Cycling in Sydney Australia
Bike North: Complaints about cyclist at ped crossing on Alfred St South, SHB
From Bike North :
Dear everyone
We have been informally advised that a number of complaints have been made about cyclists riding ( not walking their bikes) through the pedestrian crossings at the traffic lights at Alfred Street South on their way to and from the Harbour Bridge cycleway and almost knocking over elderly pedestrians. Police will almost certainly be carrying out some enforcement of traffic rules in the area in the near future ie enforcing the rule that cyclists must obey traffic lights.
Regards
Caroline
Bike North ( North Sydney Workgroup Convenor)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cate on -
"almost knocking over elderly pedestrians" seems to be the right motivator for anything really.
If you "almost knock over' anything else forget it.
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Permalink Reply by weiyun on -
Let's face it. Bikes can easily kill pedestrians as cars can easily kill cyclists. And there are some extremely unruly cyclists out there.
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Permalink Reply by Kim on -
I have to say that when I was doing the Super Tuesday count I did see some very interesting near misses on the ped crossing between bikes and people.
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Permalink Reply by Tony A on -
I'm a little confused about the scenario in question. Is it:
A) bikes travelling along Alfred St Sth going through the red light (or the flashing amber).
B) bikes that are crossing at the lights with the pedestrians.
C) bikes riding along the pavement in front of Milsons Point station.
D) bikes riding across the raised, paved portion of Burton St (just South of the lights).
If it is A, B or C, then fair enough. If it is D, then it is certainly going to be a bit annoying if you have to dismount, remount and then dismount again at the bridge stairs...
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Permalink Reply by MadameBike on -
Tony, I assume it is option B) as that is what is illegal and involves travelling with pedestrians. It is illegal to ride your bicycle across a pedestrian crossing (even without any pedestrians on it).
Having said that, I reckon a lot of pedestrians think they were "nearly knocked over" by cyclists when the cyclist was probably totally in control of their speed and direction and wasn't likely to knock the pedestrian at all. Because of the speed differential and the quietness of the bicycle, pedestrians, in my experience, are often unduly alarmed when the bicycle is either approaching them or overtaking them.
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Permalink Reply by BikeSaint on
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"I reckon a lot of cyclists think they were "nearly hit" by drivers when the driver was probably totally in control of their speed and direction and wasn't likely to knock the cyclist at all. Because of the speed differential with the car, cyclists, in my experience, are often unduly alarmed when the car, bus or truck is either approaching them or overtaking them."
We all need to remember that it is the same for us. It's not enough to avoid hitting someone, give them a wide enough berth that they _feel_ safe. Because that's what we want from drivers. Gentle bell ringing from a fair way back to alert them to your otherwise silent and so unexpected approach helps, too. And, just like we want to be able to complain to police and have action taken when we feel aggrieved and aggressed, so do they.
Be the change you want to see in the world, said Gandhi.
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Permalink Reply by David Taylor on -
It's the human contact factor :)
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on -
Elderly ped perspectives will change when more of them start riding bikes.
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Permalink Reply by back street boy on -
If i was old and frail i would probably over-react too.
interstingly enough there was an article in SMH's drive about two weeks ago whinging about mobility devices and how dangerous they are. the article cited that there was >100,000 of them kicking around and it is on the rise and there is little to no infrastructure for them. Apprently there is a helmet debate going on there too due to unacceptably high death rates. Geez at that age death rates are going to be proportionally high anyway due to the demongraphic.
I personally see great value in them if it means people can stay mobile for longer, particulry when used as a substitue for motor vehicles. The reason i bring this up is I have almost been mown down by these too, i wonder if they are expect to dismount too (i suppose not given they are not cyclists). ANyway, the author sounded like a young car driver not an old codger.
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