As a former cyclist,and being a person who drives occasionally,walks and uses trains more often than not,I would suggest we don’t hate bikes;we are annoyed by some of the arrogant,aggressive and self-entitled people who ride them.
The contest on Sydney’s Broadway. Wollongong City Council,for one,wants to make it legal for cyclists to ride on pedestrian walkways.Dion Georgopoulos
And while I hope Nigel’s collarbone is well and truly mended,for me and all the other people who have been scuttled by cyclists focused on their tech and phones as they power through shared spaces,it’s time for a pause on the “poor us”. My own scuttling occurred walking to work. I thought I was being mugged when a speeding cyclist hit me from behind. Neither of us fared well. I ended up with a torn calf muscle and some spectacular bruising from the handlebars. The male cyclist ended up on the grass,sobbing and rocking back and forth holding a very injured leg,his tech,phone and expensive bike just as damaged.
I am not anti-cycling. It is great for the environment. It is great for health and wellbeing and it’s great getting cars off the road for all the obvious reasons. What we need to work out is how we share the space better and behave like better,thoughtful humans. And there is definitely a role for better planning.
To demonstrate the point,there are two basic situations where cyclists,pedestrians and drivers speak Swahili to the others’ Braille. Let’s call it the commute to work and the commute to workout.
I inhabit the same local area as Nigel. We traverse the same streets. But these scenarios play out anywhere and everywhere people have to share public space.
In the commute to work scenario,I take my life in my hands every day making the two-kilometre walk to work. That includes the badlands known as Prince Alfred Park. Cyclists are able to gain extraordinary speed as they head down the slope to the city. They weave in and out between pedestrians,school kids,people pushing prams,food-delivery people,tennis players,swimmers,bounding dogs on and off leads;in short,the great wash of humanity and its best friends.
What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. The speeding cyclists come in waves as the set of lights at Cleveland Street lets the next horde through. It’s the people and dogs that have to get out of the way of the cyclists. Who knows? Perhaps it’s the exertion of reading your phone and pedalling at the same time that dulls the senses and makes the “ride slowly” signs invisible.
If the heavy electric bikes hurtling through the park hit someone,it would be almost the same as being hit by a speeding motorbike. Do they appear to care? No.
If you survive intact through the park,you then must make it through the bookend intersections at the eastern side of Central Station. At one end,you have a popular pizza provider,light rail,a sea of train commuters coming out of arguably the busiest railway station in the country and cyclists who just speed through it all,annoyed that people crossing at a green walk signal are in their way. There are bike lanes that are more ignored than respected. The result is human dominoes.
Next up we have the intersection of Elizabeth and Devonshire streets. We have the cyclists screaming through the heaving mass of commuters coming to work in Surry Hills,the light rail stop that tips people onto the street,and it all happens in a space smaller than 20 metres. Unresolved,is the polite way to describe it. Co-operation,not aggression,would take at least some of the pressure off.
Now,for the workout scenario. Let’s look at the very Sydney scene of Centennial Park. Anyone would think it is the green lungs of the inner city. A place for picnics and family fun. Unfortunately,during mornings and weekends,it is more like the final stage of the Tour de France. Children have a lovely opportunity to learn new swear words as lycra-clad adults snarl,sneer,complain and threaten the rest of us who have made the ridiculous error of wanting to go for a walk. The situation is only compounded when the park is pimped out for film sets and corporate events.
I do not for one moment minimise some of the dreadful accidents I have seen in the park. In the human version of rock,paper,scissors,the apex cycling gods are not the winners when it comes to cars. And pedestrians are the losers when it comes to aggressive cyclists.
Which leads to the un-commonsense conclusion:when we all want to share roads,parks and other public spaces,we all have to behave like good humans. We have to be focused,thoughtful and respectful. An old-fashioned notion,I know. For our cycling brothers and sisters,it’s time to think about what you can do to be more loved rather than take the “poor us” position. As they say somewhere,cool your jets.
Sue Cato is a corporate adviser and swims in a pool. It’s safer that way.