a news article that is for bikepaths
-
- Posts: 12208
- Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:40 pm
- Location: Brisbane
a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby jasonc » Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:40 am
yes, it's an opinion piece, but it still counts
- g-boaf
- Posts: 21440
- Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:11 pm
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby g-boaf » Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:40 am
So a good victory, but 17 years for 1.8km is a bit sad, isn't it? That should have happened much more quickly and in future authorities could do well to ensure that these kinds of things don't turn bureaucratic. Bike tracks that are linked together and like the one in the photograph (ie, not crumbling footpaths) are a huge benefit to the community. They get people out of their cars and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
These sorts of things shouldn't be held up by environmental legislation unless there is clearly some kind of "endangered" or "critically endangered" flora or fauna in the area that will very clearly be seriously impacted by the bike path (in NSW, such things could be determined from the schedules of the TSC Act 1995). And even then that should be balanced against the need for this kind of infrastructure.
The point in the article is clear, the motorways get built because there are millions of cars that depend on them, so there is a very big amount of backing behind these motorways that gets them over the line, while bike tracks are not considered important. It's a sad situation.
In Sydney, it could be said we've got a complete network of bicycle tracks already, so we don't need to do any more. But some councils seem to think more can be done to make the 'network' better, and I agree, even though some cyclists and other community members disagree.
-
- Posts: 351
- Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:44 am
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby lump_a_charcoal » Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:09 am
- il padrone
- Posts: 22931
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:57 pm
- Location: Heading for home.
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby il padrone » Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:34 am
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
- m@
- Posts: 5112
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:20 pm
- Location: Wurundjeri Country
- Contact:
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby m@ » Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:32 am
Same; I seriously doubt that it was genuine environmental concern that led to the appeals; just a stalling tactic from NIMBY locals (which the author seemed to acknowledge before he started ranting about wind farms and Orange-Bellied Parrots).lump_a_charcoal wrote:They had me until the 7th paragraph.
-
- Posts: 12208
- Joined: Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:40 pm
- Location: Brisbane
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby jasonc » Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:45 am
+1. we're all selfish. we want better faster longer more bikepaths. these "environmental crusaders" want to be able to walk their dog/play with their kids in their own private park. has to be a political marginal seat for them to get away with it for that long. the needs of a few vs the needs of many. we're having the same issue south-west of brisbane at the moment. the lnp government have scrapped a 7million bike way to a suburban area to spend 100million adding another lane. there's only so much bitumen you can lay down....m@ wrote:Same; I seriously doubt that it was genuine environmental concern that led to the appeals; just a stalling tactic from NIMBY locals (which the author seemed to acknowledge before he started ranting about wind farms and Orange-Bellied Parrots).lump_a_charcoal wrote:They had me until the 7th paragraph.
- il padrone
- Posts: 22931
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 11:57 pm
- Location: Heading for home.
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby il padrone » Wed Dec 19, 2012 1:31 pm
Nor is that complaint any sort of environmental issue, but a beat-up insteadm@ wrote:Same; I seriously doubt that it was genuine environmental concern that led to the appeals; just a stalling tactic from NIMBY locals (which the author seemed to acknowledge before he started ranting about wind farms and Orange-Bellied Parrots).
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
-
- Posts: 1101
- Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2011 1:18 pm
- Location: Sydney
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby Ozkaban » Wed Dec 19, 2012 2:49 pm
How ridiculously true.....the tracks that are painted on bitumen roads that can annoy motorists when they have bikes in them and even more when they do not.
- m@
- Posts: 5112
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:20 pm
- Location: Wurundjeri Country
- Contact:
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby m@ » Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:28 pm
Yep, ref: also the "proposed" Battery Point walkway/cycle path in Hobart; a few wealthy property owners have held this up for years, if not decades. Many of them have actually built illegal fences across public land to block access and the proposed route was re-routed around Bob Clifford's place to avoid an unapproved slipyard, again built on a public easement!jasonc wrote:+1. we're all selfish. we want better faster longer more bikepaths. these "environmental crusaders" want to be able to walk their dog/play with their kids in their own private park. has to be a political marginal seat for them to get away with it for that long. the needs of a few vs the needs of many. we're having the same issue south-west of brisbane at the moment. the lnp government have scrapped a 7million bike way to a suburban area to spend 100million adding another lane. there's only so much bitumen you can lay down....
- marty_one
- Posts: 286
- Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:11 am
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby marty_one » Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:52 pm
The flip side of this is that even though bike tracks are a good way of getting around there are a lot of non-cyclists that also use these tracks, people walking their dog, going for walks and running as well as families out for a ride. Unfortunately there are some out there that travel very fast and are very obnoxious when dealing with other track users and vice versa.
