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9 April 2008
Plans for the Bourke St Cycle Lane are available for download here.
Public comment is invited. Write and say how much you approve of the plan. It makes a difference.
11 June 2007
Three cheers for Clover! If only the ALP were capable of rational thought
and sensible decision making.
Feel free to write to your local member or the Premier in support of any of
the excellent points raised below.
Fiona
Hansard from NSW Legislative Assembly, 6 June 2007.
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hanstrans.nsf/v3ByKey/LA20070606
BICYCLE NETWORK FACILITIES
Ms CLOVER MOORE (Sydney) [6.40 p.m.]: Global warming, air pollution and
traffic congestion are issues of growing concern. Given that motor vehicle
use in Sydney continues to rise, with vehicle kilometres travelled
increasing at twice the rate of population growth, we urgently need a major
shift away from private vehicle dependency. Bicycles do not cause pollution:
they take up less road and parking space, they are cheap to run, and have
immense health benefits for riders. In the electorate of Sydney about four
times as many people cycle to work compared with the numbers in the wider
metropolitan area. At the recent C40 Major Cities conference in New York I
was able to cycle around Central Park with the Mayor of Copenhagen, where 40
per cent of people use bikes to get to work and study. I rode also with
representatives from a New York active transport group with over 5,000
members, and heard about the progressive steps being taken in other cities
to encourage cycling.
While the Government's Sydney Metropolitan Strategy promises improved
cycling facilities, funding for cycling infrastructure and education has
been reducing. This undermines the New South Wales Government's commitment
to its Bike Plan 2010 and the outcomes that the community expects from the
plan. Decisions such as removing cycle lanes on William Street and the M2
reflect a weak commitment to cycling. Those lanes should be reinstated. It
is vital that cycling infrastructure improves, particularly in the inner
city where residents face traffic and parking congestion, notwithstanding
they live close to education, recreation and employment destinations.
Providing dedicated bike lanes has been shown to increase cycling. Bicycle
NSW informs me that Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] data shows significant
increases in bicycle use on routes where bicycle infrastructure has
improved. Of course, that is logical. According to Bicycle NSW, cycling is
the fastest growing mode of transport in Sydney.
Recent research undertaken by the City of Sydney council indicates that
Sydneysiders would be more likely to cycle if there were dedicated bicycle
lanes and better awareness by motorists of bicycle safety. Bicycle NSW
reports that more bicycles than cars are sold each year, showing that people
enjoy cycling and would probably use their bikes more if given the right
conditions. Despite traffic barriers to riding, Bicycle NSW says that the
Roads and Traffic Authority counts show a 45 per cent increase in bicycle
traffic between 2002 and 2005 in Sydney's central business district. To
encourage cycling we need to provide accessible, comprehensive and
integrated dedicated cycleways that link with public transport; safe
treatments at major traffic intersections; cyclist priority at traffic
lights; cycle lanes on all major roads for safe direct routes to
destinations; free travel for bikes on trains and travel facilities for
bikes on buses; and driver education for safe road sharing with cyclists.
These are all provided in other cities around the world.
There is widespread criticism that the current Bike Plan 2010 has been
ineffective. The Government needs to update this plan to increase the
coverage and density of the regional network, and to ensure that planned
cycle routes are based on cyclists' desired routes. The City of Sydney
council has developed a cycle strategy that aims to achieve an effective and
accessible cycle network with major routes less than a five minutes easy
ride from every residence. This coordinated network will be backed up by
action on local streets to improve cycling safety and convenience, and will
complement the Roads and Traffic Authority's regional routes and
recreational routes, such as the Sydney Harbour cycleway and the planned
Alexandra Canal path.
The plan includes strategies to increase community awareness about the
benefits of cycling, improved network maintenance, better bicycle route
signage, separating some cycle lanes from general traffic and new
end-of-trip facilities, such as parking, storage, change and shower
facilities. The strategy sets a target of increasing current cycle rates
from 2 per cent of trips in Sydney to 10 per cent of all trips and 20 per
cent of trips between 2 and 20 kilometres in the next 10 years. Through
these plans, the council hopes to reduce pollution and traffic congestion,
decrease accidents, and improve the health of residents and visitors through
increased physical activity. Increased public awareness and facilities are
critical to achieving these outcomes.
An urgent priority for the City of Sydney council is to achieve the missing
link cycleway as part of our growing network to provide a vital north-south
link to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, west to Pyrmont and Anzac bridges, and
east to William Street and Park Street. The council has allocated budget
funds to start this project as soon as possible and I urge the State
Government to ensure Roads and Traffic Authority modelling is completed
urgently to enable this critical project to proceed. It is vital that all
levels of government support active transport. I will continue to lobby with
other capital city lord mayors for investment in sustainable transport in
our cities. We have set up a secretariat in Canberra for the purpose of
lobbying the Federal Government. I call on the State Government to provide
additional resources and commitment to encourage cycling, thereby promoting
a healthy and sustainable community.
Private members' statements noted.
-- Live Life in the Fast Lane http://tinyurl.com/yxd9sh
Bikesydney mailing list Bikesydney@bikesydney.org
http://bikesydney.org/mailman/listinfo/bikesydney_bikesydney.org
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