Pedal Update No. 215 July - October 2014 ISSN 13211870 www.bisa.asn.au

The Holland Street Bridge across the Torrens recently reopened after some

years of not being so. It was a joint event involving both West Torrens and

Charles Sturt City Councils.

In this issue ...

‘The Coastal Path in Charles Sturt’ (from page 4) has not been fun and games

by the seaside for those looking to implement this section. Thanks to Paul

Anderson of Charles Sturt BUG for his enlightening piece.

‘I’m voting for the other guy’ (from page 10) is a considered response to

Adelaide Lord Mayor candidate Mark Hamilton’s plan to encourage more cars

into the CBD. Thanks to Edward for his kind permission to reproduce his blog.

Sam Powrie has replied to Ian’s article in our previous issue on the lack of

cycling funding in the latest State Budget. Sam explains the history of the

Greenways funding (page 15).

Fay Patterson is keen to light up our lives, or at least some of our unlit

pathways (page 16). Have you had a chance to check them out? They don’t

dazzle, but they are pretty cool ... and helpful, that’s what I found.

‘A rose by any other name’ (from page 17) is a confusing title to find in Pedal

Update. Ian Radbone writes on the confusing bike-nature of Beulah Road ...

Chair’s Report by Ian Radbone

Since the June edition of Pedal Update, the committee has got down to work

implementing the new membership structure and getting on with our core

business – advocating for people who cycle for transport.

Submissions have been written to State and Local Government about the Amy

Gillett Bikeway, the Frome Street Bikeway, Greenhill Road upgrade, Fullarton

Road upgrade, and Beulah Road.

You can read the submissions and responses on our website.

http://www.bisa.asn.au/node/375

We are also representing the interests of cyclists on stakeholder groups

established for the Port Adelaide Enfield Bike Strategy, and the Norwood and

Prospect Bikeways, and were pleased to be in attendance (in perfect weather)

at the opening of the restored Holland Street Bridge, reuniting West Torrens

and Charles Sturt Council areas after four years.

While we believe that these activities are important, we are aware that they

are essentially reactive – responding to initiatives taken by State and Local

Government. We want to get back on the front foot.

Long-time member Hans Penning has reminded us that the Bicycle Institute

will have been in existence for 40 years on the 24th of November this year. In

that time the Institute -- formerly known as the Cyclists’ Protection Association

-- has played an important role in putting cycling for transport on the political

agenda. This included rallies in the 1970s that led to State Governments

seeing cycling as a political issue needing a response, as well as impelling them

to adopt initiatives such as the West Side Bikeway and more recently, the

Greenways program. The latter was championed by the Bicycle Institute under

the chairmanship of Sam Powrie.

We would welcome any contributions from those with better knowledge of the

past for our next edition of Pedal Update. Sharing our history can lead to

building a stronger organisation.

Our past achievements have been despite an insistence on being financially

independent of Government, which has meant that the Institute has always

totally relied on the efforts of volunteers and private subscriptions.

In that vein we welcome Stephen Merrett, who has come on board to help us

with the website. We also urge you to attend and bring along friends to our

major fundraiser, the October quiz night. We’re off to a good start with bike

goodies for the silent auction and are looking forward to an event with as

much fun as last year. But if you can’t make it, we’ll also have a presence at

Hindmarsh Square as part of Ride to Work Day on Wednesday the 15th of

October.

3

The Coastal Path in Charles-Sturt by Paul Anderson

The Coast Path/Coast Park concept was introduced in 1992 by then Transport

(and Arts) Minister, Diana Laidlaw. The idea was to develop the somewhat

disjointed metropolitan coastline into a linear park, linked by a shared use path

stretching over the 80 km from Sellicks Beach to Outer Harbour.

It is yet to be completed, but when finished the Coast Park/Path will be a

tremendous community asset, combining our beautiful, relatively clean and

family friendly coastline with a continuous boulevard for walkers, cyclists and

everyone in between.

Trails of this sort which combine healthy activity with a natural experience in a

relatively safe environment are very popular across the broader community,

and constitute a significant domestic and international tourist drawcard. Our

coastline is ideal for such a facility, being long but easy to access, generally well

protected, with gentle beaches studded with geological, mythical and historical

points of interest and blessed with a good climate and spectacular sunsets.

There is a significant segment of the Coast Park/Path in the City of Charles

Sturt that remains unfinished, the section between Terminus Street, Grange

and Third Avenue, Semaphore South.

https://maps.google.com.au/?ie=UTF8&ll=-

34.872623,138.480434&spn=0.028554,0.024118&t=m&z=15&vpsrc=6

Council has gathered the various stakeholders into a Project Reference Group,

which has developed a set of design options for the location and construction

of the Path. I sit on this Reference Group, representing the Charles Sturt

Bicycle User Group, and I have been having a very interesting time...

Initially there was a very strong anti-bike sentiment among the conservation

and residents' groups, but careful negotiation and myth de-bunking (thanks

PortBug) has brought most of the groups around. There are three main

features that make this section so interesting and such a challenge to

'develop': the Tennyson Dunes and 'dune extensions', the pre-existing

beachfront road reserves, now a little known segmented linear park, and the

real estate, particularly along that linear park. 4

Our metropolitan coast is fragile and at great risk from extreme weather

events. Sand on our beaches migrates northwards and we currently spend

large amounts of money replacing it, both to replenish the dunes and to

protect the beachfront properties. However much of our Adelaide coast is

now a rock wall rather than a dune system, and with aggravated climate

change, this may yet be the future for all of the city's coast.

But between Grange and Semaphore Park we have dunes. And at Tennyson,

we have both primary and secondary dunes which are relatively untouched.

It's remarkable, a bit of ancient wild coast, here in Adelaide's suburbs!

