Planned development on Norton Summit Rd will be dangerous to cyclists.

I received an email from the Black Hill Pony Club, who are situated on the left hand side at the bottom of Norton Summit Rd, a popular cycling destination for many of us. If you have ridden up that way recently you would have noticed all of the olive trees that covered the lower slopes behind the Pony Club have been cleared. The email from Reb says the land is slated for subdivision by the Government and some cyclists have expressed concern that the changes could adversely affect this popular route.

I rode up there yesterday just after reading Reb's email and my guess is with more houses in there, depending on access roads, there will be more cars travelling up the lower stages of the road past the first and second switchbacks. These is a road you can ride and often no see any cars at all. The road is already quite narrow with no shoulder.

How does everyone feel about this? I don't think we can stand in the way of progress but more highlight the dangers that increased population and use will incur.

What should we call for? Bicycle Lane? Widening? More signage warning of cyclists, flashing lights at certain times of the day?

The BHPC have a petition on their gate and are asking cyclists to sign it. If you can take the time to abandon your new PB and stop off and leave your mark Reb would appreciate it. They need to take it down this Thursday. I will offer your comments on this post as acknowledgement of the issue and on behalf of this site I will write to the Minister of Transport, Patrick Conlon.

Please spread the word and ask your cycling friends to stop off or join Adelaide Cyclists and have their say. Maybe someone could take a photo for us.


.. an update from the Black Hill PC is here.



Norton Summit Rd (Pic: Tom Nguyen Adelaide (Flickr.com/ CC)

Tags: Adelaide, Norton, Rd, Summit, cycling, safety

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Desmond Victory on June 15, 2010 at 18:20
absolutely angus....

and we appreciate that :)

any threat to existing cycling routes should be of concern to us all....
especially if the alternatives are limited...
any information regarding same is always welcome...
Permalink Reply by Clive Palfrey on June 15, 2010 at 19:15
I have a vague recollection of Chris Pyne banging on about this some weeks ago on 891. He is the local Fed MP. I think his gripe was about the Pony Club losing access to it's grounds for which they pay a peppercorn rent. They have an online petition for those who are opposed to the redevelopement. I t may be that Chris Pynes office have more detail on the plans for the road etc.
Permalink Reply by Derek Hasel on June 15, 2010 at 22:11
If whining Pyne is against it. I'm all for it.
Permalink Reply by John Toshach on June 15, 2010 at 22:05
Hi Angus

I used to live at Teringie 15 years ago and the roads were quiet then. A bicycle lane and reduced speed limit to say 50 km/hour ( urban limit) should make the road safe for children and road cyclists alike. A people friendly area. Perhaps a community consultation process to brainstorm ideas would be great.
Permalink Reply by Gus K on June 15, 2010 at 22:18
Hello folks. I had an update from Reb.

Hi Angus,

Thank you very much for posting the information onto your forum. I am not sure how helpful I'll be in terms of extra information for you. I have only seen a working drawing from years ago about proposed subdivisions and roads over the land and from what we (the Pony Club) have been told, this plan has since changed. I'll follow up on this though and keep you informed.

From reading a few of the responses on the forum page, I just want to say that we've been forever thankful for the presence of the many cyclists so close to the club grounds. Knowing that there is always a reasonably steady stream of people using the road means that there are people able to keep an eye on things and that, as the road is so well known as being popular for cyclists, when the road is being used by pony club members or cyclists, cars are more wary of what might be around the corner. Likewise we hope our presence offers some security to cyclists as our members regularly use the roads around the club which assists in calming traffic and are able to offer assistance to cyclists in need. All members at the club are respectful of the cyclists and are glad to have them around with a few pony club members regularly using their bikes as well. On a personal note, a helpful cyclist once stopped to ensure I was ok after a fall from my horse and having the cyclists zoom past has also helped my horse realise that bikes are not to be feared. It is this sense of community and togetherness; groups of people 'out for a ride'; that I love about being in close proximity to Norton Summit Rd and its cyclists.

If the land is taken for housing, it will not only increase the amount of traffic on the road but also dramatically reduce the visual amenity of the area. It is possible to see the affects of removing the olive trees from the Windmill Paddock which occurred about a month ago but a large majority of the native trees and vegetation on the Pony Club grounds will no doubt be removed, in addition to the olives. The aesthetics of the area will be lost. After discussions with a few cyclists, the beauty and peace of the area is one of the main draws to Norton Summit Rd ride. We are a club which is supported by the local community and we like to support the community in return. By writing to cycling organisations, we are only seeking to get the word out so that people who live outside of the local area, but who use the area, have an opportunity to voice their two cents and become aware of plans that may affect them. Of course, we are essentially hoping to gather support so that we can remain using the land but we understand that having the land as open space also affects more people than just us at the Pony Club.

