Cyclists are to be instructed to walk together with pedestrians between 8am and 12 noon on 15th, 20th, 24th and 28th January 2011 while 12,000 visitors from Amway China walk the Harbour Bridge. This is reported in the North Sydney Traffic Committee agenda - Item 4:07 which meets Friday 26 November.
Bike North and Stuart and Sydney Cyclist and the Facebook group BikeSydney asks that you send polite emails to North Sydney Council stating that this request for mixed use of the cycleway should not be approved. This would be not only a huge inconvenience to people cycling to work but also a danger to pedestrians.
here is the link to the discussion on Sydney Cyclist >> http://www.sydneycyclist.com/forum/topi ... 1#comments
Please email the following:
council@northsydney.nsw.gov.au
mayor@northsydney.nsw.gov.au
ceraymondau@gmail.com (Chair of the Bicycle Sub-Committee)
andrew_robjohns@yahoo.com (Greens)
I wrote something like this:
Hello Council
I have been alerted to a proposal to be put to North Sydney Council on the 26th Nov that would, if passed, see the cycleway on the western side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (SHB) turned into a pedestrian only footpath between 8am and 12 noon on the 15th, 20th, 24th and 28th January 2011 while 12,000 visitors from Amway China walk the Harbour Bridge.
This proposal is wrong and impractical on so many levels it’s hard to know where to start in outlining my objections.
I regularly commute by bicycle to my workplace in St Leonards from Dulwich Hill and use the SHB as a part of my route. Forcing cyclists to dismount and walk across the bridge in order to cater to delegates to a conference is bad enough, as it would allow a corporation to override the rights of Sydney residents to access a vital piece of cycling infrastructure and one of the few places where we are free from pedestrians and cars, but to propose this to appease delegates from a corporation that is basically one big pyramid scheme is objectionable in the extreme.
This proposal also forces regular pedestrian users of the SHB to move to the Western side as it is deemed impractical for them to mingle with the Chinese Amway delegates. Why is it a requirement of Amway that their delegates be separated from regular Sydney-siders walking on the SHB? Is there some fear here or is this just to reinforce the idea that they are somehow special and privileged?
The idea that you can mix pedestrians with cyclists on the SHB cycleway is beyond silly. This proposal represents a huge inconvenience to people cycling to work and poses a potential danger to pedestrians. I strongly urge council to reject this proposal and allow regular commuters to continue to ride on the cycleway and regular SHB walkers to continue to use the eastern side of the SHB.
Harbour Bridge takeover by Amway - make your objection known
Here's another example - much more eloquent than I: reproduced from Sydney Cyclist.
I was amazed to read that they intend to regiment the Amway reps in three-abreast blocs across the Bridge. What is that about? Making sure anyone with the temerity to try walking the other way gets trampled?? Anyway, here is what I said to Council at NorthSydney.nsw.gov.au with copies to Jillian Skinner (state rep) and Russ W:
As a cyclist I frequently use the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway, which carries many hundreds of cyclists per day and the narrow confines of which form the only cycling access across Sydney Harbour.
I am astonished to hear of a proposal to close the cycleway to riders next January in order to accommodate the needs of a commercial operator and its walking event.
My understanding of the event from a brief perusal of the 14 pages of the report in the November 26 Traffic Committee papers is that fewer than 3000 people will be walking on the Bridge during each four-hour event, or fewer than 750 per hour, which is less than the flow of cyclists on the cycleway during peak hour. These numbers could surely be accommodated on the eastern side of the Bridge along with the normal pedestrian traffic, especially if the participants were instructed to walk only two-abreast, thus easily allowing two-way pedestrian flows, instead of the ridiculous suggestion of three-abreast. Mixing the visitors with locals will also enhance cross-cultural interchange and benefit international relations.
Cyclists will not tolerate being forced to walk, pushing their bicycles, the full length of the cycleway in shoes which are not designed for the purpose and which could be severely damaged by such a requirement.
If it is deemed necessary to create more space on the bridge for this event it should not be at the expense of an environmentally benign form of transport but should be accommodated by closing one or more traffic lanes on the Bridge itself, especially as this will be at a time of year of low motor traffic flow. If, for some reason this is impossible, at the very least provision should be made to allow pedestrians and cyclists free train travel across the Bridge during the event.
I trust Council will recognise the importance of the need for cyclists' access to the Harbour Bridge cycleway to be uninterrupted and will not support this unnecessary closure of cyclists' only route across the Harbour.
Yours sincerely
I was amazed to read that they intend to regiment the Amway reps in three-abreast blocs across the Bridge. What is that about? Making sure anyone with the temerity to try walking the other way gets trampled?? Anyway, here is what I said to Council at NorthSydney.nsw.gov.au with copies to Jillian Skinner (state rep) and Russ W:
As a cyclist I frequently use the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway, which carries many hundreds of cyclists per day and the narrow confines of which form the only cycling access across Sydney Harbour.
