Bikes are no longer allowed to be ridden in the surrounds of the Sydney Opera House.
The Opera House is set to enact a by-law that allows them to ban any vehicles, including bikes, scooters and skateboards, from entering the official Opera House zone.
And while the Opera House does have the ability to fine people who ride around the world-famous site, they say they have no intention to dish out formal penalties.
Which is good, because it seems like it will be unclear exactly where the bike-free zone starts and finishes.
Even though it seems that the Opera House will be using some common sense and asking bike riders to dismount rather than immediately fining them, it is concerning to see bikes being banned from tourist destinations.
The Sydney Opera House isn't alone – anyone who is going on a European jaunt this winter and heading to Prague will be disappointed to find out that bikes are about to be banned from some of the city's most famous squares and streets.
Bicycle Network NSW Public Affairs Manager, Bastien Wallace, said that banning bikes from tourist hotspots should not become a trend.
“We should be encouraging more people to ride to places like the Sydney Opera House, rather than threatening with fines and pushing people towards crowded trains and expensive car parks,” said Ms Wallace.
“There are more than 60 bike parking spots at the Opera House and we expect that people should be able to use them.”
Bicycle Network will be keen to see that the Sydney Opera House's officials stick to their word and exercise common sense. If you see any issues at the Sydney Opera House, or fines being handed out, please let us know.
Read more about this story in the Central Sydney News.
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