Prospect wants cyclists - for one day a year
Letter, after editing, published in the City Northof 3 February 2010, on page 14.
Cyclists
discouraged
Prospect
has a long history of not supporting cycling, and does not deserve to
reap the financial benefits of hosting a Tour Down Under stage (City
North,
January 27).
In my submissions of September 2009, I explained
how council is not following the State Government’s policy “Safety
in Numbers, A Cycling Strategy for South Australia 2006-2010”.
For
years Prospect Council and Prospect Rd Traders tried to keep bicycle
lanes from Prospect Rd. Eventually the Department of Transport did
mark bicycle lanes – then began the campaign to get rid of them. In
2009 Prospect’s Masterplan proposed removing a section of bicycle
lanes while narrowing Prospect Rd. Either cyclists will be overtaken
by buses with less than 0.3m clearance, which is extremely unsafe and
against State and Federal documents like The
Driver’s Handbook,
or have to claim the lane from buses. There are 154 buses every
weekday and a traffic count of 20,400 vehicles a day. If a cyclist
does manage to claim the lane, imagine drivers’ ire as they slowly
follow a bus behind a cyclist.
The added cycling stress and
hazard will discourage sustainable transport of cycling. Prospect
Council is short-sighted and discourages cycling, while the community
becomes aware of the environment, greenhouse gases from cars and
climate change.
During the Tour Down Under I collected
signatures for a petition, which I called Cycling Arterial Roads.
Cyclists from Prospect, the Adelaide metropolitan area, country SA,
Australia wide and from around the world object to Prospect Council’s
push to remove bicycle lanes. Cyclists will seek coffee after a ride,
but not via an unsafe road. Anyway, there is already an outdoor
coffee place where Vine Street meets Prospect Road.
Heather of
Prospect BUG
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by heather on -
Do you subscribe (for free) to online ProspectInDaily, which is from InDaily?
Have you read the issue of Wednesday 24 February 2010?
On page 3 is the article ‘Pedal Power in Prospect’.
Paragraph 1: The ‘Pedal Power in Prospect’ Program aims to encourage more residents and visitors to our City to use cycling as their mode of transport.
[So why is Prospect Council persuading the State Government to go against its own Cycling Strategy, and remove a section of bicycle lanes on Prospect Road, and narrow the road? This will increase cycling hazard and stress, and thus discourage cycling.
However, the Prospect Road Masterplan of November 2009 acknowledges that past ‘traffic calming’ of Prospect Road diverted arterial traffic onto residential streets. That further ‘traffic calming’ of Prospect Road will divert more arterial traffic onto residential streets. Around 2000 on parallel bikedirect Braund Road there were 26 vehicle movements per day per household, well in excess of guidelines. I cannot give you current data, because my request to council on 18-Jan-2010 for traffic counts has been overlooked. Council plans for Prospect Road will discourage cycling on Prospect Road and bikedirect Braund Road and bikedirect Myrtle Street.]
Paragraph 2: From the survey response, SAFETY was identified as the biggest concern or barrier to taking up cycling.
[This was earlier identified in the State Government policy Safety in Numbers, A Cycling Strategy for South Australia 2006-2010:
The Cycling Challenge
Market research shows that many people choose not to cycle because they perceive cycling to be unsafe – so the challenge lies in improving not only safety for the existing cyclists but the perception of safety for those not currently cycling. Whether cycling for recreation or transport, safety is a barrier to getting more people to take up cycling.
So why is Prospect Council persuading the State Government to remove bicycle lanes on Prospect Road?]
You may also want to read issue of 22 February 2010, page 3, ‘First cab off the rank for Prospect’.
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