I am astonished to hear of a proposal to close the cycleway to riders next January in order to accommodate the needs of a commercial operator and its walking event.
My understanding of the event from a brief perusal of the 14 pages of the report in the November 26 Traffic Committee papers is that fewer than 3000 people will be walking on the Bridge during each four-hour event, or fewer than 750 per hour, which is less than the flow of cyclists on the cycleway during peak hour. These numbers could surely be accommodated on the eastern side of the Bridge along with the normal pedestrian traffic, especially if the participants were instructed to walk only two-abreast, thus easily allowing two-way pedestrian flows, instead of the ridiculous suggestion of three-abreast. Mixing the visitors with locals will also enhance cross-cultural interchange and benefit international relations.
Cyclists will not tolerate being forced to walk, pushing their bicycles, the full length of the cycleway in shoes which are not designed for the purpose and which could be severely damaged by such a requirement.
If it is deemed necessary to create more space on the bridge for this event it should not be at the expense of an environmentally benign form of transport but should be accommodated by closing one or more traffic lanes on the Bridge itself, especially as this will be at a time of year of low motor traffic flow. If, for some reason this is impossible, at the very least provision should be made to allow pedestrians and cyclists free train travel across the Bridge during the event.
I trust Council will recognise the importance of the need for cyclists' access to the Harbour Bridge cycleway to be uninterrupted and will not support this unnecessary closure of cyclists' only route across the Harbour.
Yours sincerely
Council response:
Dear Submitter
Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the proposed Amway Harbour Bridge Walk to be held on the 15th, 20th, 24th and 28th January 2011.
Council is not the approval authority for this event. It is being organised and approved through the State Government’s NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. The event is listed on the North Sydney Traffic Committee agenda for information only.
It is understood that since the Traffic Committee agenda was prepared, the event has been rescheduled to occur outside the morning peak. That is, after 10am.
The matter will be considered at the next meeting of the North Sydney Traffic Committee. This meeting is scheduled to occur in the Supper Room at Council Chambers, at 10am on Friday 26 November 2010.
All members of the public are welcome to attend this meeting and address the Committee. Registrations to speak must be made ten minutes prior to the meeting, at 9:50am, outside the door to the Supper Room. Should you wish to speak all discussion is limited to 3 minutes per item. These items will then be brought forward, in agenda order, and dealt with before items in which there is no interest from the public gallery.
The minutes from the Traffic Committee will be available on Council’s website (http://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au).
Regards
Cathy Edwards-Davis
Traffic Engineer
Phone: 02 9936 8100
Fax: 02 9936 8177
Postal Address: PO Box 12 North Sydney NSW 2059
So - lets all also email the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet - here's the email addresses:
contact_us@dpc.nsw.gov.au
ThePremier@www.nsw.gov.au
She rides a bike, let's see what her commitment is like.
Dear Submitter
Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the proposed Amway Harbour Bridge Walk to be held on the 15th, 20th, 24th and 28th January 2011.
Council is not the approval authority for this event. It is being organised and approved through the State Government’s NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. The event is listed on the North Sydney Traffic Committee agenda for information only.
It is understood that since the Traffic Committee agenda was prepared, the event has been rescheduled to occur outside the morning peak. That is, after 10am.
The matter will be considered at the next meeting of the North Sydney Traffic Committee. This meeting is scheduled to occur in the Supper Room at Council Chambers, at 10am on Friday 26 November 2010.
All members of the public are welcome to attend this meeting and address the Committee. Registrations to speak must be made ten minutes prior to the meeting, at 9:50am, outside the door to the Supper Room. Should you wish to speak all discussion is limited to 3 minutes per item. These items will then be brought forward, in agenda order, and dealt with before items in which there is no interest from the public gallery.
The minutes from the Traffic Committee will be available on Council’s website (http://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au).
Regards
Cathy Edwards-Davis
Traffic Engineer
Phone: 02 9936 8100
Fax: 02 9936 8177
Postal Address: PO Box 12 North Sydney NSW 2059
So - lets all also email the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet - here's the email addresses:
contact_us@dpc.nsw.gov.au
ThePremier@www.nsw.gov.au
She rides a bike, let's see what her commitment is like.
Or better, everyone turn up and register to speak against the plan..... hahahaha....they'll be there all night or risk being accused of acting unconstitutionally and open to a legal challenge.Registrations to speak must be made ten minutes prior to the meeting, at 9:50am, outside the door to the Supper Room. Should you wish to speak all discussion is limited to 3 minutes per item.
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