I noted recently, Paul Bibby’s article on the proposed more pedestrian-friendly CBD [Echo, 28 January].
It seems a timely move; but I am dubious that this will be the outcome of the proposed changes. In print, they seem well enough: pedestrian crossing and a median strip proposed for Fletcher Street are certainly necessary. Fletcher Street has become another Byron ‘rat run’ and it is hazardous to negotiate. Vehicles emerging from all directions, often at speed.
Regarding the published quote, it’s a proposal, ‘that supports and integrates alternate modes of transport.’ I am unsure what this implies, but I suspect it means that all the e-bikes, scooters, cycles, skateboards etc. will be ‘sharing’ with pedestrians. This in my opinion simply obviates the concept ‘pedestrian-friendly’. Many of these riders are reckless and void of care to a degree that a Sydney paper’s article on the problem described some riders as being of ‘homicidal intent’.
A problem here is that any changes seem unable to be adequately policed. Even if there are changes to the law regarding the use of electric bikes, I don’t anticipate an improvement in the current perilous nature of pedestrian footpaths and tracks in Byron Bay. It is a state of affairs that has grown exponentially in the years since the Covid pandemic. Particularly in the past couple of years here. Businesses selling and hiring the machines also seem to have increased. I believe the latter situation may have been a factor in there not having been a serious attempt to regulate the phenomenon.
It is my opinion that expecting shared pedestrian paths to be a safe ‘pedestrian-friendly’ aspect of a place is an expectation unlikely to be realised. In other words, it will not work.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
