With up to 60,000 pedestrians on Briggate and surrounding pedestrianised streets every day, Leeds City Council has continued to receive reports from the public that the volume and speed of delivery cyclists on large e-bikes is making them feel unsafe.
New signage is now being introduced in the city centre to discourage unsafe cycling in pedestrianised areas, by asking cyclists to dismount at busy times, to make the city’s key shopping streets feel safer.
People are increasingly using food delivery services and delivery cyclists provide an important service for the public and local businesses. The intention is not to deter them from serving businesses in pedestrianised areas, but to remind all cyclists to walk with their bike when pedestrianised streets are busy.
The signage is backed up by local legislation that prohibits the use of vehicles in a way which poses a danger to pedestrians.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and sustainable development, said: “We know that delivery cyclists provide a very important service for local businesses and people in the city, however it is clear that some pedestrians feel unsafe with the number of delivery cyclists in some of our busiest spaces.
“We’ve put significant investment towards new, fully segregated cycling infrastructure around the city centre, with more to come in 2025. We also work closely with delivery companies to get messages about safe cycling out to their riders. However, with the volume of complaints that we receive we want to step up our approach.
“We hope that the new signs and the legislation in place will help keep our city centre safe for pedestrians, without inconveniencing day-to-day cyclists.”
Full details of Leeds’s Public Spaces Protection Orders can be found at https://www.leeds.gov.uk/pspo.
