Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club

Must admit I was entirely on edge until I heard it wasn't DHBC and all the cyclists escaped with their lives. Still doesn't make the crash less ugly though.

The crap on social media I the aftermath was damn near as ugly as the accident.

I did though see on idea floated among the rage that is well worth pursing: Why don't we try see get left lane on the run south to Waterfall from Sydney Metro (and back) made a bike only lane from 6am to 10am Saturday and Sunday morning? It would have negligible impact on the (already light) traffic, and motorists are already used to he time and day of week impacting on road rules (T2 and T3 lanes, clearways, school zones), and would cost next to zero (apart from a few signs and some paint).

Granted there's no-one single start point each group uses, but the protection would benefit most for 80-90% of their journey.That's gotta be a good thing. 1000s do the ride on any given weekend. And this would open it up to more.

I've given it the name the Sydney Cycling Corridor

More on the idea on my blog here: http://makingcyclingsafer.blogspot.com. ... -this.html

Most if not all of the roads we use on the way south are main 'regional' roAds, which come under state gov bodies. Need to lobby your peak body first, me thinks.

Melbourne cyclists managed to get parking restricted on one of their main routes a few years ago, so there's a precedent...

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/beach ... 1lfww.html

Thanks Greg. I'm having discussions with a couple of other Club Presidents about this proposal and the feasibility. It could be a goer. We do need to work out what to do in places where there are parked cars - eg Kingsway (way up) and Sandringham Street at Sans Souci (way back)

In the opinion of everyone here - what do you think the pros and cons are?

That was a really horrible accident and the proposal from Greg sounds reasonable but I highly doubt that the Minister for Roads would approve this.

From daily commuting and weekend road riding from what I observe the biggest impact on improving our safety would be stricter enforcement and higher fines for mobile phone use.

I'm not suggesting this was the cause of the recent accident but it's so often been the reason why I've had a few near misses.

My 2 cents.

A pro-cyclist decision like this will always be frowned on by state gov. They will reject it without doubt.
However the issue here is that we start making an ISSUE of this.
We highlight the problem and propose a solution. Gov then ignores us.
Anything happen from here on, the spotlight is on the gov. The cycling community then does a 'we told you so'.
This usually is the catalyst for change.

Thanks Greg. I'm having discussions with a couple of other Club Presidents about this proposal and the feasibility. It could be a goer. We do need to work out what to do in places where there are parked cars - eg Kingsway (way up) and Sandringham Street at Sans Souci (way back)

I'd suggest they become clearways for the times it become a cycleway, so no parking. It's not like parking is at a premium in either spot at the times listed, and nor are there a bunch of businesses relying on people being able to park out the front.

And even if there are though a couple of patches of road that aren't addressed in the first iteration, covering the vast bulk of the journey still has benefit.

Jon - I think the real beauty of a proposal like this are there no losers, and given the climate of concern over cycling safety, I reckon it's got a decent chance of getting up. Going to have zero impact on driving times at those time of day.

Marc - Don't be so defeatist. As I said there are no losers on this one and no major costs, so I reckon it has half a chance

I think this would have been great leverage for the cycle path along the tram tracks from Dulwich hill. Get cyclists off the roads

Marc - Don't be so defeatist. As I said there are no losers on this one and no major costs, so I reckon it has half a chance

Greg, I think my point is that we won't win this one straight away. It will take time
Reward goes to the one who strategises and is persistent. Bit like road cycling.

Hi Greg,
keep going anything & everything to make cycling safer
I was reading research on cycling safety a few years ago and the best indicator of how safe cycling is is the proportion of women cyclists
I would suggest on the waterfall ride this is quite low, suggesting that the ride is not that safe, the distance may also be a factor women don't ride it
I would suggest however we be careful in how we pitch the options, if we end up implying that cyclist will only use the lanes provided at the time provided etc a lot of other riders would be disadvantaged and the motorists would get angrier when people are not using the restricted options
Robert

Keep in mind there's nothing carved in stone saying one must turn at Waterfall. Sutho or Captain Cook Bridge are equally valid. And this will make these rides feel safer and thus more accessible to all.

I do agree that it will probably make riding the area more awkward outside those times (at least on weekends) but I do think Kingsway and the Captain Cook Bridge aren't great places to ride at 4pm on a Saturday anyway. And I do think recreational cyclists will be drawn to times the corridor is in effect

While I think this is a great idea and well worth pursuing I think we need to be very careful about how this is presented.

I say this because I see a lot of what has been said about Saturdays accident as a case of the cycling community shooting ourselves in the foot.

On one hand we say that a particular road is a death trap or an accident waiting to happen.

On the other hand we say that that road is heavily used by cyclists and we are actively encouraging people to come and join us using the death trap.

It makes us look reckless or even negligent, an impression that we hardly need to be reinforcing in the eyes of the general public.

On a different topic. I agree with Jonboy that distractions within the car are a major source of danger.

I would say that at least half of the times that I don't get right of way while commuting, the driver is either on the phone or focused on something in their lap.

I've always thought that having variable speed limits at the 100km zones down to 70 or 80 just for those times, would make the Waterfall end much safer.

....focused on something in their lap.

Indeed.

Paul

Word on the street, which supposedly comes from the bunch (not verified) is that the driver was texting.

Easts have apparently banned Southern Cross Drive and will use Gardners, Canal, Princess instead

I don't know what riding this bit of Southern Cross is like, but unless it's near miss Central I don't think banning riding the area is any sort of solution. If this truly was a texting while driving issue, Gardeners Rd will be equally prone to it

I've ridden it quite a few times in the past and I agree with you Greg. I guess the difference is speed, that being 20kph difference in speed limit

I've ridden Southern Cross Drive a couple of times... The scariest bit is the Airport Tunnel as you have to change lanes and most people are still hammering at 70 heading for the M5. The noise is deafening.

I wouldn't call it 'Near Miss Central' but the reality is that, as we discovered, a small lapse in concentration can have devastating effects.

RBCC are having a car with a flashing orange light following the bunch

Easts has decided to use a support vehicle, as per RBCC and continue using Southern Cross Drive

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/n ... 6869211260

Scroll down

Driver has been charged.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/driver-charge ... 39jsp.html

Man pleads guilty to Sydney cyclists crash

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national ... crash.html