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www.bisa.asn.au No.217

Welcome to BISA’s monthly Pedal Update In our last Pedal Update we said that we would be producing our newsletter on

a monthly basis from now on. Expect shorter, pithier documents that do what

the title of the newsletter says update you on goings on in the world of

bicycle advocacy. We will cover what we’ve been doing, what governments

and others are doing, and provide some highlights from our social media

activities.

We hope to have one feature article in each issue. This month’s is about

40km/h speed limits on local streets; a topical issue given that Norwood,

Payneham and St Peters in the east and Charles Sturt in the west are both

looking to improve safety by lowering the speed limit on at least some of their

streets.

We’d love to have contributions from you. If you wish to write an article, tell

us something that members might want to know, or just make a comment,

please email us at secretary@bisa.asn.au.

What’s BISA been up to ... Road Safety Reference Group

No immediate issues of interest were raised, but we had a chance to talk to the

Minister for Road Safety expressing disappointment regarding the high degree

of resident approval required to implement 40km/h in NPSP, especially given

that the road safety strategy notes speed issues (as it is a council matter).

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Super Tuesday count

BISA assisted the Adelaide City Council with volunteers for this valuable annual

exercise. We have since been asked if we can help analyse the data, which

should help get the results out faster, with many people eager to hear about

the impact of the Frome Bikeway.

Input to State Government’s bike strategy

The State Government has told Sam Powrie that a draft of its new bicycle

strategy will be released this financial year. The BISA committee has put our

own thoughts together as to what should go in the strategy, and sent these to

the Minister and staff. You can see what we sent at BISA’s advocacy site.

Chair meets with ACC Lord Mayor

BISA Chair Ian Radbone had a meeting with Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor

Martin Haese in March. The Lord Mayor stressed his commitment to safety,

including road safety, but also said that new measures to promote cycling that

inconvenienced motorists would only be entertained when these demonstrate a

net increase of people in the City. Ian stressed BISA’s desire to see the Frome

Bikeway completed, but also pointed out the many things that could be done to

encourage cycling that would not inconvenience motorists.

Cycling crash statistics

BISA member and GIS expert Greg Vaughan had a meeting with Department of

Transport officials in March about getting hold of crash statistics that we could

use. (Ian Radbone was meant to be at the meeting but was in the Emergency

Ward at RAH after creating another cycling crash statistic that morning.) The

meeting went well and we now have statistics on bike crashes for the past five

years. Hopefully you will be seeing the results from this in coming Pedal Updates.

In the meantime, here is a map of bike crashes that Greg produced from

publically-available data from the Government’s website www.data.sa.gov.au.

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Commenting on traffic projects

O’Bahn Project: our main input at this stage has revolved around Hackney

Road. BISA raised its interest more broadly with the project consultant team

proposing we be involved in a broader consultation around cycle access.

Fitzroy Terrace and Park Terrace: check out our comments on the design of

the proposed upgrade in our advocacy page www.bisa.asn.au/node/375. A

common issue is the minimalist approach with many treatments being the

bare minimum allowable (or even less).

Greenhill Rd crossings: the committee has been keeping an interested eye on

the implementation, following changes made to original plans to appease

residents. High cyclist numbers were noted at Porter St during the Super

Tuesday counts.

Norwood Magill Cycleway: this is the new name for the Beulah Road

Boulevard. BISA has provided a number of comments regarding this planned

infrastructure.

Project update: Preliminary works for traffic signals at Portrush Rd have

started. Other DPTI works to be completed this year are geometry changes to

the roundabout at Sydenham Road, to reduce car speeds and improve safety;

a raised intersection at Rundle Street/ The Parade West, to improve safety;

and bike lanes in the missing section of The Parade. Other roundabouts will

also be treated with kerb extensions to improve geometry and reduce speeds.

Burnside expects to have traffic calming works finished by June, while NPSP is

still investigating designs. Signage similar to the West Unley Commuter Route

is included in the project.

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BISA in the media

BISA Chair Ian Radbone was interviewed for the Channel 7 News on Super

Tuesday (4 March) and took part in a discussion about road surfaces on ABC

radio 891 the following Thursday.

Committee member Alan Sanderson keeps BISA involved in the world of

Twitter. Alan has engaged in conversations with both Jay Weatherill and

Martin Haese and BISA is approaching 1,000 users – so getting close to major

status!

Some administrative matters

AGM: How might you help steer BISA’s future direction? A formal notice and

invitation to the AGM is provided in this Pedal Update.

BUGs: BISA has been updating its Bicycle User Group contacts and hopes to

increase our support of the state’s BUGs. So if you belong to a BUG, check

our website to make sure we have the correct details. We’re here to help!

Campbelltown Bicycle Plan

Council wants your input to its new Bike Plan, by 5pm Monday 6 April. Council is

currently seeking feedback on the existing bike network and the existing 2007

Strategic Bicycle Plan. See http://www.campbelltown.sa.gov.au/haveyoursay.

Better Living Better Health

Comment is being sought on the Regional Public Health and Wellbeing Plan for

the eastern regional alliance of councils, closing 5pm on Friday 17 April.

www.eha.sa.gov.au/ has an on-line survey that asks for your opinions, or you can

submit more detailed feedback. Send any thoughts BISA’s way so we can include

them on our formal submission, or look for this for suggestions closer to the

closing date.

