A fed-up councillor has called for cyclists to have compulsory number plates fitted to their bikes just like cars and vans to create a 'level playing field' for all road users.
Cllr Alan Amos made the suggestion after a a meeting of Worcester City Council on Tuesday following the introduction of Beryl Bikes across the city in June.
The city councillor for Lower Wick and Pitmaston put his comments to deputy leader Jabbar Riaz, at the meeting at Worcester's Guildhall, arguing more needs to be done to enforce penalties for cyclists who break the law.
There are 175 e-bikes and 50 pedal bikes around the city which can be hired by the minute with bay locations - although Cllr Amos says the rules should apply to all bikes, not just Beryl Bikes.
He sought assurances, following the introduction of the Beryl Bike scheme in June, that monitoring will take place to ensure that users do not cycle along the pavements and taxpayers' money is not used to subsidise the scheme.
Cllr Amos said he believed cyclists who ride on pavements or ride dangerously should be give penalty points, just like motorists caught breaking the law.
The last Conservative city councillor said after the meeting: "I think it should be compulsory for all cyclists to have a number plate which all vehicles on the road have to. My concern is about enforcement.
"All bikes should have a registration number by law so there is a level playing field for any vehicle that uses the road - lorries, cars, vans and bikes. They should all be subject to the same rules."
Cllr Amos cycling on the pavement or in a pedestrianised area was 'a serious offence' and cyclists who broke these rules risked knocking somebody over. At the moment, he said there was no system of identification and believes various bodies should work together to create one.
He said he saw three cyclists riding along the pedestrianised High Street as he left the meeting at Worcester Guildhall.
"It's a pedestrianised shopping centre full of elderly people. Some elderly people are hard of hearing and don't hear the cyclists coming up behind them. Cyclists need to follow the rules like everyone else," he said.
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He has suggested the number plate could be displayed on the mudguard or on the seat and would have to be 'fixed' there. "It's not an optional extra," he said.
A spokesperson for Bike Worcester said in response: "I’ve offered to Alan (and other councillors) on a number of occasions to do a tour of the city by bike (still waiting on the call), so he can see first hand the issues that are faced by people travelling by bike, not least when trying to cross the city centre (we’ve even got an infrastructure safari route which looks at the good and the bad).
"I’m happy to ride my bike on the roads in Worcester, mixing with multiple lanes of motor vehicles (worst case is 4 in a single direction), but have my fair share of interactions with substandard drivers as a result (substandard = antisocial = dangerous = illegal).
"As such I completely understand why many people would choose not to do that, and instead cycle of footways, or through the city centre roads covered by TROs, especially when cycling with children or less confident adults. As a pedestrian including when walking my dog I often encounter children and adults cycling on footways, and all both parties does is avoid each other, usually with a cheery salutation as they pass."
Not mentioned by Alan or Jabba is the point that the Highway Code also prohibits driving on the footway, something that is happening near continuously throughout Worcester, in some cases blocking footways when parking, in other cases in the vicinity of pedestrians."
Cllr Riaz said at the meeting: "Cycling on the pavement is in breach of the Highway Code which applies to all road users and all cyclists whether riding a Beryl bike or not and is enforceable by the police.
"There are no specific plans to monitor pavement cycling although data could be made available to police if requested."
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