What’s the issue?
Cycling can be great alternative to other modes of transport. You can get to where you need to be while helping to save the environment, prevent traffic congestion and keep fit. But would
you get on a bike in the middle of peak hour traffic?
According to a 2004 federal government report, an average of 35 cyclists are killed on public roads each year and 2500 are seriously injured. Cyclists accounted for 2% of the death toll from road accidents in 2007, and 11% of the serious injuries. The Victorian police estimate that as few as 1 in 30 bicycle accidents are ever reported.
The
Australian Transport Safety Bureau says that the main reason there are so many accidents is that bike riders and drivers of other vehicles can’t see each other properly on the roads. Bike lobbies all over Australia are campaigning to increase the number of bicycle-only traffic lanes, so that drivers and cyclists can live in highway harmony.
But even existing cycleways are causing controversy. For example,
BikeSydney claims that many of the newly built bike lanes in NSW are poorly planned, dangerous and built in areas where it was convenient rather than where lanes were needed.
Research has shown that although more people want to take up cycling for financial, health and environmental reasons, they’re reluctant to try it because of the lack of safe infrastructure in place. If things don’t improve, riders may not want to get back in the saddle again, and pedalling potentials might not even bother at all. And with traffic, pollution and accidents all reaching record levels – we need as many transport alternatives as possible.
What’s so good about a strip of asphalt?
The
Australian Bicycle Council (ABC) says that bike lanes decrease the stress levels of cyclists riding in traffic. They also send out the message that bike riders have just as much right to be on the road as cars, buses and giant road hogging range rovers. ABC’s research suggests that bike lanes reduce the chance of bike/vehicle conflicts, enhances the visibility of cyclists and generally improves the safety of riding on the road.
Bike dislike
Tax payers and road insurance organisations are starting to get annoyed about expensive cycleways that are barely ever used. The common complaint is that it’s not fair (and economically irresponsible) to spend so much money on things that are only used by a small percentage of the population.
Plus, there are some people who just want bikes off the road. Plenty of drivers think that bicycles are dangerous contraptions which slow down traffic, get people’s tempers flaring and end up creating more pollution than they save. The logic is that cyclists make cars drive slower, which means they are on the road for longer and create more fumes. Some frustrated anti-cyclists grumble that cyclists use the road as their own personal racing track.
What are the bikes banking on?
Even though cycling infrastructure is normally a state responsibility, with increasing hype over climate change and obesity, bicycle lobbies saw an opportunity to get their cause on the national agenda. In October 2008, the Australian cycling industry proposed that the federal government should invest $800 million in bicycle infrastructure. This money would be spent on separate bike lanes and cycleways in capital cities. The lobbyists claim that an investment in cycling will help combat Australia’s obesity crisis, reduce green house gas emissions and dilute traffic congestion. The government has not yet committed to the project.
Cyclists are passionate about their right to ride. Almost every major city and state in Australia has its own cycling association and there are also national bodies such as the
Australian Bicycle Council and the
Bicycle Federation of Australia. Initiatives such as 'National Ride to Work Day' have been a huge success and there are always new ways to get involved in cycling advocacy. You can sign a petition to introduce a ‘
Bike There’ function on google maps, and there is even a travelling international
Bike Film Festival!
Biketopia
Some cities around the world have shown that a cycling culture can be a perfect way to manage large populations without pollution or congestion. In Denmark, almost everyone has a bike and 32% of people in Copenhagen (the capital) ride to work. In Australia, only 1.3% of people ride to work. Denmark has extensive and well used cycle paths, and even one suburb which is completely car free! Bicycle associations in Australia must think it’s no coincidence that Copenhagen has recently been named the city with the highest quality of life in the world (Monocle Magazine, UK).
How do I know this?
Australian Bicycle Council
http://www.austroads.com.au/abc/
Bicycle Federation of Australia
http://www.bfa.asn.au/index.asp?IntCatId=14
BikeSydney
http://bikesydney.org/new/
‘Copenhagen rated world’s best life quality’
http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/content/tourist/news/news_
and_events/copenhagen_rated_worlds_best_life_quality
Cycling and Safety Factsheet, Bicycle Federation of Australia
http://www.bfa.asn.au/cms/uploads/resources/bfa%20fact%20sheet%20-%20safety.pdf
Duffy, Michael, ‘Off yer bike – for the sake of all of us on the roads’, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 December 2005
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/off-yer-bike--for-the-sake-of-all-of-us-on-the-roads/2005/12/02/1133422105845.html
Smith, Alexandra, ‘Bike lanes dangerous, cyclists warn’, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 January 2008
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bike-lanes-not-safe-cyclists-warn--a-hrefhttpblogssmhcomaunewsblogarchivesyour-say016945htmlbyour-sayba/2008/01/10/1199554832979.html
Smith, Alexandra, ‘Money wasted on cyclists: NRMA’, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 January 2008
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/money-wasted-on-cyclists-nrma/2008/01/09/1199554742667.html
