Gold Coast Oceanway users angered by speeding scooters and bikes

Pedestrians are being pushed out of the way by speeding scooters and bikes on ocean paths – and they’ve had enough. Here’s what needs to be done.

A stroll beside the ocean should be a great way to unwind.

A way to get away from the pressures and dramas of life.

But a modern trend is threatening to up-end that simple pleasure.

The advent of e-bikes and scooters and increasing popularity of cycling is causing all sorts of dramas for people who would rather leave road rage, well, on the road.

Council has spent millions creating the Oceanway, a beautiful wide flat surface that now runs most of the way from The Spit to Point Danger.

It’s a shared path, for use by both cyclists and pedestrians.

But increasingly, it’s being used by electric scooter and bike riders that are whooshing by at speeds that alarm other users – turning what should be a place of calm and relaxation into anything but.

“There are loads of high school kids riding electric bikes really fast on the beach path every day,” one person commented on social media this week.

“I’ve asked them to slow down and got sworn at. It’s not safe for toddlers or small dogs it’s more like a motorway than a walkway.

“These electric bikes need banning. What’s the point of ‘active and healthy’ paths if it’s just full of motorised vehicles?”

A variety of two-wheeled vehicles using the footpath at Narrowneck. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Another person made the point that the riders of these vehicles tend to be “young and fearless”. The problem, of course, is that they are upsetting people who are somewhat older, would not recover so quickly from any accident, and therefore have very good reason to feel afraid.

“The whole idea of shared pathways is flawed,” they wrote. “Especially with the introduction of electric devices: scooters, skateboards, bikes of all shapes and sizes.

“In the hands of the young and fearless, they become dangerous to those walking.”

The problem is not just on the Oceanway. It’s in some of our parks too, as another person related.

“An unfortunate incident at the dog park yesterday afternoon,” they said. “A group of students threatened to f*** up a lady and man in their 70s after being asked not to ride electric bikes on the path near small dogs.”

A group of young bike riders on the path at Narrowneck. Picture: Tertius Pickard

It’s not just electrified bikes and scooters, of course. Even the pedal power variety can cause dramas if the user is inconsiderate.

“So fed up with Lycra-clad cyclists using the beach path between Kirra and Tugun like a racetrack,” another person wrote recently.

“I was cycling with a friend this morning and one came hurtling towards us shouting move over. It’s a shared path and cyclists should give way to pedestrians. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

A bike lane which directs riders onto a pathway in Southport. Picture: Keith Woods.

So what’s the solution? The smooth, flat surface of the Oceanway and similar high quality paths will always be attractive to people on two wheels.

But pedestrians, particularly elderly people or families with young children, should be able to go for a stroll without fear of being cleaned up.

E-scooters, in particular, have been at the centre of a lot of nasty accidents lately. People have every reason to be nervous as they whiz by.

The solution may lie on our roads. With so much flat land near the shore, the Gold Coast should be a cyclist’s dream. But it is not.

A bike lane well separated from road traffic in Melbourne. Picture: David Crosling

A bike lane in Surfers Paradise.

While many cities have made great strides in introducing separated bike lanes, on the Gold Coast, they are invariably no more than crudely painted lines on the road which often lead back to pathways in any case. Given these lanes are routinely ignored by car drivers when it suits them, they may as well not be there.

There is very little in the way of high quality bike lanes in our city.

Shared pathways are a great idea, when everyone plays by the rules and takes it easy.

Unfortunately that’s not always happening. Speedsters are using them too. Because there’s nowhere else for them to go.

Council has done a wonderful job with the Oceanway. Perhaps when they are done, the next cab off the rank can be to examine, with the state, how to provide far better cycle lanes on roads.

So pathways like the Oceanway can go back to being the places for people who prefer a less hectic pace.

Follow @keithjwoods