. These cyclists have recently been joined by a minority of scooterists who also believe that footpaths are a kind of roadway. They can whizz along at speeds of up to 25km/h on footpaths without seeming to understand the risks they are causing to pedestrians. Unbelievably, some of them use the footpath even where there is a cycle lane running alongside it! Many of them do not seem to realise that they are actually breaking the law, probably caused by the fact that An Garda Síochána do not seem to be enforcing the law in this area.
I am a cyclist myself but I never, ever cycle on footpaths. How many other cyclists and pedestrians like me have noticed the growing number of cyclists and scooterists that have now taken to using our footpaths and promenades and want to have this practice stopped for good? – Is mise,
LIAM O’GRADY,
Galway.