Mike McGrath’s

Cycling on street paths an accident waiting to happen

A NEW phenomenon that has evolved this summer is cycling on the footpaths of Charleville’s Main Street, mainly by young teenagers, but indeed not completely confined to this demographic.

This is a dangerous practice, and it puts young children and elderly people at risk of getting knocked down. There have been a number of near misses of people colliding with cyclists on the footpath in recent weeks.

The popularity of cycling is on the increase, especially if we are to take heed of the Green Party members who espouse the practice of cycling, but for some reason the cyclists are not inclined to use the roadway as they should for their activities, as the footpaths should remain the realm of the pedestrian.

In fairness to the cyclists, the conditions locally are not conducive to using the road ways safely with the volume of traffic passing through the town.

The Main Street of Charleville is a daunting proposition for anybody at the best of times and people have to be at their most alert to negotiate the street, in order to avoid one of the 14,000 vehicles that pass through the street in both directions daily.

The footpath should be regarded as a safe haven for walkers, but then they are faced with hazard of the cyclists who, for some reason especially this year, regard it as their right to ride the pathways unimpeded.

This is an accident waiting to happen if cyclists persist with this practice of using the footpaths, as the aforementioned children and older people, who may not be as agile as they once were in avoiding the danger of a cyclist, as they emerge from a shop doorway, or come around a corner.

Now that Cork County Council are redesigning some of the footpaths and parking areas in conjunction with the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 virus, perhaps they would consider making provision for cycle lanes on the roadway where space permits, and cyclists could then be diverted on to the footpaths safely at clearly marked designated areas of the thoroughfare.

The town’s Main Street as presently designed does not lend itself to installing cycle lanes, but the street and the footpaths, especially on the eastern side of the street, are wide enough to allow for a cycle lane, as, if this problem is left unaddressed, it will only surely get worse, and some person will get injured in the process.