Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

National Ninja Day - Saturday October 6.
The green light has been given for the red light poster fest.
We'll be asking you to stick one poster on every traffic light at (at least) one major intersection near you or along your favourite commuter/training route. You can dress up like a Ninja, but you'll probably look stupid.
It's for a worthy cause, and that cause is cycling.
More details as we figure out what the hell we're doing.

I'm up for that, should be a hell of a lot more effective than that kony rubbish i reckon.

The 2nd Womble wrote:National Ninja Day - Saturday October 6.
The green light has been given for the red light poster fest.
We'll be asking you to stick one poster on every traffic light at (at least) one major intersection near you or along your favourite commuter/training route. You can dress up like a Ninja, but you'll probably look stupid.
It's for a worthy cause, and that cause is cycling.
More details as we figure out what the hell we're doing.

I think you should cut off everything below the headline. Its embarrassing as it is now.

It's way too busy. Who will take the time to read it?

You should find yourself a good copy writer.

Yes, there are gonna be plenty of you who feel that way. The rest of us have had a gut full of the constant slagging though and are going to attempt to lessen the bogan war cry by pointing out the bleeding obvious as obviously as we can.

Only the riders already stopped for the light will have the time to read. The target audience will have long passed through the red.

Still probably worth a try.

gorilla monsoon wrote:It's way too busy. Who will take the time to read it?

You should find yourself a good copy writer.

The basics are bold enough to read at a glance. We can but hope, and this kinda thing depends to an extent on peer pressure as well. Fingers crossed it'll get pointed out by those who see it

exadios wrote:

The 2nd Womble wrote:National Ninja Day - Saturday October 6.
The green light has been given for the red light poster fest.
We'll be asking you to stick one poster on every traffic light at (at least) one major intersection near you or along your favourite commuter/training route. You can dress up like a Ninja, but you'll probably look stupid.
It's for a worthy cause, and that cause is cycling.
More details as we figure out what the hell we're doing.

I think you should cut off everything below the headline. Its embarrassing as it is now.

IMO so is the "meh, can't be arsed" attitude. No harm done though right?

Just another reason/trigger for motorists to get antsy with bike riders.... except they'll yell abuse at the majority of riders who are actually doing the right thing.

I'd argue that motorists are going to realise we're intent on fixing the problem ourselves and are actually capable of being given a bit more credit.
On a side note, there are many on this forum who have helped the Safety & Advocacy sub section grow very rapidly in comparison to others, and yet without exception, any action taken or suggested is almost immediately written off by those very same people. Sure not everyone is keen on or for what ever reason able to tear themselves away from the computer for long enough to apply their passion towards a more constructive outcome, and many actually spend most of their spare time on the bike which I'm sure is what we all like to see. But - and there is a very elephant sized but - what outcome is there in doing nothing? I fail to see the purpose.
In the two years almost to the day (Aug 20th 2010) that some of the more negative and holier than thou have been arguing the finer/non existant points of the MHL thread, we (SCA) have gained the national support of politicians, the media, many of this country's elite cyclists and a couple of well know tri-athletes, and some household names along the way. They don't like what we write about, they like what we've done.
SCA have claimed much of the credit for the introduction of Brisbane CBD's Share The Road signage. We have had numerous discussions and consulted with the Queensland Government - admittedly not as much as we'd like, but if we had our way we'd be pitching a pup tent outside the Premier's Office door - on the very issues that affect us as vulnerable road users.
We are the first advocacy group that we know of in the the history of the National Australian National Bicycling Achievement Awards to have been nominated three years running, recieving and Honorable Mention in 2010.
We called on riders to donate their bikes in 2011 to the flood victims in the Lockyer Valley and Ipswich regions to help get families recover from having lost everything and get them back on their feet sooner and were able to help over 200 of the most in need.
We have called into question the lack of advocacy by our self appointed State Orgs and we have been told time and again that their members want more from them and more increasingly from us as we become more widely known.
We are committed towards lobbying harder and more effectively again in 2012/13 with the backing of our supporters, their disgruntled members and the newly established Australian Cycling Union.
We are committed to engaging with our Governments and YOU on the very issues that our State advocate bodies have refused to action for years.
We are committed to a reduction in the number of cyclists being abused, assaulted and killed on Australia's roads.
We're not prepared to rest on our megre laurals or say we did all that we could in arguing a given point on a forum for 2 years. Yes forums are precisely for that purpose, but still, c'mon (to the usual 10-15 who immediately spring to mind).
We are here for the long haul, for the sake of those that their families and the cycling community have lost, while those we expected to speak up stayed silent.
I know who has made the more worthwhile contribution. I trust that everyone is on the same page.


I didn't expect it to ramble on for so long but the words just came to me

So we're drawing attention to mostly benign scofflaw behaviour by a minority (lower % than drivers), holding cyclists to a higher standard than drivers, making like the police, and giving the media a hook to swipe us around the chops. Thanks so much. Get back to me when we hit the most wanted list.

The 2nd Womble wrote:I'd argue that motorists are going to realise we're intent on fixing the problem ourselves.

