Any suggestions for Armidale's Bicycle Plan Review? Armidale's Bicycle Plan is under review. If you have any suggestions about how to improve cycling in Armidale, please use the suggestions/hazards form to tell us about it! You can also email drd.robinsonATgmail.com (replace AT with @ to get the correct address). You can also read what other people have suggested on the your ideas/hazards page. More cyclists, better health, less global warming .... This website is dedicated to encouraging cycling in Armidale, so that more people will want to ride bikes, to improve their health, help combat global warming and prepare for a future of high petrol prices as demand for oil outstrips our dwindling oil supplies. More cyclists, safer cycling .... "It seems paradoxical but the more people ride bicycles on our city streets, the less likely they are to be injured in traffic accidents." See our Safety in Numbers page, also: A Virtuous Cycle: Safety In Numbers For Bicycle Riders, Science Daily, Sept 2008 Please report any cycling hazards you know about .... The UK CTC fill-that-hole website explains that local councils have a duty to maintain roads, but if they can't fix hazards if they don't know about them.  The same is true is true in Armidale. We encourage all cyclists to report safety hazards to council@armidale.gov.au either by email or using Council's Bicycle Facility Defect Report form. Please also use our hazard reporting form to warn other cyclists about the problem and inspect the current list of hazards to see what other people have reported. Once we hear a the problem has been fixed, we will add an entry thanking council and the date it was fixed. Armidale Bicycle Strategy .... and maps of Armidale walking and cycling routes (pdf 2Meg) Council's Bike Committee is helping Council revise the Bicycle Strategy. Armidale has several nice cycle routes, with many more proposed routes. Council is discussing with the NSW RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority) the possibility of pavement bicycle logos on roads that are too narrow to accomodate bicycle lanes and on-street parking. The logos will remind motorists of the need to share the road with cyclists and indicate where cyclists should ride, e.g. in the middle of the lane when entering single-lane roundabouts, close to the central island when circulating around roundabouts, as well as at least 1 door width away from parked cars. Page 9, section 2 of Council's adopted Operational Management Plan shows that Council aims to conduct a baseline Survey of Bicycle usage in Armidale, and complete the Bicycle Strategy Plan by December 2010. Please tell us what you think of the proposed new bicycle routes, the plan to use bicycle road markings to encourage motor vehicle drivers to share the roads with cyclists, and what else you would like to see in the revised Bicycle Strategy. Write to: drd.robinsonATgmailDOTcom (replace words in capital letters with appropriate symbols). Bicycling Street Smarts: Riding Confidently, Legally and Safely "This compact tutorial, available as a 46-page booklet and this online version, will increase your safety and confidence while bicycling on any road, whether you are a beginner or an expert. You'll have more fun and feel better about riding, be it for pleasure, fitness or transportation." SLA Transport Sustainable Living Armidale Transport Group aims to deliver innovative transport alternatives and to break down the barriers that people perceive to the use of more sustainable existing forms of transport. Ideas include
Crikey.com.au explains (September 2010) "While there is virtually no debate that oil production must one day peak, there is much debate about the timing and significance of such a peak. For those who have become accustomed to talking about emission reduction targets for 2020 and 2050 it may come as some surprise to learn that the mid-range forecasts for the peak in global oil production are 10-15 years. This does not mean that there will be no oil in 10 or 15 years time, but it means oil is going to get a LOT more expensive. Nearly half of all trips made by Austrlians are less than 5 km. Many could be made by bike, reducing our dependence on oil, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and helping to improve the health, fitness and longevity of Australians. | Bicycle "Facility" of the Month - a light-hearted look at some well-intentioned "faclities" that don't always meet cyclists' needs. Cycle path safety: A summary of research John Franklin (UK cycling expert, author of 'Cyclecraft') has provided a useful summary of published studies into the safety of bike lanes and paths. The evidence, although limited, suggests that paths do not improve safety. For example, a Berlin Police study 1981 to 1985 showed that cyclists were times more likely to have accident on roads with sidepaths and the likelihood of serious or fatal injury similarly increased. "The police data confirm the well-known, typical crash types at intersections on streets with sidepaths, which occur because motorists do not see the bicyclists on the sidepaths, or fail to yield right of way to them ... The ADFC (German Bicycle Federation) ... demands, instead, bike lanes on the roadway to the left of parked vehicles, rather than sidepaths, so that bicyclists will be in the field of view of motorists." Full paper and English translation Risk factors for bicycle-motor vehicle collisions at intersections, a study in Palo Alto, California, by A Wachte and D Lewiston. "Two other variables that incur greater risk is traveling against the direction of traffic and riding on a sidewalk or bike path. Also of note, intersections are the major point of conflict between bicycles and motor vehicles. The authors conclude that shared use of a well-designed road system leads to the fewest conflicts and accidents. Bicycles and motor vehicles should be integrated according to well-established and effective principles of traffic law and engineering." Analysis of the UK's largest purpose-built cycle path network (in Milton Keynes, a new town under construction since 1971. John Franklin concluded that the network has suppressed rather than encouraged cycling and has proved to be consistently less safe than the town's unrestricted main roads. Injury accidents per million km cycled: main roads 31, local roads 149, cycle paths 166. All crashes: main roads 47, local roads 149, cycle paths 319. The problem of narrow bike lanes in Australia commentary and photos by Brisbane cyclist Mike Yeates.   Sharrows road markings improve cyclists' safety - Streetswiki website on sharrows  • 60% of cyclists felt that the markings increased their sense of safety. • 35% felt that the marking improved driver behavior, 36% felt that the marking had no impact on driver behavior, and 29% were unsure. • One-third of drivers felt that the markings improved their behaviour.  Other sharrows pics (click to enlarge)  |
