Monday, October 08, 2007

Tampines pavement riding trial - "a half-baked idea?"

Popular Singapore blogger Lee Kin Mun better known as Mr Brown writes about his new ride and goes on to write about riding in Tampines, and ends up with some choice words about the pavement riding trial that began there in May 2007.

"...who came up with the dumb idea of those bike lanes alongside pedestrian walkways?

Bikes belong to the road, not the pavement.

There were so many Dismount and Push signs along the new Bicycle cum Pedestrian footpaths in Tampines, you may as well cycle on the road. If you ever tried to cycle at East Coast Park, you will understand how hard it is to avoid humans on pavements.

In fact, I felt more vulnerable at the crossings while riding on the path. You are better off teaching drivers to share the road with cyclists, and teaching cyclists to ride defensively and safely, than to give riders a false sense of safety on those pedestrian pavements. And if you want to give cyclists their space, do it on the road, with bike lanes, instead of footpaths."


Eventually, he says:

"I just want safer roads to ride on. Not half-baked ideas like the Tampines pavement cycling trial."


See "My new ride II: Specialized Hardrock Comp Disc 2006," by Lee Kin Mun. mrbrown.com, 01 Oct 2007.

Safer in Sydney: 50% increase in cyclists but death and injury numbers stable

"Safety argument against cycling doesn't travel," by Sunanda Creagh. Sydney Morning Herald, 08 Oct 2007.

Roads and Traffic Authority figures obtained by the Herald show that while the number of cyclists has jumped 50 per cent in the past three years, cyclist death and injury numbers have remained relatively stable over the past decade.

...

The chief executive of Bicycle NSW, Alex Unwin, said the figures showed motorists were becoming more aware of the approximately 3000 cyclists who rode into the city every day. "There would be other factors like the increase in off-road cycling paths, education programs and people riding together," he said.

"Cycle count data shows that commuters into the city has gone up by about 50 per cent in the last three years. This is on the back of improved infrastructure like the Anzac Bridge pathway, but petrol prices, health and greenhouse gas also contribute."

Bikes now outsell cars every year and enrolments for National Ride to Work Day on October 17 are up 300 per cent.

...


Thanks to John Larkin for the forward.