Citizens’ Jury submission form
One tricky policy problem. Countless potential solutions. Plenty of stakeholders with ideas
about how it should be approached.
35 ordinary South Australians charged with finding solutions to some tricky policy
issues. Welcome to South Australia’s second Citizens’ Jury!
During September and October 2014, a Citizens’ Jury will be given the opportunity to
deliberate and make recommendations on the issue:
Motorists and cyclists will always be using our roads.
What things could we trial to ensure they share the roads safely?
Please fill in this submission form prior to 5 October 2014. Your submission should be no
more than two pages. Clearly outline your point of view and provide examples to
supporting your submission.
Details about you:
1. Name
Barry Barber
2. Organisation / private citizen
Private citizen
3. Contact details (include an email and telephone contact)
Submission topic: Safe riding and the law
Everyone agrees that there are many benefits to our community as a whole if
more people used a bike for commuting purposes.
We have a better opportunity in Adelaide to make this happen than other
Australian cities, because the majority of the population lives on the Adelaide
plains closer than 15kms to the CBD. Most people don’t have to ride up hills like in
other cities.
As I see it there are 2 major issues stopping this happening.
Firstly Adelaide is the most “car centric” capital city in Australian and secondly
non-regular bike riders simply don’t feel safe to use a bike for commuting.
We can’t change either of these things overnight but both are interdependent. If
we are to “wean” people off their car dependency for at least some of the time, we
need to produce an environment where they feel safe to be on a bike.
We all accept that separating vehicles and bikes is the ideal solution but that is
simply not viable in the short to medium term
As cyclists we also need to respect the fact that motorists who have to use their
car to commute or work, particularly those who live in outer suburbs, also need to
be given a “fair go” on major arterial roads.
In some cases they have no choice but to use a car because there is no other
viable alternative mode of transport.
I propose the following
1. Ban cycling on major arterial roads, at least at peak times, to give motorists
a “fair go”. I see cyclists on roads like South Road risking serious injury and
holding up the traffic when there are perfectly good alternative routes that
are a lot safer. Cyclists need to use their cycling navigation brain rather
than their car navigation brain when commuting. In many situations bikes
can go a shorter and safer route than a main arterial road.
2. In return for the above designate alternative routes that have reduced
speed limits for vehicles. Bikes and cars can co-exist and injuries will be
reduced if bikes and vehicles are travelling at a speed closer to each other.
3. In combination with the above change the law to give cyclists right of way
over vehicles on these designated cycling routes and current bike paths. At
the moment whenever a bike path crosses a road, no matter how minor the
road, vehicles have right of way. Many cyclists don’t use some safe paths
because they have to give way all the time at every road. Of course where
a cycling path crosses a major road cyclist would have to give way and in
most cases this is already covered with existing traffic lights.
If we just did these 3 things we would start to see a change in attitude of all
parties.
Motorists would be happier because they would know they can use certain major
roads with being held up by a cyclist.
Motorists would not be as tempted to use the designated cycle route roads or
other minor roads that cross bike paths when commuting. This is because the
speed limit will be lower, the law would be against them if they hit a cyclist on
these routes and when crossing bike paths on minor roads they would have to
give way to cyclists
Current recreational cyclists would have safe routes and more would take up
commuting cycling.
At the end of your submission, please include the following:
I, the undersigned provide this submission on the following basis:
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The submission will be provided to the jury for consideration
The submission will be hosted for public comment on the internet
I may be invited by the Jury to present the ideas within this submission to the Jury.
Name: Barry Barber
Date: 21st September 2014