The following is an official Government press release not yet available online. You heard it here first.

The State Government will design a bicycle overpass for the northern side of the Glenelg Tramway Overpass project following comprehensive community consultation.

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon and Road Safety Minister Carmel Zollo said the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure had been working hard in recent months on complex infrastructure issues associated with the project.

“The Department has had many difficulties in finding a way to ensure continuity of tram services during construction while minimising the impact on the local area,” Mr Conlon said.

“We now believe we have come up with a scheme that - pending council approvals and further engineering work – will deliver an overpass for cyclists.”

Mr Conlon said the Government intended to build the bicycle facility immediately after trams begin using the main overpass.

Until then, trams will operate on two temporary tracks located along Norman and Glengyle Terraces, immediately adjacent to the north of the current tram corridor.

“Once the tram overpass construction is complete, it will enable a totally separate bicycle overpass to be built over this northern alignment,” he said.

Pedestrians will be able to safely cross South Road using the lifts and stairs provided on the tram overpass structure.

Pending Public Works approval next month, the State Government will engage a contractor to finalise the extra costs associated with the cycle overpass on top of the existing $28m South Road project.

Mrs Zollo said the pathway forms part of the State Government’s commitment to improving safety and convenience for cyclists.

“The City to Glenelg Tramway Cycling Route (Tramway Park) is a work in progress and I am delighted to be able to announce this latest addition to the project,” she said.

“As part of an extensive community consultation process with regard to the tram overpass we asked a range of interest groups if a cycling overpass was on their agenda.

The $8 million Tramway Park has the long-term vision of a formal ‘green’ park along the 10-kilometre tram corridor between South Terrace and Brighton Road.

The park will incorporate an off-road recreation path for walking and cycling along the length of the corridor, similar to the Coast Park that is being developed along Adelaide’s foreshore.

On June 18, Greens MLC Mark Parnell moved the following motion, which will go to a vote on July 23. Please write to your local member and your favourite MLC to urge them to support it. Otherwise we may lose one of Adelaide’s most popular and scenic cycling routes!

On the 18th of June, Mark moved and spoke to his motion calling on the State Government to ensure that the proposed tram overpass across South Road at Black Forest includes a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians along the elevated platform tram corridor.

The Hon. M. PARNELL: I move:

That the Legislative Council notes —

1. The following actions under objective 2 of the State Cycling Strategy (entitled Safety in Numbers) —

(a) include in all new urban road projects or road upgrades safe, direct and attractive cycling facilities that are planned, designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with ‘Austroads, Guide to Traffic Engineering Part 14—Bicycles’; and

(b) extend and improve cycling routes along dedicated public transport corridors (e.g. Glenelg Tramway and the Willunga-Marino Rail Corridor);

2. State government investment of over $500,000 so far on creating an uninterrupted cycle pathway between Glenelg and the city as part of the City of Glenelg tramway cycling route project;

3. Strong support for a shared use pathway for pedestrians and cyclists across South Road as part of the public consultation on the South Road Upgrade Glenelg Tram Overpass project;

4. The need for major transport infrastructure in response to declining fuel supplies and the need to reduce greenhouse pollution, to include appropriate facilities for cyclists and pedestrians;

5. Poorer public health outcomes in the western suburbs of Adelaide, emphasising the importance of providing active transport opportunities; and

6. The negative impact on traffic flow along South Road if an on-demand street level crossing is provided to cyclists and pedestrians to enable safe passage across South Road;

and calls on the State Government to ensure that the proposed tram overpass across South Road at Black Forest includes a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians along the elevated platform tram corridor.

This motion calls on the State Government to ensure that the proposed tram overpass across South Road includes a shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians along the elevated platform tram corridor. This is a subject on which I asked a question in parliament recently and also a subject on which I attended a public meeting at the Unley Town Hall last evening. At that meeting, there were more than 100 people, mostly cyclists, who were very concerned about the possibility that the tram overpass across South Road will not provide adequately for cyclists and pedestrians.

