Mother 'lucky to be alive' after being mowed down by cyclist

A Perth mother has told 9NEWS she is lucky she wasn’t killed when she was run down by a cyclist in the city's south.

Christine Barrett, 59, said she was jogging along the Rockingham foreshore on Saturday morning with a friend when she was struck.

The blow knocked her onto a park bench and broke her elbow – the man and his bike landing on top of her.

Mrs Barrett said the cyclist didn't stop and quickly fled without checking if she was okay.

“He was coming at tremendous speed,” she told 9NEWS.

“He could’ve killed me if I’d have landed on my head or in a different position.

“I was innocently running along there and my life is changed completely… just through some thug riding a mountain bike at me.”

The mother-of-two had surgery to insert a metal plate into her elbow.

The recovery means Mrs Barrett, who is a swim teacher and dog walker, won’t be able to work for at least six weeks.

She now wants the City of Rockingham to look at banning cyclists on that footpath to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

“There’s a no skateboarding sign, but there’s no sign to say no cycling,” Mrs Barrett said.

“It’s such a narrow walkway. I don’t think cyclists should be able to ride down.”

The incident has reignited debate about whether cyclists should be allowed to use footpaths in WA, with the Pedestrian Council of Australia calling for a blanket ban on shared pathways.

“These incidents are occurring far more frequently and go largely unreported,” the council's chairman Harold Scruby told 9NEWS.

“Pedestrians are the main road user, that’s all 25 million of us, and cyclists represent a very, very, very small percentage of that. So let’s put it in perspective and get it right.”

In a statement, the City of Rockingham said the footpath will be widened as part of a planned beach-side revitalisation.

The incident has been referred to police.

A fundraising page has been set up to support Christine Barrett with her recovery while she can’t work.