The Daily Mail has found that scores of cyclists are flagrantly ignoring 12mph speed limits in a popular London park – some breaking the limit by up to 7mph.
A cyclist has already been £50 fined for speeding in Tooting Common in south west London for going 16mph in the 12mph zone but this fine was rescinded when he challenged Wandsworth Council.
While Daily Mail was at the park for two hours with a speed gun, we recorded more than 20 cyclists breaking the limit, with the fastest going 19mph – nearly 60per cent over the limit.
Friends of Tooting Common have launched a e-petition calling for more police to patrol the park and deal with offending speeders.
Susan Edkins, Tooting resident of 29 years was inclined to agree with the campaign.
‘Cyclists turn into lunatics when they come into this place,’ she said.
During her years raising her children and walking her dog around the park, she said she had seen mothers ‘getting bashed into by cyclists’ as they left the playground.
‘One drove into my husband and just swore at him,’ she added.
The shared pedestrian and cyclist path in the park has been fitted with a 12mph sign, and police have been patrolling the area looking for speeding cyclists.
The most dangerous pathway in the park is the north-south path running adjacent to Culverden Road and Byrne Road towards to Tooting Triangle Playground, according to Friends of Tooting Common.
Here, the Daily Mail clocked several cyclist speeding cyclists speeding, with the fastest going about 19 mph
On whether she agreed with the issuing of the controversial £50 fine, Mrs Edkin said: ‘I’m afraid I do. The path coming off of this one should have absolutely no cycling.’
Adding: ‘Motorised bikes are supposed to have speed governors on that limit them to 20mph – but they don’t.’
Another local, Rob, who did not give his last name, echoed Mrs Edkin: ‘A fine sounds reasonable if you’re riding dangerously’
‘Some of these kids are going like crazy and riding around with no hands on the handlebars – they’re not going to be able to stop.’
He added: ‘From what I see, most of the bicycles coming through here are relatively aware but then you’ve got a few young ragamuffin looking guys with dark glasses on even though its getting dark and wearing balaclavas like they’re going to war.
‘What’s all that about?’
His friend Morgan also agreed that there was a problem with the narrow paths being shared by cyclists and pedestrians alike.
She said: ‘We’re just losing out boundaries and parks were safe places for people not in a vehicle to come.
‘The pavements are supposed to be protected from vehicles but they’re not anymore because we’ve got electric scooters and bikes and that’s going to get worse.’
All three of these people remember when there was once a painted line down the middle of the path separating bike and pedestrian traffic, but this has now been scraped off.
Rob said: ‘As long as you make it very clear which side is for cyclists and pedestrians then that’s not such a bad idea but they seem to have taken it out.
‘At least you’d know not to get in the way of the bike, but then that could encourage bikes to go much faster and not be aware that a pedestrian could kick a ball or a child could run into the other lane.
‘You still have to be careful.’
Margaret Kowalik walks the route every day with her 97-year-old grandmother and also considers the cyclists a problem.
She said: ‘They should make another cycle path because its dangerous. I walk here with my mother who’s nearly 100 every day and it can be dangerous and scary for her.’
‘My son is going to call Wandsworth Council about the bikes because it can be really very dangerous’
Despite this, Ms Kowalik thought the fine may be a step too far in enforcing it. She said: ‘I think it’s not a good idea with it being so expensive. It’s people who are uneducated who are the problem.’
While Margaret walks with her elderly mother in the park, local dad Prash, who did not give his last name, walked through with his new-born in the pram.
He said: ‘You feel different once you’ve had a kid.
‘Previously I wouldn’t necessarily be thinking about other people with families, and I’d take a common sense approach, but not everyone does, I guess.’
He added that the ‘recent uptick in E-scooters and E-bikes’ have mad walking in the park ‘more dangerous’.
However, some residents didn’t seem to see a problem with speeding cyclists.
Local café worker Larissa said: ‘They don’t speed at all. It seems just normal to me. It’s more like family based cycling – going out for the day together and that sort of thing’.
Another dog walker Dee Kelly was also more moderate in her criticism of cyclists going too quickly, She saying she ‘probably would do it as well so I don’t feel that sorry about it.’
However, she did mention the worrying ‘advent of electric bikes which has made it worse,’ saying ‘You kind of just think, if it did go over your dog, it’s going to go splat – they do more damage.’
Though other problems were more important to her as a park user. She said: ‘Littering and things like that peeve me a lot more.’
Antisocial behaviour was the most common crime report with 240 reports in the area from November 2024 to October 2025.
Wandsworth Council said: ‘We want everyone to enjoy our award-winning green spaces, safely and confidently.
‘Too many park users have told us they feel unsafe around speeding delivery riders, illegally modified e-bikes and dangerous or inconsiderate cyclists.
‘Our Parks Police are taking action to protect many people, including considerate cyclists, who use our parks responsibly.
‘Officers follow an educational-first approach, offering information and advice about the importance of slowing down and using designated cycling routes, and only as a last resort will they issue Fixed Penalty Notices for dangerous speeding and unauthorised cycling.
‘This is about responding to residents’ concerns and keeping our parks, commons and open spaces safe for everyone.’
