Rollerblades on cycle paths

■ MP Karine Lalieux wants to end the legal vacuum surrounding this new type of street user BRUSSELS ∇ More and more people are using rollerblades. For sport, relaxation, but also to commute to work. Two figures illustrate this enthusiasm. The Brussels Roller Parades (a supervised ride once a week in the city throughout this summer) welcomed around 30,000 participants and 100,000 spectators last summer... Yet this activity is still largely underestimated, particularly by political decision-makers. Strangest of all, rollerblades do not even exist in the highway code... Are they pedestrians? Are they cyclists? A legal vacuum that affects the safety of everyone. Karine Lalieux, a Member of Parliament (PS), wishes to change this and has just introduced a bill to this effect in the Chamber. "No legal provision addresses this new mode of transport," expresses surprise Karine Lalieux. "The absence of rules is such that no one today really knows where rollerbladers can or cannot travel. In practice, this gap leads to assimilating those who rollerblade with pedestrians. This means rollerbladers must conform to rules concerning pedestrians, even though rollerblading allows for much faster travel than walking." And the MP proposes to allow them onto cycle paths. "This bill aims to recognize a place for rollerblading in the Highway Code and allow rollerbladers to use cycle paths where they exist," explains Karine Lalieux. "These cycle paths offer those travelling on rollerblades more latitude for their movements and allow them greater speed." A few tests also show that cyclists would in no way be bothered by these newcomers. Pedestrians on foot would also be better protected since rollerbladers would leave the sidewalks for a space better suited to their speed. The proposal also specifies that this option be restricted to rollerbladers over the age of 12. "More broadly, I want the status of rollerblading to finally be defined. It is indeed incredible that such a major category of street users is ignored," concludes Karine Lalieux. "I believe it is urgent to extend the rights of rollerbladers, even if there is obviously no question of allowing them onto the main roadway. It is a matter of better protecting everyone, and I hope my proposal will lead to a calm debate, far from ridiculous regulatory excesses (mandatory helmets, knee pads...) which serve only to discourage the use of this new mode of transport."