Have the tensions between cyclists and pedestrians in the debates replaced the conflicts between cyclists and drivers? The increasing use of bicycles in the city and the development of public policies in favor of walking raise the question of the coexistence of these two modes of transport.
According to the Cycle Cities Barometer 2021 report, 43% of cyclists believe that conflicts with pedestrians are frequent (Barometer of the Association of Bicycle Users). On the pedestrian side, coexistence with cyclists or scooter riders is also mentioned as a problem in the 2021 Barometer of pedestrian-friendly cities (Barometer of the Place aux Pedestrians collective). However, if these conflicts have to be taken into account by the public sector, it is not a question of questioning the legitimacy of ambitious cycling and walking policies.
In order to distance oneself from the conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists, a first observation is essential: fatal accidents between these users are still very rare. According to the Road Safety Observatory’s 2021 report, three pedestrians died in the urban area in a crash involving a cyclist, two after colliding with a cyclist Users of motorized personal transport, while passenger cars, commercial vehicles and trucks were involved in the deaths of 264 pedestrians.
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However, analyzing fatal accidents is not enough to understand the complexities of situations that can create tension between users. A 2020 study on a Vancouver university campus, where cyclists and pedestrians share public space, shows that while accidents involving injuries between these users are rare and have few reports, tensions are common and impact the mobility experience (Filippos Gkekas, Alexander Bigazzi & Gurdiljot Gill, “Perceived Safety and Experienced Incidents Between Pedestrians and Cyclists in a High-Volume Non-Motorized Common Space,” Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2020, Volume 4). It is therefore necessary to deal not only with the recorded accidents, but also with questions of users’ perception of safety in order to understand the specifics of conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists.
These two user types were gradually grouped into common categories: “non-motorized modes”, “gentle modes” and today “active modes”. However, journeys on foot or by bicycle each have specificities in terms of speed and trajectory, which makes it difficult to coexist in shared spaces such as pedestrian streets, around train stations or leisure routes.
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