Calls to ban reckless riders on the Regent’s Canal

Canal users are calling for action to be taken against reckless bike riders endangering pedestrians on the Regent’s Canal, before someone is seriously injured.

While most people at the meeting of Friends of Regent’s Canal held earlier this month urged British Waterways (BW) to implement a six mph speed limit for cyclists, others wanted to see an outright ban.

Although cyclists along the canal are supposed to follow the “Two Tings” policy, ringing their bell twice and passing pedestrians slowly, this doesn’t always work in practice.

Chair Ian Shacklock said: “It’s quite frightening and it puts you off - if you go there for a tranquil walk it’s ruined.

“People are bombing down ramps trying to get from A to B as quickly as possible.

“Oncoming cycles just don’t give you the body space to wobble and if you misjudge it by half an inch you will be in the river, in the best case scenario,” he added.

“It’s a chain reaction because cyclists are being driven off roads by bad drivers and walkers are now being driven off the towpath by bad cyclists.”

A spokeswoman for British Waterways said they were trialling various measures in Islington including rumble strips, ramps and chicanes which if successful they will introduce into other hotspots.