Cycling on the pavement - right or wrong?

Riding on the footpath is not as clear cut as you might think

So a former Ukip parliamentary candidate (read closet Tory) believes cyclists should get off the roads and ride on the pavement?
Lynton Yates summarily lost his chance to be a Ukip MP for Charnwood in Leceistershire when he also hinted at suspending jobless drivers' licences to ease traffic jams. Yeah, right! 

Tempting though it is to dismiss this Leicester county councillor's opinions on cycling as bonkers - and trust me, it is very tempting - what is more intriguing is the way it seems to embody a widespread delusion about cycling on the pavement.
The Highway Code is crystal clear on this. No ifs, no buts, cycling on footpaths is illegal. Not only is it against the law but, I believe, it's also extremely selfish. To pedal past pedestrians at breakneck speed shows a total disregard of their personal space and safety.
Yet many, many cyclists already ignore the law and avoid the roads. OK, some might be lawbreakers, but all cyclists? I don't think so. There is something more to it. 

For example, I know of seasoned cyclists who've admitted to me they ride on the pavement at night when they have no lights. I may, on occasion, have done exactly the same myself. And only last year, former Olympic medal winner and policy adviser for British Cycling Chris Boardman spoke up for parents everywhere when he admitted he was too scared to let his daughter cycle on the road. 

What exactly is going on here? Why do so many of us think cycling on the pavement is the right thing to do? 

I firmly believe part of the answer lies with the ever-evolving cycling infrastructure we have today and the woolly-headed design of a lot of it (see here for an example).
When I gained my Cycling Proficiency certificate at primary school in the Seventies, it was impressed upon me that cycling happened on the road. As I grew up, I don't remember there being cycle lanes segregated from the general traffic, even by a strip of white paint. Or special cycle-friendly crossings or anything else like that. Riding a bike meant having the guts to put up with enormous lumps of metal whizzing past just a few feet to your right. This is why I'm happy to cycle on the road. I'm in control of my fears and it doesn't intimidate me. 

However, today that has all changed. There are many more dedicated cycle lanes (although sometimes it feels they are few and far between). There are contraflow lanes that sanction shortcuts for cyclists (one of which I use that cancels out a no entry sign for cars). And there are the euphemistically named shared cycle paths that invite cyclists and pedestrians to cohabit the same space in a state of blissful harmony.
In my mind, this is where all the confusion lies.
Why is it OK to use a shared cycle path occupied by pedestrians enjoying a gentle stroll but illegal to cycle on the pavement? 

Isn't a shared cycle path just a pavement by another name?

I know the difference is to do with (technobabble alert) traffic regulation orders, which councils use to specify what is permitted where. But does everybody else? Honestly? 

My gut reaction is many people who cycle see a shared cycle path and think, "well, it must be OK to cycle here too". Or they see it as too dangerous to ride on the road and do the next logical thing in their mind and ride on the pavement - thus potentially terrifying (or worse) pedestrians, particularly the young, the elderly and the blind. 

I'm with Chris Boardman on the way forward: proper investment. We need well-designed streets which let cyclists feel they are protected from the traffic, but also facilities that protect pedestrians from cyclists. Will it come? The cynic in me suggests holding our breath could prove to be fatal. 

At the moment, it's not OK to cycle on the pavement in the UK (whatever excuse is offered in defence). But we seem too far down this 'shared' mentality to go back. 

As always, it's down to cyclists to find a solution. Do I cycle on the pavement? Yes. But I cycle at walking pace in anticipation that I must stop and give way to pedestrians. And I'm polite about it, thanking people if they step out of my way. Good manners, after all, cost nothing. I like to think of it as the Biker Hack way! And I know other cycling organisations share the sentiment. National cycling charity Sustrans even has its own suggestion for how cyclists should approach shared paths. 

We all need to get where we're going and there is invariably not enough time to do it. Yet, there is no need for one road-user to intimidate and bully another so that they can go where they want when they want. That includes people like Lynton Yates, who clearly wants cyclists, and the unemployed, to just get out of his way so he can have the road to himself. The public highway isn't just for me or you. It's for everyone and we must learn to share it out of respect and decency to all those around us.