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Comment by heather on March 20, 2010 at 7:43pm

Letter of Hon Jane Lomax-Smith, Member for Adelaide, to David O’Loughlin, Mayor of Prospect.

Dear Mayor O’Loughlin,

I have been contacted by Heather … on behalf of the Prospect Bicycle User Group, regarding the City of Prospect’s Masterplan for Prospect Road.

Heather is very concerned that the designs approved by Council include a ‘shared zone’ in the ‘Village Heart’ precinct, which involves a narrowing of the road and the removal of the dedicated bicycle lanes that extend along Prospect Road.

As a regular bicycle user, and a previous victim of a bicycle and car accident, Heather is outraged that a bicycle lane would be removed and cyclists put at risk by pushing them into a narrow road with motor traffic, including buses. According to her calculations there would be barely enough room to put a bicycle next to a bus in the space provided in the concept drawings, let alone provide a safe distance for travelling.

Heather is also concerned that the planned traffic calming measures for Prospect Road will push north / south traffic onto Braund Road, which will put at risk other cyclists, including children, as well as aggravate local residents.

Cycling is an increasingly popular, environmentally friendly method of travel and is also an effective way of keeping fit and therefore staving off obesity and chronic illness. Bicycle lanes are an important way to encourage cycling by providing a safe environment in which to undertake the activity.

I am therefore very concerned that the City of Prospect would seek to remove the only continuous bicycle lane in the Council area and ask that this decision be reviewed before the Prospect Road Masterplans are implemented.

Yours sincerely, Jane Lomax-Smith, State Member of Adelaide, 17/3/10

Delivered to Heather’s postal box on Friday 19-Mar-2010. Collected 20-Mar-2010.

Comment by heather on March 14, 2010 at 10:00pm

Bicycle lane removal accepted by Member for Adelaide.

I attended Meet the Candidates on Wednesday 10 March 2010 in the North Adelaide Community Hall. I wanted to ask Jane Lomax-Smith, ALP Member for Adelaide, and Minister for Tourism, her views on Prospect Council’s plan to remove a section of bicycle lanes on Prospect Road, and narrow the road.

Note that the removal of bicycle lanes is against the State Government’s policy Safety in Numbers, A Cycling Strategy for South Australia 2006-2010. Also the plan does not comply with Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice: Part 14 – Bicycles by Austroads and Standards Australia

My questions included:
1Will the State Government honour its Cycling Strategy and Austroads?
2Why are mixed messages being sent on climate change, road safety and cycling?
3In particular, the safety of cyclists who choose to use sustainable transport of the bicycle.

At first Jane spoke of other things, rather than answering my questions. I tried a second and third time to get an answer. Finally Jane said that Labor would not interfere in local council plans. I reminded Jane that Prospect Road is not owned by local council, but is an arterial road under the control of DTEI and Sate Government. Unfortunately the current Labor Member for Adelaide accepts removal of a section of bicycle lanes on Prospect Road, plus narrowing of the road.

You could verify the above with other candidates who were present. For example:
1Rachel Sanderson, Liberal, rachel.sanderson@saliberal.org.au
2Brett Ferris, The Greens, bferris1703@gmail.com
3Samantha Paior, Dignity for Disabilities
4Tom Birdseye, Gamers4Croydon, Tom.Birdseye@gamers4croydon.org

The Liberal candidate had not heard of potential removal of bicycle lanes, and does not have a policy on it. The Greens candidate said that he will support cycling, and signed the petition to retain bicycle lanes on arterial roads.

Comment by heather on March 2, 2010 at 12:24pm

Published on InProspect Indaily, 2 March 2010, page 3

The Prospect BUG
A newly formed Bicycle User Group, the Prospect BUG, is for residents who are interested in cycling. Heather, Coordinator of Prospect BUG welcomes people to contact the group at prosbug[a]adam.com.au and says,

“A bicycle is more useful than some people realise. For example, a sturdy mountain bike can safely carry 30 kg of shopping. A specialised bicycle and/or trailer can carry even more and larger items. One can combine cycling with trains to travel further…and (you) incorporate exercise into daily activities (my GP likes this one!)”

She cites some reasons why people take up either recreational or commuter cycling:
1. Love of cycling and environmental concerns.
2. An advantage over public transport – a bicycle can take your from your doorstep to exact destination, at your preferred time, and without waiting at bus stops.
3. Transport ease – reduce your dependence on the private car, and by-pass traffic jams and searching for car parking.
4. Cost – once you have paid for set-up costs, cycling costs are almost nothing.
5. Community spirit – reduce:
-- air and noise pollution
-- road congestion
-- need for new roads and maintenance (not fully funding by motoring charges so we all contribute in rates and taxes)
-- vehicle collisions and injuries, the suffering and cost
-- public-funded medical costs when limited exercise leads to ill health.

This project is supported by the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure.

Comment by Patrick Sunter on February 28, 2010 at 8:24am

That's very sad news Heather. Hope they all recover soon & the police investigate it properly.

Comment by heather on February 27, 2010 at 9:13pm

Channel 7 News on Saturday 27 Feb 2010
Three cyclists hospitalised after car collision.
A car has collided with three cyclists at Prospect in Adelaide's north this morning. The accident happened at the intersection of Prospect Road and Regency Road just after 8:00am. The three male cyclists have been taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. At least one has multiple fractures.

Comment by Patrick Sunter on February 4, 2010 at 4:02pm

G'day all, nice to see the online BUG membership growing and hope the petition gets a response.

Thanks for the message to Kristina - yes I had the chance to get to both Copenhagen & Amsterdam too this time last year - they are very inspiring for cycling aren't they.

Comment by Bicycle Fish on February 3, 2010 at 8:40am

here's a small nit pick...when citing a published document ( eg letter to the Editor) it's customary to bracket the Title, to distinguish it from other text ( eg "Prospect wants cyclists – for only one day a year ")
It's also useful, to identify the Author, especially if citing one's OWN letter, at the beginnning of the citation. Without such citation, it's harder to comprehand the point of the post/letter than it needs to be. and for what it's worth, I think I may prefer a traffic calmed Prospect Rd to an almost useless and contentious "bike lane" such as the present one - I don't feel protected by white paint.
Letter, after editing, published in the City

Comment by Amanda Steele on January 31, 2010 at 3:01pm

A letter to several Ministers and the Independent Weekly was published 22 Jan http://www.indaily.com.au/?xml=indailynew&iid=32696 in the Letters section. I'll post a response from a Minister when I get one...

Comment by Amanda Steele on November 13, 2009 at 7:29pm

I've just created an online petition as well to get more signatures
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/prospectbikelane/