Grants open!
Hey guys - there is another round of grants open! These are now open to a wider audience (yay!) and can support more than just cycling (also yay!) official spiel below:
The Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, in partnership with the Motor Accident Commission (MAC), is offering community grants for safer, greener and more active travel. The grants are for groups, organisations, and workplaces to deliver small scale projects that promote safer, greener and more active travel choices. In addition to getting people cycling, projects can focus on improving road safety, walking or catching public transport, replacing car journeys with technology, doing things locally or using the car smarter.
For more information about the grants or to apply, visit www.dpti.sa.gov.au/communityprograms (follow the links to Community Grants), email DPTI.CommunityGrants@sa.gov.au or call (08) 8402 1913.
Get onto it!!! Applications close on September 7th :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Richard on -
"Ban all cars"
Now, gimme the $5,000
(sorry, feeling grumpy because I have to register the MG and can't afford it ... if we want to eat this week).
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Permalink Reply by Sam on -
lol.....im listening.......... might need a few details re how exactly you are going to get that happening ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Richard on
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Seeing I'm feeling grumpy, I'd might as well go the whole hog :)
[grump]
Pass a law to ban all cars.
No need to publicise the law because the SAdvertiser will kick up such a fuss that everyone will know about it.
Finally put those 'safety cameras' to use by photographing every car on the roads, then going around to the owner's house with a tow truck and simply take the thing away - no need for fines, they'd just tie up administrative resources. The cars can be crushed and sold to china to turn into bicycles (for when the Red Army finally invades us).
Once drivers start taking number plates off their cars so they can't be identified, dig big trenches across roads with bicycle/pedestrian width only bridges across them.
If you approach this with the attitude that people will complain whatever you do so you can safely ignore them this time, it should all work smoothly - hey, it works with all other legislation so why not apply it here.
Second tier legislation would include banning carbon fibre and aluminium push bikes. This will force everyone to ride steel and because the only country in the world with the ability to make bike frames is China, the Chinese will have to sell all those steel bikes they were stockpiling for the Red Army, thus preventing them from invading us.
Once we revert to third world country status, it won't matter anyway.
[\grump]
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Permalink Reply by Richard on
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Yeah, you're probably right ... nah, the above is rational, as opposed to continually burning fossil fuels to achieve what could be achieved by burning fat.
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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c'mon then - we are in the business of supporting ideas that reduce the number of kms driven by cars etc.....come up with something YOU can get moving! ...your workplace? a group you are a member of?? so long as it meets the criteria, and isnt a stand alone thing (i.e. the idea has longeivity - and can achieve a sustained reduction in car use) and we deem there to be a win for us in there, we are all ears :)
take a look at the link provided, have a think on it and contact us BEFORE you submit an application to get some feedback on how you can perhaps make your application more attractive/competitive :)
For more information about the grants or to apply, visit www.dpti.sa.gov.au/communityprograms (follow the links to Community Grants), email DPTI.CommunityGrants@sa.gov.auor call (08) 8402 1913.
Get onto it!!! Applications close on September 7th :)
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Permalink Reply by Richard on
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I know where you're coming from Samara (and this is serious for a change).
Personally, I do ride a lot and promote cycling at work - there aren't many I haven't challenged about riding to work and while some have a good excuse, like living at Stirling, most would have an easier commute than me. Trouble is, almost invariably, they're scared of riding on the roads and I really have no answer to that.
Firstly, it IS dangerous to ride on the roads, not as dangerous as many would imagine and to be honest, back streets and bike paths eliminate most of that (which is why the prevailing anti-bike path attitude on this forum annoys me intensely - most of it is no more than elitism).
The other issue with riding a bike is that however you look at it, it is never going to be more convenient than just walking out to your car, climbing inside and driving quietly to work. Hell, even driving my MG is less convenient than just climbing into the Falcon. The worst of Adelaide's traffic isn't all that bad if you have a calm attitude and are willing to go with the flow of the traffic - for reasons that aren't relevant here, I'm forced to commute by car to my daughter's school three days in a fortnight (I leave the car at the other end and ride to work I might add). This means driving along South Road in peak hour and it's frustrating but not as horrid as some would make out - those same people would 'suffer' if they had to do it on a bike. In anything other than perfect conditions, it IS more uncomfortable on your bike than being safely cocooned with the aircon blowing and something interesting on the radio (I listen to audio books, but that's me).
The only reasons to ride a bike are a joy in riding (my reason), concern for the environment or being unable to afford a car. Unless you have the first, very few people in our community will seriously try to overcome the big disincentives - perceived danger and lack of convenience ... oh, and climbing up that sodding Expressway Hill or Flagstaff Hill like I have to (those are genuine disincentives, believe me).
All this is just a long winded way of saying that I really have no ideas except my initial proposal - ban cars.Not everyone feels safe in traffic and you're unlikely to change that.
Not everyone wants to have to wear different clothes to commute in - I don't mean fancy riding togs, but when you start to sweat, you don't want to settle down in your office in those same clothes, nor are my office clothes particularly suitable for riding. Showers and dedicated changing areas are just bandaids (very welcome bandaids I might add though).
Distance. A bloke at work lives 5km from work and can work in very casual clothes (jeans and t-shirt). On the other hand, I have a minimum of 13km to ride and have those sodding hills to face on the way home. Even without the hills, once you start getting to 10km, your average non-cyclist or casual cyclist is going to be overwhelmed - most at work are amazed by my run from my daughter's school to work and that IS on the flats and is only 11 km.
And you'll never overcome the ease of just climbing into your car and cruising to work in your own space - this is why public transport doesn't work in Adelaide.
All rather negative isn't it.
The trick lies in convincing your average human that convenience isn't all it's cracked up to be, that physical exercise is good (and gyms are a rubbish substitute) and bikes aren't dangerous.
Working backwards, even we admit bikes are dangerous (but it can be mitigated), exercise is promoted as a fashion accessory with only lip service paid to the health benefits (most people have stopped playing sport by their early 20s) and convenience? Humans have spent the last 200,000 years finding easier ways of doing things and you want us to deliberately make it harder?
Dammit, now I'm getting grumpy again (no, I wasn't before ... seriously ... well, not much).
So, my solution? Crush every car (except MGs) and send the steel to China for frames, thus ensuring the Red Army have enough bicycles to invade us come the revolution.
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Permalink Reply by A.V.O. on
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the prevailing anti-bike path attitude on this forum annoys me intensely - most of it is no more than elitism
I ride both - horses for courses!
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Permalink Reply by Richard on
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the prevailing anti-bike path attitude on this forum annoys me intensely - most of it is no more than elitism
I ride both - horses for courses!
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Same here mate, pity it's not expressed that way more often.
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Permalink Reply by greg looyestyn on
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"some have a good excuse, like living at stirling"
what does that mean? I live on Mt Lofty and commute to the CBD five days a week.
20km's in 46 minutes to get home is not that inconvenient when I look at all the people in their vehicles trying to shuffle along in the "rush" hour.
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Permalink Reply by Richard on
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I suspect you're not in your sixties and have to start work before 7:30 like my boss :)
Onya for doing it - seriously.
As for 20kms in 46 mins to get home, you've obviously got it easy because it takes me 50 to the 16kms from work to home.
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Permalink Reply by Rob (Chewbacca) on -
Repat needs a new bike cage because we dont have enough car parks anymore thanks to all the new buildings going up here....also with parking fees due to come in more people will have to ride bikes to work
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