Most members would be aware that the government is spending a lot of money on South Road. Members would be familiar with the Anzac Highway/South Road overpass/underpass arrangement. Another part of the South Road project is for the Glenelg tram to be put on an overpass to enable the removal of the level crossing. Apparently, some 150 trams cross South Road per day, and each of those trams disrupts the flow of traffic along South Road. That is the main purpose of the project.

In many ways, the motion I have before the council is similar to the one I moved (and this council passed) over a year ago in relation to the Bakewell Bridge (an underpass in that case). That motion, members might recall, called on the government to put in decent off-road cycle and pedestrian facilities on both sides of the underpass. As it has turned out, the government did not heed the wisdom of the Legislative Council and the underpass was constructed with a footpath on just one side. That infrastructure will be with us for a long time and, as petrol prices go up and more people want to walk and ride to combat climate change and to combat peak oil, that structure is very much a sub-optimal facility.

When it comes to the tram crossing over South Road, this is likely to be even worse than Bakewell. At least with the Bakewell underpass we have a facility on one side. The fear is that with the tram crossing we will have no facility at all.

On 24 October, in a press release announcing funding for cyclist and pedestrian crossings for the City to Glenelg Tramway Cycling Project, the Minister said:

This shared pathway, on land that was previously inaccessible, is proving to be extremely popular with commuting cyclists and walkers,’ says the minister. ‘It’s part of our commitment to improving the safety and convenience of alternate forms of commuting. The new shared use path is part of ongoing efforts to provide a safe and convenient route for cyclists from Glenelg to the City.

The 10-kilometre tramway cycling route is a combination of shared paths and nominated suburban streets, and it is shown on the state government’s BikeDirect website. If you go to that website, it clearly shows the tramway cycling route travels along the tramway. It intersects with South Road and travels into Black Forest and then into the city. Most days, I ride along that part of the tramway bike path which is in Goodwood and which is part of my route into town.

The issue here is how cyclists and pedestrians using that path will cross South Road. When the government was undertaking its community consultation (a process that I understand is ongoing), the issue of safe and easy access across South Road was one of the key design principles that was identified by the government team as well as by people who made submissions. In fact, the number one principle listed in the December 2007 community update newsletter promoting the project is to ‘provide all pedestrians, public transport users, cyclists and motorists with safe, enjoyable and easy access across South Road’.

Key actions, under another government document (the State Cycling Strategy, entitled ‘Safety in Numbers’), include the following:

1. include in all new urban road projects or road upgrades safe, direct and attractive cycling facilities that are planned, designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with Austroads, Guide to Traffic Engineering Part 14—Bicycles; and

2. extend and improve cycling routes along dedicated public transport corridors (e.g. Glenelg Tramway and the Willunga-Marino Rail Corridor);

That is why I have included those two principles in the motion and that we should note those principles.

We also need to look at this project in the context of the western suburbs. The western suburbs, largely through this South Road project, are bearing the brunt of increased traffic and, in particular, freight traffic. In many ways, it is a part of Adelaide which is more poorly serviced and which has less access to many services. Health statistics show that there are poorer health outcomes (in particular, heart and lung disease) in the western suburbs than in other parts of Adelaide.

We also need to note that there is a strong demand for cycling. The census data on cycling to work shows that a considerable number of people cycle; notwithstanding the fact that census day is always mid-winter, it is often raining and that it is only every five years. Nevertheless, cycling to work has increased by about 17 per cent between the last two census dates of 2001 and 2006. During the same time, the increase in cycling in Adelaide was 28 per cent, and the average of people cycling to work was 1.6 per cent. In Adelaide, above average increases in walking to work were also recorded at 22 per cent.

Cycling and walking are things people want to do, so we have to make sure that the facilities are adequate for people to do them. I could quote other figures, but I will not go into a lot of detail. Bicycles outsell cars every year and have done so for the past eight years yet, when the government is planning a major piece of infrastructure, it very often neglects to provide for cyclists. It seems to me quite bizarre that, in an era of climate change and our facing the challenges of peak oil, we are not doing everything we possibly can to provide for cyclists.

