Birmingham Council is the latest to consider banning cycling in the city center

Another council is considering banning cycling in parts of the city center to prevent a “dangerous mix” of pedestrians and cyclists.

Birmingham City Council has become the latest in a string of local authorities to consult on restricting cyclists in pedestrian areas other than Colchester, Bedford and Grimsby.

Cycling guru Professor David Cox, former chairman of Cycling UK and head of the campaign group for the charity Bike West Midlands Network, called the proposal “counterproductive to Birmingham’s transport strategy”.

A report from the Executive on Public Safety to council claims that an increasing number of cyclists delivering food and mail are riding “at speed and without regard for other pedestrians”.

The report recommends that the council consider restricting the use of bicycles and e-bikes in particularly high-traffic pedestrian areas.

He suggests that new restrictions could be introduced under the Public Safety Orders (PSPOs) currently in place in the city.

Professor Cox, who has been cycling around the city center for 50 years, argues the council should focus on solving the specific problem of e-bike couriers.

He said: “Instead of fighting it, they want to ban all cycling. This will impact people who use bicycles for transportation and older people like me.”

The city center is being “totally ignored” in terms of cycling infrastructure, Professor Cox said.

Martin Price, director of tourism campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham, said the solution was to create a “network of safe, segregated cycle routes across the city centre” and to force delivery platforms to “take responsibility for their couriers”.

At least nine cities and towns across the country have introduced a cycling or skateboarding ban similar to the one proposed in Birmingham. Guardian reports.

According to Peter Blakeman, chairman of the North Bedfordshire Cycling Campaign, 738 people have been fined for cycling in pedestrian areas in Bedford in recent months.

Writing an open letter to Bedford IndependentMr Blakeman said the result was a “significant reduction in the number of residents cycling into the city”.

In Grimsby, councilor Ron Shepherd advised people to “get off their bike and walk on a relatively short section of pavement” if they wanted to avoid a fine for riding in the town centre.

Birmingham City Council said: “We are looking at measures to reduce high speed cycling through one small part of the city center where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic and where it is unsafe to cycle due to the risk of near misses and collisions.

“Before making any decisions, we are seeking everyone’s views through consultation on how best to address this issue.

“This does not affect the council’s commitment to prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists within the current development and its transport plan.

“Perhaps appropriate restrictions should be put in place in this pedestrian-only area to restrict all bikes, some bikes, control the direction of bikes to ensure a safe flow of traffic, or do nothing about it.”