I thought that the article itself was quiet good although very skewed towards a cyclist point of view. I do have an issue with the environmental impact being used as an excuse:
are you serious? near where I live group of model aircraft enthusists basically had their airfield (which they had been allowed to by council to occupy for the last 20 years) relocated for a new sports stadium. All they wanted to do was change the proposed location of the airstrip for their rc planes so that there was enough space to take off and land safely. In order for that to happen they had to remove five trees (yes five tress out of the 50+ around there) but the request was denied because there was some birds living there.I was ready to give up when I read that the scheme was a threat to the environment because three trees were to be cut down on the Yarra bank to make way for a bike bridge.
The best part though for me was the set back to the residents:
In my area (foothills of mt dandenong) there is a curfew for cats (they have to be indoors after 10pm) and dogs must be on lead at all times and in a secure area. IE: properly fenced off back yard. I just wish that people would step back from the situation a lot more and look at the bigger picture. Removing a tree here or there should not be an issue as long as each tree removed a new one is planted to replace it, is not a big deal or even a small deal, its a non issue.They suffered a setback when a consultant's report found that their dogs were more threatening to the native wildlife in the billabong than bikes.
[Mod edit—language]
Just Riding - Used to be called "My Journey to Triathlon"
- Red Rider
- Posts: 1024
- Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:44 pm
- Location: Perth
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby Red Rider » Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:44 pm
In WA there is a rule that if a major road/rail is built, bike infrastructure must also be built. This is due to simple economics; it costs 10 times more to retrofit cycling infrastructure than if it is built at the same time as the road is.marty_one wrote:I think that the real issue here is that cycling infrastructure is not made to be part of any new road/rail investments. If it is built at the same time as the project then we would have some seriously good ways of getting around and not being on the main roads.
- marty_one
- Posts: 286
- Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:11 am
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby marty_one » Fri Dec 21, 2012 1:27 pm
You mean there is some parts of the government that actually think logically! As far as I know the only time this has partially happened in victoria is when eastlink was built. It was still kind of an afterthought but they built a new bike track that almost ran along it and almost for the full length, they stopped at the land which melbourne water owns, but im sure they could of easily negiotiated with melbourne water and paved all the way down into patterson lakes/carrum where the track ends.Red Rider wrote:In WA there is a rule that if a major road/rail is built, bike infrastructure must also be built. This is due to simple economics; it costs 10 times more to retrofit cycling infrastructure than if it is built at the same time as the road is.
There are some bike tracks that do follow along the train lines here but not as far as they should.
Just Riding - Used to be called "My Journey to Triathlon"
- g-boaf
- Posts: 21440
- Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:11 pm
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby g-boaf » Fri Dec 21, 2012 1:46 pm
I think that is here in NSW as well, hence the frankly awesome M7 "shared path" (more like purpose built cycling speedway!!!) However in Sydney, most of motorways are built and certainly, we won't be getting any new rail lines in the near future - so the chances of more cycling paths built in that manner are fairly slim (although M4 has one alongside parts of it, and the breakdown lane if you consider it a cycling track). Most railway lines do have enough room around them to allow cycling tracks to be in the area outside the fence.Red Rider wrote:In WA there is a rule that if a major road/rail is built, bike infrastructure must also be built. This is due to simple economics; it costs 10 times more to retrofit cycling infrastructure than if it is built at the same time as the road is.marty_one wrote:I think that the real issue here is that cycling infrastructure is not made to be part of any new road/rail investments. If it is built at the same time as the project then we would have some seriously good ways of getting around and not being on the main roads.
However it's so slow to get anything done in this state that most major projects drag on. We need a dictatorship - just so long as I'm the leader.
-
- Posts: 351
- Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 9:44 am
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby lump_a_charcoal » Fri Dec 21, 2012 3:36 pm
- greyhoundtom
- Posts: 3023
- Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:28 am
- Location: Wherever the sun is shining
- Contact:
Re: a news article that is for bikepaths
Postby greyhoundtom » Fri Dec 21, 2012 5:09 pm
I think we may need a few more bums on bike seats before we can swing that one..........nice thought all the same.lump_a_charcoal wrote:We need a cyclists party in Government.
Return to “General Cycling Discussion”
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross and Gravel Grinding
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Cargo Bikes and Utility Cycling
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: GSF355
- All times are UTC+10:00
- Top
- Delete cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The Australian Cycling Forums is a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.
Bicycles Network Australia
Forum Information
Connect with BNA
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.