The alternative to providing for cyclists on the proposed new overpass across South Road alongside the tramline is a push-button crossing on South Road. You only have to think about it for a minute to realise that it would entirely defeat the purpose of sending the trams across South Road to enable South Road to flow freely. If you have a push-button light, you will stop the traffic on South Road every time a cyclist or a pedestrian wants to cross.

My theory is that, even though the Government is saying that that is a fallback position, it will not happen. My prediction is: there will not be a cyclist or a pedestrian crossing at grade on South Road. Bikes needs to go over the top, and the alternative is a Glenelg to city cycle corridor with an effective brick wall in the middle, because South Road is not an easy road to cross.

In fact, last night a representative from the Department of Transport pointed out that only 50 cyclists a day cross South Road in the vicinity of the tram crossing. Why only 50? Because it is so hard to do. There is no light, and it is not easy to do. It is like asking how many pedestrians try to cross North Terrace in a very busy spot where there is no median or where it is not easy to do: the numbers would be fairly low.

We are told that consultation is still occurring, but it seems to me that the Government is fairly locked into building this structure without the shared pathway. I am encouraged by the noises that say it is not finalised, and I have been doing whatever I can to urge the cycling and pedestrian community to agitate to ensure that we get a proper crossing here.

The Government points out that there are difficulties in providing the continuous running of trams during the construction of the overpass and, at the same time, build these facilities. However, at the end of the day, those difficulties can be overcome. We know that there is sufficient land within the corridor, which is 20 metres wide. Four metres are needed for each of the two tram tracks (eight metres); there will be a platform on the overpass in the middle of South Road (seven metres); and five metres are left. There is no doubt that there is sufficient room if the Government has the will to build this facility.

I have collected a number of brochures that illustrate the facility I am talking about, and I will provide them separately to members. They will see that the first artist’s impressions all include a cycle path; the later impressions do not. So, with those words, I urge all honourable members to support this motion. It makes absolute sense to insist that a piece of infrastructure that will last for half a century or more include adequate facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.

Adelaide’s central business district should be made a petrol-free zone by 2012 to prepare for the end of affordable oil, the Australian Democrats say.

South Australian Democrat MP Sandra Kanck said the initiative would slash pollution and congestion and turn Adelaide into a clean walking and cycling city.

She said it would involve an increase in public transport, the provision of showers and other facilities for cyclists and incentives for people to buy alternative-fuel vehicles.

Over time, city car parks should be replaced by apartments.

“If we start preparing now for the end of cheap oil we will be able to cope. If we don’t, it will be a disaster,” Ms Kanck said.

“We are eventually going to be forced to make the CBD a petrol-free zone, but with a bit of imagination and planning we can turn this adversity into an opportunity for urban renewal.”

AAP

(from the ABC)

Cyclists say an elevated bike lane should be part of the South Road-Anzac Highway redevelopment in Adelaide.

The South Australian Government says it is still holding public consultation on the plans, but does not intend building an overpass for cyclist and pedestrian use.

Jeremy Miller from the Bicycle Institute of South Australia says it would be a wasted opportunity.

“It seems to sort of really defeat the whole purpose of putting the trams up in the air when cyclists are going to be able to stop that flow of traffic on an adhoc basis as they approach South Road,” he said.

“We’d much rather be going on a tramway overpass with the trams and have a cycle overpass built in conjunction with that.

“The whole idea of South Road is to become a continuous network for the cars, but cyclists will now have to approach South Road, press a button to get across and break that continuous flow of traffic, which seems a bit ridiculous from our point of view.”

(click here for the audio)

LEO SCHLINK
May 08, 2008 02:30pm

Hit-run terror … Kate Nichols after the 2005 crash and fellow Olympian Ben Kersten

CHAMPION cyclist Ben Kersten says a random hit-and-run road rage attack could have killed several riders today.

Road cycling star Kate Nichols is having wrist X-rays after she and most of a pack of about 50 riders - including Olympic track hopeful Kersten - crashed in peak-hour traffic near Sydney airport.

