Ms Gho Sze Kee asked the Acting Minister for Transport whether the Ministry would consider lowering the speed limit for bicycles on shared paths from the current 25 km/h for the safety of other path users.

The Minister of State for Transport (Mr Baey Yam Keng) (for the Acting Minister for Transport): The speed limit of 25 kilometres per hour for bicycles as well as other active mobility devices on shared paths is based on normal cycling speed and takes into account the rules of shared used and the safety of all users. Cyclists should slow down and give way to pedestrians, especially when approaching crowded places.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will continue to ensure path safety and conduct education campaigns and community engagement programmes regularly to promote gracious path sharing and safe behaviour.

Mr Cai Yinzhou (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Thank you, Speaker. I would like to inquire on how, with footpaths being narrow, cyclists may be elderly themselves and navigating these obstacles, like running children or dog walkers, may be challenging for them as well. So, cyclist speed may not be the only factor of danger, but also the ability of these cyclists to navigate these obstacles.

My supplementary question is whether the Ministry will consider cycling pathways to be designed to co-exist on the road, especially in areas with high density of pedestrians or vulnerable individuals, like schools or silver zones.

Mr Baey Yam Keng: Due to the space constraints, especially on road infrastructure, we do not build cycling paths on roads. Having said that, cyclists and device users can cycle on and can ride on the roads. This is allowed. And so, our approach has been building cycling infrastructure off roads. As I said earlier, where it is possible, we will separate the cycling paths and pedestrian-only paths. When the space is more limited, then we will have shared paths. And when it is even more limited, it will be just footpaths, and on footpaths, there are restrictions on what kind of devices could be used on those.

So, in order to allow for different users of our spaces to co-exist safely and harmoniously, we really need to build a culture of sharing, of gracious use of these spaces, and for everybody to understand the rules and abide by the rules. At the same time, we will carry out enforcement and take errant users to task for unsafe behaviours.

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