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Free Bike Training

Adelaide City Council is continuing to provide free bike training. Next sessions are

Saturday 18 April 2pm - 4.30pm or Sunday 19 April 9.30am - 12.00pm. The

program includes dealing with traffic.

Feature article: 40km/h what price safety?

Ian Radbone

When I worked in government I often used to hear Department of Transport

officials tell each other that “safety is paramount”. Of course it isn’t, since cars

are dangerous, but are still allowed on our roads.

In reality the Department, the Government, we as a community and we as

individuals frequently compromise safety for other things we value, such as

convenience. On my mountain bike I often trade off safety for fun, and road

safety for improving my health.

But when we consider big public issues such as speed limits, how much safety are

we trading off, for how much return? The following graph is from South

Australia’s road safety strategy, Toward Zero Together.

source: Toward Zero Together South Australia’s Road Safety Strategy 2020, p. 15

If a pedestrian you, me, your friend is hit by a car at 50km/h, there’s about

a two-thirds chance of death. At 40km/h, it’s a two-thirds chance of surviving. By

30km/h, it’s mainly the unlucky or vulnerable – children, older people – who die.

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The following graphic is from the UK and relates to the speed limit on a road

rather than the collision speed shown in the above graph. Their speed limits

aren’t the same as ours, but the graphic gives a sense of the implications of speed

limits for our ageing population. The situation is similar for children.

Clearly, a government aspiring to zero road fatalities would insist that local

councils impose a 40km/h or, more likely, 30km/h speed limit on their streets.

But the opposite applies. Our State Government won’t let councils impose a

lower speed limit unless it has clear evidence of strong support from the

community, including the approval of two thirds of residents. It appears this

stance reflects concerns that motorists would find changing road speed limits

annoying and confusing.

The result is that only Unley has a council-wide 40km/h speed limit on its

residential streets. There are plenty of smaller areas that have 40km/h, where

we assume community support has been clear. (You’d think that the hodge

podge would only add to the “confusion”, wouldn’t you?)

What are we trading off if we go to 40km/h? Presumably “convenience” in this

case means speed in getting places. I recently did an experiment to see how

much convenience would be reduced if we moved to a lower speed limit.

Much of the Adelaide metro area is divided into blocks separated by arterial

roads spaced about 400m apart. We live near the Norwood Oval, in the middle of

one of these blocks. I wanted to see how long it would take me to drive to an

arterial road with different speed limits.

I drove 650m to Magill Road/ Sydenham Road intersection – the furthest point I

would normally drive to reach the arterial road network – at a maximum of

50km/h, 40km/h and 30km/h. I tried to reach my self-imposed speed limit as

soon as possible in each case, while still driving comfortably, and conducted my

experiment at night when other cars would not hold me up.

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At 40km/h, my 92-second trip time increased by 1 second, and at 30km/h, by

about 12-13 seconds.

40kph didn’t feel like a constraint at all. The real constraints were parked cars,

a one lane slow point near home and the roundabout at Beulah Road/

Sydenham Road.

30km/h did feel constraining (I went over 30km/h a bit on one occasion).

In other words, for a typical resident travelling to and from the arterial road

network, the convenience that would be traded off by a 40km/h speed limit

would be negligible. And even a 30km/h limit might mean half a minute to a

day’s commute – or reaching the next red light a little bit earlier. Yes, rat runners

driving all the way through a suburb might notice the speed limit more (they

always seem to be in a hurry), but why cater for the people who put themselves

before locals?

Not only is safety traded off with our preference for 50km/h speed limits. There

is also more car noise, less amenity, a perceived environment that discourages

cycling and more rat runners. The government knows this but wants the

community to support lower speeds before it does anything.

So it’s up to us to spread the word!

A.G.M. Yes, another year has passed, so here’s the formal notice

NOTICE OF AGM BISA Annual General Meeting

Conservation Centre

111 Franklin St, Adelaide

7.30pm, 12th May, 2015

We would love to have you on our Committee! Nomination forms will be available on the night or obtain one earlier by requesting from our Secretary secretary@bisa.asn.au. But even if you’re not in a position to put your hand up for a formal role, come along to hear how BISA’s year has gone, to listen to our invited speaker, and to get to know the Committee.

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From our Facebook page 18 reasons why registering bicycles is a bad idea

Introducing EcoCaddy to Adelaide

DPTI website on greenways and bike boulevards

Charles Sturt is looking at more 40kph zones, and

Norwood Payneham St Peters to explore council-

wide 40kph

Myer Centre offers cheap incentive for cyclists

(showers, lockers)

Australian Bicycle Council E-News, March 2015

Time to have your say on the 1m passing law

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Thanks to our sponsors ...

Pedal Update is a newsletter of the Bicycle Institute of South Australia Inc., published monthly. The Bicycle Institute is incorporated in South Australia. Material published in Pedal Update is copyright unless otherwise stated. Articles and graphics may be copied and republished by non-profit organisations, provided the author and Pedal Update are given credit. Opinions published in Pedal Update are not necessarily those of the Bicycle Institute.

We are always looking for contributions. Send any stories, ideas or feedback to the editor@bisa.asn.au

Road Hazards? Call DPTI: 1800 018 313

Reporting Dangerous Drivers? Call Traffic Watch: 131 444

www.sapolice.sa.gov.au/sapol/road_safety/traffic_watch .jsp