Dundee e-trike rider Valentine Scarlett has called for calm in the city’s cycling debate after being subjected to “horrendous” verbal abuse.
Valentine was left shaken and scared after a heated argument with a man near the main junction at the bottom of Perth Road on Wednesday.
She rides an e-trike after an earlier cycling accident.
The man took objection to her decision to steer the bike onto the pavement as she travelled from Perth Road to the Waterfront.
“He lunged at me out of the blue and started swearing very aggressively at me.
“As I left, he called me a f****** b****.”
‘Horrendous verbal tirade’
The man was in his sixties and was walking a large dog.
Valentine continued: “I had just been at the dental hospital. I thought I would go down the Waterfront so I was tootling along on my new trike and feeling quite good.
“I popped onto the pavement on the way to the crossing. He started swearing at me. A horrendous verbal tirade of f****** this and f****** that.”
I got verbally attacked by an aggressive man and his big dog at the end of Perth Rd today! Maybe it was my fault i moved the traffic lights over onto the pavement going down to the station and he started swearing. Called me a bitch, you cyclists think you can go anywhere.
— valentine scarlett (@valentineoudney) June 22, 2022
Valentine admits she swore back in the heated exchange before a third person intervened and calmed the situation.
She is a member of the Dundee Cycle Forum and campaigns for better cycle infrastructure.
The Highway Code says cyclists should not use the pavement.
Valentine said she “did not like” using the pavement in this instance, but did so as there was no cycle lane or other safe way to reach the crossing.
She said the number of cyclists in the city would continue to increase and called for a “calmer” debate over how all road users interact.
Cycling to grow in Dundee
Next week, Dundee councillors will consider a commissioning a study into a new route linking the heart of the city to the Kingsway via Lochee.
This is part of wider work to promote active travel.
“It is the first time I have came across what other cyclists have told me about. That kind of hatred for cyclists.
“He told me to stay in the cycle lane and told him there was no cycle lane.
“We need to have a proper debate with all different points of view. If that doesn’t happen then there is going to be more bad feeling around.
“I was left shaking like a leaf when I went on my way.”
Russell Pepper, chair of the Dundee Cycle Forum, said on social media the incident highlights the train station – and indeed the whole waterfront – is not accessible by bike unless you’re coming along the waterfront route.
“Action on this can’t come soon enough,” he said.
Conversation