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Date Published: 25/11/2021

ARCHIVED - Denia set to ban scooters and bicycles on pavements and pedestrian areas

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The aim is to "avoid risky situations" and "guarantee the safety of pedestrians" in the Marina Alta town, Alicante province

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Denia set to ban scooters and bicycles on pavements and pedestrian areas

Denia Town Hall plans to clamp down on the use of scooters and bicycles in pedestrian areas and impose other measures to safeguard the public and "avoid risky situations".

Until now, riders of bikes and electric scooters could travel on pavements wider than five metres in Denia.

But the local council is today expected to propose amendments to its traffic ordinance which will prohibit this and their use in all pedestrian areas. Exceptions will then "be up for debate", according to the local authority.

In addition, electric scooters must also be equipped with a white light at the front and a red light at the back, helmets are compulsory, there is a speed limit of 25km/hr and drivers must be over the age of 15.

Failure to comply with these rules will result in fines of up to 200 euros.

"Once these amendments are approved, the biggest change will be that both personal mobility vehicles (PMV) and bicycles will be banned from circulating not only on pavements but also on any pedestrianised street ot walkway. Until now, they were allowed as long as the pedestrian walkway in question was more than five metres wide. In other words, it was possible to ride a scooter or bicycle along Calle Diana, for example, but this will no longer be the case," explained Councillor for Civil Protection, Javier Scotto.

There are two reasons for the proposed changes.

Firstly, the implementation of the 20-30 zones across urban areas in Denia has allowed scooter riders and cyclists to travel on roads that were previously off limits to them, those single-lane streets where road traffic cannot exceed 30km/h.

The second is to "guarantee the safety of pedestrians in general and above all of the most vulnerable people, families with young children or with pushchairs, the elderly or people with functional diversity".

"The scooter rage has caused an increase in accidents, sometimes even fatal ones, and despite the fact that the accident rate has been very low in Denia, the aim is to avoid these risky situations," added Scotto.

Possible exceptions

There may be exceptions up for debate, including Calle Marqués de Campo and the Les Rotes promenade from its starting point in front of Marineta Cassiana beach. The first because it is a wide central road; the second because it could pose a safety risk forcing bicycles to travel along a road which becomes very crowded during summer months. The exceptions would have to be approved by the town council and would be accompanied by horizontal and vertical signposting.

A period of open debate will take place prior to implementation, involving the public and civic organisations, to determine whether there should be a blanket ban or other exceptions.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Denia

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