Motorists would need to firstly know the signs were put there by cyclists... they won't be able to read the text to know it...

The 2nd Womble wrote:

exadios wrote:
I think you should cut off everything below the headline. Its embarrassing as it is now.

IMO so is the "meh, can't be arsed" attitude. No harm done though right?

I think there is harm done. The poster is childish. I feel that I do not want to be associated with it - and I do not want others associating me with it (because I ride a bicycle).

exadios wrote:

The 2nd Womble wrote:

exadios wrote:
I think you should cut off everything below the headline. Its embarrassing as it is now.

IMO so is the "meh, can't be arsed" attitude. No harm done though right?

I think there is harm done. The poster is childish. I feel that I do not want to be associated with it - and I do not want others associating me with it (because I ride a bicycle).

You ride a bike exadios. It's already too late.

Kenzo wrote:

The 2nd Womble wrote:I'd argue that motorists are going to realise we're intent on fixing the problem ourselves.

Motorists would need to firstly know the signs were put there by cyclists... they won't be able to read the text to know it...

The posters will be in A3 and A4 size where possible. As for the smaller print, you are right in that it is hard on the eyeballs. Much of that content will be edited out, but as for the bike shops, cafes and other hotspots for bike riders that are already chomping at the bit to strt whacking these things up, the full content will remain as is.

A4 is too big to wrap around a traffic pole to remain readable and A5 is too small to read in the first place.
You'll read it as
"Lists Stop Light You" or
"CYCL Please On Red Thank"

I truly appreciate your efforts DS and have marvelled at your tenacity, but this seems wasteful to me.

I'll do my bit. What's more I'm commuting at around 4am so no need for the Ninja outfit

Love your work. We'll be sorting the final layout of the posters and flyers this next week and the details will be posted on the website and fb as soon as it's finalised.

I may be wrong but I believe it is against the law to attach unauthorised objects to road signs. Not a good look if this is the case while at the same time you are advising cyclists to obey the law.

I can see that some people will interpret this wrongly and use it to bash cyclists, but on balance I think most would see it as an attempt to get respect on the roads. Whether we like it or not cyclists going through red lights is more noticed than cars doing the same thing. I suppose part of this is that cars tend to run reds just after the lights have gone red whereas some cyclists go through a red long after the lights have changed. If we want other road users to treat us with respect we have to respect the road rules, as do they. Those who would use this to criticise cyclists will look for any excuse anyway, better we give them less excuses.

In relation to the layout. I used to be a designer and road ads are usually restricted to about 5 words at the outside, 3 is good. Not sure you could get the message down to 3 words though. There is good use of large type and colour to offset this and the type is tall and narrow so quicker to read. I think if you could get the main message shorter it would help - but the message is pretty clear. Smaller type to explain it would mainly be there for the cyclists so they can stop (when the light is red) to read it. I think the message would be more likely to get out via the media anyway.

If we all act like normal road users cycling becomes a more normal transport option and I think we need to work to make cycling a normal transport option. We don't need everyone on bikes but we do need everyone to see that cycling is as legitimate a transport option as driving a car or catching PT.

DS

BigPete wrote:I may be wrong but I believe it is against the law to attach unauthorised objects to road signs. Not a good look if this is the case while at the same time you are advising cyclists to obey the law.

Some laws are more important than others. It's against the laws to disturb the peace. If you're disturbing the peace whilst preventing a murder I reckon plod wouldn't bother to charge. Enforcement is often a discretionary thing...

DavidS wrote:I used to be a designer and road ads are usually restricted to about 5 words at the outside, 3 is good.

I have some exposure to ad nerds in my line of work. I've heard "no more than 6 words for a billboard" from the best strategists in the game. Keep it simple and follow up with press releases, photo ops and letters to explain the detail and substance of the campaign.
Great initiative though

Thanks for the advice BNAers. We have taken all of this into account thanks to you lot
The original Red posters are still going to be used on the day, however they will more likely be used in cyclist friendly cafe's and other more commonly frequented spots where we can take the time to absorb them at our leasure, and in A2 size where possible.
We are working on a more eye grabbing version of this as well which will also help reinforce everyones obligations out on the black stuff. The typical traffic yellow base, with the three lines being red, amber and green

The 2nd Womble wrote:I'd argue that motorists are going to realise we're intent on fixing the problem ourselves and are actually capable of being given a bit more credit.

Who says there is a problem? Cyclists running is not a problem. Cyclists getting hit by cars is.

human909 wrote:

The 2nd Womble wrote:I'd argue that motorists are going to realise we're intent on fixing the problem ourselves and are actually capable of being given a bit more credit.

Who says there is a problem? Cyclists running is not a problem. Cyclists getting hit by cars is.

You actually have to ask that question? Further to your question, you're then suggesting that the only issue that affects cyclists is the behaviour of motorists? I guess someone who continues to argue MHL's for 2 years straight without relent could handle himself admirably here, but it would be utterly worthless to the rest of us. A rediculoous POV, particularly given that cycling groups and individuals worldwide are all singing a similar tune to ours in the last month or so. Where has the blame game gotten anyone up to this point? No one is blameless, and nothing is ever so black and white.