Cycling in Sydney Australia
Two's a crowd on bridge -Yawn, more scrubby stuff
SHARED paths across the Spit Bridge are dangerously narrow, according to pedestrians who say they fear "death or serious injury" every time they see a bike coming the other way.
Chalk outlines on the western side designate the footpath along the bridge as a "shared zone" - open to pedestrians and cyclists - but commuters believe the footpath is too narrow to accommodate both.
Photographs sent to the Manly Daily show pedestrians are being forced to narrowly squeeze past riders.
Pedestrian Council CEO Harold Scruby said cyclists needed to either dismount or stay on the roads.
"It's a death or serious injury waiting to happen - there's a couple of points on the footpath where there's only just enough room for a cyclist to pass," he said.
"Pedestrians are required to dodge speeding cyclists at this incredibly dangerous location ... (while) buses pass with their mirrors literally centimetres away.
"It's not uncommon to see cyclists travelling across the bridge at speeds exceeding 30km/h."
He said the bridge's walkway narrowed to less than 1.2m at at least two points - well under Austroads' guidelines, which call for a minimum width of 3m for shared areas.
It is understood northern beaches police have raised concerns about cyclists refusing to dismount, with Roads and Maritime Services requesting the bridge be sign-posted. Spit Bridge falls under the jurisdiction of RMS and a spokeswoman said an investigation "found no issues with the site."
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/news/story/twos-a-crowd-on-bri...
Apologies if this is too local but no way am I going to cut the traffic on the road on the bridge heading north. From what I see most peds and bikes get on fine and understand that it is tight for both for about 100 metres.
30 km/h? A joke eh Harold, not possible.
BTW peds can use both east and west paths on the bridge as both north and south ends have under bridge access to both paths.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Colin on -
Don't get drawn into a peds vs cyclists war. The root of the problem is that the vast majority of space on the bridge is allocated to cars, and if there was a fairer allocation of space there would be plenty of room for peds and cyclists without conflict between them.
Don't fight over scraps with your natural allies when the big enemy dog is running away with the choice cut.
-
Permalink Reply by Omar - Go! Alliance on -
+1. We are all pedestrians even if we happen to cycle sometimes. Many of us may also be motorists and public transport users... I don't buy into the battle lines and it's precisely what has motivated me to develop an alternative...
-
Permalink Reply by herzog on -
Agree totally with not starting a war with walkers. That is self defeating since it is something we all do every day.
The boaties on the other hand...
Anyone think it's a good idea to completely close such an important bridge to walkers, riders, cars and busses several times a day just so a few can move their boats around?
They should be given a deadline (say dec 31 2012) to decide what side they want their boats on.
Then they should weld the bloody bridge shut permanently.
-
Permalink Reply by sit ubu sit on
-
Why not do the same thing for the traffic lanes but weld it OPEN. Surely this would be one way to *solve* the traffic problem at Spit Bridge. Anyway don't most living on the Insular Peninsular never leave, and don't want any foreigners coming in, so they should be generally supportive.
-
Permalink Reply by baa baa on -
yeah but the foreigners will still come by boats.mRabbott is the local member and is just hopelessly soft on the issue.
-
Permalink Reply by Adam Butler on -
Agree Colin. Whilst there can be some silly comments from Harold (I've had a go at him in the past), he could be a potential ally. Does anyone know if any cycling people have spoken to him about vulnerable road users?
This is about the continuing prioritisation of motorised traffic over human traffic which happens all over Sydney.
-
Permalink Reply by baa baa on
-
Thanks Garry, I do like this. (apart from all the z s in organizations and the last bullet point in 'About Us' and then 'Values' ..Connecting, playing together and reinvigorating ourselves through gatherings and song. Kinda opens the door for endless Mr-OH-U-tube stufff )
-
Permalink Reply by Omar - Go! Alliance on
-
I've met with them in DC a couple of times and have more recently discussed extending their model through Go! In Australia and it remains a work in progress.. The approach I believe can be extended further as well.
-
Permalink Reply by Martin Geliot on -
I can't abide "you need to..." language.
The essential is to ask nicely. It's a request. When an officious type tells me "I need to..." I'll not comply.
-
Permalink Reply by Si on -
I ride across it every day and I have never not slowed down, and have never seen another cyclist not slow down, to pass peds at a just above walking speed.
- ‹ Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Next ›
© 2013 Created by DamianM.
