A cycling campaign in Ards and North Down is urging authorities to speed up the creation of segregated cycle lanes along busy school routes. The Ards and North Down Cycling Campaign made the appeal after a joint road safety operation with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The operation focused on the legal minimum clearance of 1.5 metres that motorists must leave when overtaking cyclists at speeds up to 30mph. The campaign group highlighted what it called a serious infrastructure gap, noting that school commuter cyclists chose to ride on footpaths instead of the road during the event.

A spokesperson for the campaign said the fact that all school cyclists used footpaths shows they see the roads as unsafe. The representative stressed that children and families are riding on footpaths out of fear, not preference, because school-run corridors lack physical protection for cyclists.

The group said many parents are too frightened to let their children cycle and end up driving them to school. They pointed out that 70% of primary school children are driven to school, and half of those live within one mile of the school.

The campign also noted rising fuel costs as an extra burden on families. They saw a mother and child using an electric cargo bike in Ward Park as a positive example of car-free travel.

Councillor Pete Wray, who attended the operation as chair of the Police and Community Safety Partnership, thanked the campaign and PSNI. He said Northern Ireland is behind other places on active travel. Wray said two changes are needed: building more segregated cycle lanes and raising awareness of bike safety to change driver behaviour. He said hearing from people who had accidents or near misses from dangerous overtaking was troubling and must stop.