Nichols was one of five national cyclists seriously injured when a young driver crashed into the Australian women’s road team in Germany in 2005, killing Nichols’ Adelaide-born team-mate Amy Gillett.

In today’s incident Nichols, 23, and her father Kevin, a 1984 Olympic gold medallist, were in a large group of riders heading south past Sydney airport on a training ride around 6.45am.

Nichols said the cyclists were going at a good clip, two abreast as they are required to, when a car pushed them towards the edge of the road.

Witnesses said the driver appeared agitated with being held up.

“The car came past us squishing us into our lane,” Nichols said.

“And then the guy went in front of us and slammed on his brakes. He was just a total moron.

“A heap (of us) came off, but everyone just had superficial wounds and we were all treated there.” 

Furious Kersten slams driver

Kersten described the incident involving the driver of a green Commodore sedan and up to 60 riders as a “f***ing disgrace”.

“This was one of the dirtiest examples of road rage I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“This guy deserves to go to jail and I hope he does go to jail.

“But he’s lucky he’s not going to jail for killing 10 innocent people.”

Kersten, bidding to ride in track sprint events in Beijing in August, said there was no excuse for - or forewarning of - the motorist’s actions.

“It was clear light, clear traffic, everyone was doing the right thing,” he said.

“Then this guy drives up behind us and starts going bananas.

“He then went up to the front of the group and, although I couldn’t see because I was in the middle of the bunch, people up the front said he started swerving in and out.

“All of a sudden, he either brakes severely in the left lane or pulled on his handbrake, and people started flying everywhere.

“It was totally unprovoked.”

Kersten said it was a miracle no one was killed.

“There was an older man from the Waratah Club who looked pretty bad,” Kersten said.

“He just got missed by a semi-trailer. The truck driver must have pretty good skills because he jack-knifed it to make sure he didn’t hit us.

“So many of us came down that we were spilling out of the left lane.

“When you fall you have no control of where you’re going to land.

“If the truck had been there five seconds earlier, he would have gone straight over the top of people.”

Only minor injuries

Kersten said had escaped with relatively minor injuries only three months before the Beijing Olympics.

“I came down in the middle of the group and ended up on my back with my feet pointing towards the back of the group,” he said.

“I spent the whole time kicking wheels off me.

“People had nowhere to go. I was 10m from the front and everyone was on the ground.

“I’ve got ring marks all over me and a lump on my head.

“I’m just lucky to have got out of it alive.”

It is understood an off-duty policeman was in a car following the group and the cyclists took the number plate of the car before it sped off.

Cycling Australia spokeswoman Gennie Sheer said police and ambulances were on the scene soon after.

“A lot of people had superficial cuts and grazes, and there’ll be a bit of checking for broken bones and the like, but at this stage it looks like we are very, very lucky that no one was seriously injured,”
Sheer said.

Ambulance officials said several people were treated at the scene but no one was taken to hospital.

UPDATE: Police are questioning a 34-year-old man from Claymore, but no arrests have been made.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Participate in the response debate.

(from )

A ROAD sign depicting two people in a passionate embrace above the word “hump” has angered VicRoads.

The sign is believed to be the work of a mysterious artist in Langwarrin, south of Melbourne.

Motorists have reported seeing other fake road signs along Cranbourne-Frankston Rd, Langwarrin, according to the Frankston Leader.

VicRoads regional director Steve Brown said the stunt was illegal and unsafe.

(from Mark Parnell .org.au)

Adelaide has more cycling deaths per head of population and SA spends the least per capita on cycling infrastructure than any other state in Australia, says Greens MLC Mark Parnell.

“This is a toxic mix. Cyclists lives are at risk because of a lack of State Government spending on basic infrastructure,” says Mark Parnell.

An analysis of Australian Transport Safety Bureau data shows Adelaide is the ‘cycling death capital of Australia’, with 7 deaths, or 4.41 per million South Australians, well above the national average. At the same time, Cycling Promotion Fund figures show SA spends only $2.20 per capita on basic cycling infrastructure, compared with $4.65 in Western Australia, and $10 in NSW.

