Can you cycle on the pavement? What about a footpath? The answer is “no”, isn’t it? Unfortunately, not. As with many seemingly simple questions, the answer is a less than satisfactory “It depends”.
This short post aims to explain what factors influence whether someone can legitimately cycle on a pavement or footpath in Scotland, highlighting situations where such cycling is allowed and where it might be an offence.
Terminology
To understand where people can, and cannot, cycle it is important to know the meaning of a few key terms. These are:
Carriageway: Commonly known as “the road”, the carriageway is a way which can be used by any vehicle.
Footway: Commonly known as “the pavement”, a footway is a way, which is associated with a carriageway, where right of passage is limited to foot.
Footpath: A way, which is not associated with a carriageway, where right of passage is limited to foot.
Cycle track: A way where passage is limited to bikes (or sometimes bikes and foot). When they are part of a street, cycle tracks are typically segregated from the carriageway by kerbs, barriers, or verges. They should not be confused with ‘cycle lanes’ which are ‘advisory’ cycle facilities normally painted on to the carriageway, which can be used by general traffic.
In addition to the above, there is a non-statutory catch-all term path, effectively any track or path that does not fall into one of the categories described above where access is generally restricted to foot or bike – although there may be some limited motorised vehicle access. Paths can range from wide, tarmac surfaced routes in major urban parks through to narrow, poorly defined tracks in remote rural areas.
So, how does this all work?
The following section explains where cyclists can, and cannot, cycle.
Carriageway: Apart from motorways and a limited number of major strategic roads where cycling is prohibited, cyclists can use any part of the carriageway. Cyclists do not have to use cycle lanes or tracks, where these are available. These can often be inappropriate for the route being followed, piecemeal and difficult to enter or exit, poorly maintained, or inaccessible due to traffic or parked vehicles.
Footway: Generally, it is an offence to cycle on the footway. However, there are several exceptions:
- The footway has been designated by the roads authority as ‘shared use’ – which is indicated by blue circular signs with white bike and pedestrian symbols. Shared use surfaces can be used by both pedestrians and cyclists and come in two forms. One where cyclists and pedestrians mix freely and one where pedestrians and cyclists use different sides of the route – usually indicated by a solid white line running along the surface and bike symbols painted on the cycling side of the route.
- The footway is part of a route designated by a local authority as a ‘core path’. No access restrictions apply to the use of a core path by pedestrians or cyclists. However, it is important to note that access rights must be exercised responsibly, and cyclists should consider cycling on the carriageway even if the associated footway has been designated as a core path. Core paths are defined in plans produced by every Scottish local authority, such as that produced by the City of Edinburgh Council. There is generally no on-street signage indicating that a particular route is a core path.
- The cyclist is a child aged under 12, which is the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland.
- The cyclist is crossing the footway to access a cycle track, path, or other land where cycling is allowed, much as a car driver can drive over the footway to access a driveway.
Footpath: Generally, it is an offence to cycle on a footpath. However, it is worth noting that many routes referred to as ‘footpaths’ are not formally designated as such, meaning they are technically paths. To establish whether a particular route is a footpath, it is worth checking the relevant local authority’s list of public roads. This should be available on the local authority’s website and describe whether the use of a particular path has been restricted to pedestrians only. If a route is not listed then it is likely to be a path, rather than a footpath. Footpaths can also be designated as ‘shared use’, as described above.
Cycle track: Unsurprisingly, cycling is allowed on cycle tracks.
Paths: Cycling is allowed on paths, under access rights granted by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. To benefit from these rights, cyclists must behave in a responsible manner, as described in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
Penalties for cycling on the pavement or footpaths
The enforcement of cycling offences is a matter for Police Scotland. Police issue fixed penalty notices to deal with most cycling offences, including cycling on the pavement or footpath. A fixed penalty notice for cycling on the pavement or footpath requires the payment of a £30 fine. Someone found guilty, on summary conviction, of cycling on the pavement or on a footpath could be fined up to £500.
Alan Rehfisch, Senior Researcher, SPICe