Thanks again for following this up and spreading the word, we really appreciate it.

Also, I just want to let you know that there is a cover sheet attached to the petition to provide more information.

Reb and Black Hill PC
Permalink Reply by Peter Hill on June 16, 2010 at 0:27
There is no doubt that there is the potential for this change in land use to affect cyclists. Norton Summit is one of the main Adelaide arterial routes for recreational cyclists.

If Dept Families and Communities are going to flog off portions of the Magill Training Centre land for housing there will be a year or two during the clearing and construction phase where there will be high use by heavy and light trucks; increased building debris on the road; temporary road narrowing and traffic restrictions; bike lane obstructing road signs, and the usual gamut of other things that will increase the danger to all cyclists.

I don't believe that the Adelaide Hills Council or the State Government or Families and Communities would stop their plans based on a few submissions from the cycling fraternity, however there would be gain to put government and local government on notice that to go ahead with this sort of thing will need a high level of project management to properly manage this important cycling route and all its users.

It would be good to see some plans and look forward to reading the upshot of Wayne Cook's investigation (see his post earlier today). Can someone post a hyperlink to a planning proposal?

I wish the Pony club the best of luck.
Permalink Reply by Wombat on June 16, 2010 at 7:47
IMHO the pony club should be supported for all of the reasons mentioned here already. IF a bike lane was proposed, then something like THIS

would be needed to handle the groups and clubs of cyclists that use this road together. (pic: http://www.moderntransit.org/blossomhill/capitol-bridge/capitol-bri...)
IMHO there is little use putting in the usual metre wide lanes that exist in the city in this location... then maybe a physical barrier like this???

(pic:http://sf.streetsblog.org/2009/01/07/mta-board-backs-plan-to-elimin...)

OR THIS???

(pic: http://inklake.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/day-to-cheer-for-burrard-br...)
Permalink Reply by Peter Hill on June 16, 2010 at 21:21
Hi Wombat,
Nothing to do with the Pony club (I've already posted something serious), but I have to say how much I like the photo you posted of the abandoned bike in the bike lane. If viewed without any context, it looks really perplexing.

It looks like the bicycle equivalent of the Mary Celeste. Did the rider vanish mysteriously?!! Were there pirates involved or did aliens transport the rider to another dimension!!

Perhaps after all that American freeway travel it was just a very tired bike and decided to have a lie down at the most awkward of moments!!

great photo, thanks.
Permalink Reply by Wombat on June 17, 2010 at 7:54
I like it too. I thought it showed well the width of the bike lane on this bridge, but I like your explanations too! haha
Permalink Reply by Wayne Cook on June 16, 2010 at 12:26
Hi again all,

I want to be careful not to pre-empt anything here so please appreciate this if some of the following is vague. Prelimenary plans have been discussed the Adelaide Hills Council. Plans detail many allotments sized at approximately 300sqm but you will be happy to read that access roads from the development on to Norton Summit Rd were not considered appropriate given the shape of the road and the entering and exiting of vehicles. Most traffic will be channelled onto Glen Stuart Road and or Kintyre Rd. The Youth remand centre is likely to be demolished by the end of this year. The Pony Club have been asked to vacate the government land they are on and have rejected sites offered for relocation. I hope to get a plan than can be scanned for this site but I make no promises. Even if I did it may change. As plans are going to go through the Adelaide Hills Council it will be a category 3 development so advertising will occur seeking feedback on the plans. So in the next couple of months you all may want to keep an eye on the Advertiser or the Councils website.
Permalink Reply by Gus K on June 17, 2010 at 15:39
Hi Wayne,

Thanks for taking the time to look into this. It looks like Norton Summit Rd will remain pretty much untouched (except for having to ride further before we feel we are out of suburbia).

I don't want to comment on the Pony Club situation except to say thanks to them for raising it and good luck.

I do think some gentle lobbying to get some more signage (flashing flights at certain times) might be a good thing to do.
Permalink Reply by Luke on June 17, 2010 at 21:22
Thanks for following this up Wayne. For those interested keep an eye on Adelaide Hills Council Applications under Public Notification.

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