“The Government should lower its collective head in shame. You can’t keep on under-spending year after year, and not expect some consequences in terms of safety for cyclists.

“While the Government celebrates cycling during the Tour Down Under, as soon as the spotlight fades, cycling is given little attention for the rest of the year. As a consequence our basic cycling infrastructure lags many other states.

“This data should be compulsory reading for Road Safety Minister Zollo and Treasurer Foley coming up to the June 5th budget. The Government must spend more to ensure the safety of cyclists is protected,” he said.

(from )
MICHAEL MILNES, POLICE REPORTER
February 26, 2008

A PICTURE of a bicycle involved in a serious accident is being published by AdelaideNow in the hope someone can identify the critically injured rider.

The cyclist is fighting for his life after apparently falling from his bike in the northern suburbs.The identity of the man is unknown, as are circumstances of the accident at the corner of Rossdale Ave and Sheffield Cr at Blair Athol about 8.30pm.Police have been door-knocking residents of the area in a bid to identify him, but have so far been unsuccessful.

Crash investigators attended the scene and marked where it appears that the man hit the kerb before falling from the bike.

The man was wearing a helmet, but the bike was not fitted with a headlight and there were no street lights in the area of the crash.

He is described as Caucasian and aged in his 50s and police are appealing for witnesses to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

It is thought the accident happened in Rosedale St, Blair Athol, about 8.30pm, but further details of how the man came to be critically hurt remain a mystery.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

(from )
LAUREN NOVAK, TRANSPORT REPORTER
February 26, 2008

GREENHILL Rd is Adelaide’s most dangerous road for cyclists.

Latest Transport Department statistics provided to The Advertiser show the highest incidence of crashes involving cyclists occurred on the major road.

Between 2003 and 2007 there were 54 crashes on the thoroughfare stretching from Keswick, near the city, to Greenhill, in the Adelaide Hills.

Busy South Rd was second with 51 crashes. Third was Marion Rd with 44 crashes. Henley Beach Rd was the only road on the list to record a cyclist fatality.

In 2006, the worst three roads for cyclists were Marion Rd, followed by South Rd and Greenhill Rd, based on figures from 2000 to 2005.

Department director road safety Martin Small said there were no cycling safety funds specifically for the top three roads this financial year. He said the statistics would be considered in the next budget. Cycling safety funding was generally allocated in the context of the Safety in Numbers strategy developed by the Government in 2006.

Bicycle Institute of South Australia chairman Sam Powrie said SA had the lowest per capita spending on cycling safety in Australia and urged the Government to commit up to $8 million a year. He said establishing off-road cycling “boulevards” or “highways” was a solution to providing safer environments for cyclists.

RAA traffic and safety manager Rita Excell urged the Government to continue to improve cycling infrastructure on less congested routes parallel to main roads.

Road Safety Minister Carmel Zollo identified “dangerous behaviours” by cyclists, including riding more than two abreast, and weaving in and out of traffic.

In turn, motorists cut cyclists off when turning left.

(Victoria Police)

Police are concerned by a report of the deliberate use of road tacks in Mentone on Saturday.

A large number of tacks, similar to a drawing pin, were placed along Beach Road during an organised bike ride.

Police say it is lucky no-one was injured considering the tacks have the potential to cause a cyclist to lose control and swerve into the path of an oncoming vehicle or another rider, potentially causing serious injury or a fatality.

The act of placing tacks on the road is an offence and Senior Sergeant Hans Harms of the Kingston Traffic Management Unit warns anyone caught doing so will be dealt with accordingly.

“This stupid act does not assist anyone. I, along with other organisations such as the Amy Gillett Foundation, are trying to work together with bicycle riders to ensure all road users are safe including vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.

“The person who decided to do such an act has more than likely assisted in creating a bigger problem, and must realise the danger he is putting the bike riders in.

“I can’t stress enough that it is hard to make progress and go forward to try and satisfy all road users, without people putting more stumbling blocks in our way”, Sen Sgt Harms said.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au on the Internet.

Constable Kate Lawson