For many, myself included, appreciating the Tennyson Dunes environment

takes some effort as it doesn't conform to our preconceived notions of a

natural coast. At first sight, the dune vegetation looks straggly, untidy and just

a little bleak. But with some knowledge and interpretation, the primal beauty

and significance of the site and its plants and animals are revealed.

Actually, I think the challenging aesthetic of the remnant dune vegetation is a

problem for the ongoing survival of the dunes, because unless people can

readily appreciate and value the dunes they won't care for them. It is simple

for an ill-informed observer (as I once was) to gaze at the dunes and conclude

that they are wastelands, 'rubbish country' not worthy of respect. It serves as

a reminder that the Australian environment doesn't give up its secrets lightly.

To see the dunes preserved we need to bring people to them so they can learn

some of the intricacies of the indigenous plant and animal communities and so

appreciate the continued existence of this very rare environment. To my mind,

the Coast Park/Path concept is a natural and logical way to help do this.

However, such is the importance of the Tennyson Dunes that the Environment

Minister, Ian Hunter, when recently declaring Conservation Reserve status,

took the extraordinary step of stipulating that the Coast Path would not be

allowed within the declared area (which also contains a long network of rough

foot tracks, four bitumen car parks and large areas of degraded land). No ifs or

buts, and definitely no bicycles(!?).

Three months and a good few letters down the track, we are all still trying to

figure out what he actually means. Evidently a 'working group' has been

established and no doubt will deliberate at length, but on the Coast Park

Project Reference Group we have to get on with our job nevertheless...

So we now have a proposed Coast Path that skirts the Tennyson Dunes, leaving

the coast by Ministerial edict to proceed along Military Road for a minimum of

one and a half kilometres of narrow roadside verge - with two-storey houses

and lots of driveways on one side and rather fast traffic on the other. And we

will have to take out all the painstakingly cultured roadside vegetation - sound

filters for the residents – to fit the shared use pathway in. Does that sound

appealing?

It's been acknowledged that in the long term, climate change, with it’s promise

of more frequent extraordinary weather events, is the single most important

threat to the dunes, followed by proximity to human habitation, recreation

and their associated pressures. (Not bicycles.)

Some of the causes of climate change can be readily observed along the coast.

Massive houses built without protective eaves, sporting huge windows facing

west, trendy dark roofing materials and large urban 4 wheel drives are the

norm here. Almost everything is two-storey, preferably with a bank-style

double height atrium and enough garaging space for a jet-ski or two.

Weeds, water and plant nutrient escapes from the beachfront properties into

the dunes, upsetting the long established ecological balance. Some people still

insist on walking through the dunes wherever they please, regardless of fences

and signs, and others 'beautify' them with garden plants. Cats, rats, rabbits

and foxes survive well at this fringe of human habitation – with or without our

collusion – and they do untold damage to the small animal population,

vegetation and soil structure.

These dunes are locked to the sea by the various avaricious real estate

developments of the 70's and 80's. Initially, a road was planned along the

property frontages - another Esplanade - but bad storms so eroded the

coastline that it was never built. Subsequent property setbacks were doubled

to allow for erosion, however the road reserve remained in some form or

other.

6

This road reserve can still be seen at various spots up and down the coast, but

is most obvious in the West Lakes Shore area. Here you will see long stretches

of 'park or reserve' in front of many of the housing developments. They vary in

width but are usually around 20 metres wide, and range from cultivated lawns

with edge plantings to bare sandy patches with native (not necessarily

indigenous) plants and trees.

Cul-de-sac style property

developments took advantage of this

council owned and maintained road

reserve/linear park by treating it as a

de facto front yard or exclusive

beachfront reserve. Of course, it has

always been open to anybody, but to

most people it has seemed a bit

intrusive to just wander in. Indeed at

the northern end there is a locked

boom gate, and there are no formal

paths. Residents' feature windows

and doors open directly onto the park

through their ill-defined front yards.

Walking in just seems a little bit rude, as if it were a private rather than public

space.

Whole communities have developed since the houses were first built. These

people have a special relationship to the ostensibly public land that sits

between their house and the endangered dune system. Some residents

belong to conservation groups and volunteer time and expertise to

maintaining the natural balance whilst some replant the dune verges with lawn

and hardy garden plants (i.e. weeds) and campaign for council to irrigate the

reserve again. (Yes, they did once.)

There are some large and expensive houses in this section, enjoying absolute

beachfront locations courtesy of the council owned reserve. Most have

fantastic views, although some curious gaps in the dune edge vegetation

indicate that this was not always the case. How many rich and influential

citizens live here I don't know, but it is more than probable that they will find

fault with the Coast Path actually being on the coast at this (their) spot.

Despite this, a dune-edge coastal route is the best place for anything claiming

to be a coast path, and it is eminently sensible for these reserves to become

part of the Coast Park/Path.

One group, the Wild and Endangered Dunes Group (WEDGE – check out their

Facebook page) cannot bear the thought. Confused as to what actually

constitutes 'wild' or 'dune', they are intent on directing the Coast Path away

from their bit (“but we share it with everyone”) of coastal reserve on dubious

environmental grounds, and to maintaining the non-indigenous trees planted

on the dune verge “because they protect our properties” and somehow “hold

the whole dune system together”. And they want council to turn on the lawn

irrigation again. Conservationists yes, but not of what you might think.

Current proposals include options for a Coast Path that goes down a real estate

canyon for much of it's length (the misnamed Seaview Road), then diverts for

three kilometres onto a narrow treeless verge alongside a four lane dual

carriageway (Military Rd), before being allowed to come onto a small parallel

access road (Elanora St) eventually joining the coast again at Third Ave,

Semaphore Park. Wow, what a great coastal experience.

You will get an opportunity to comment on this, as does everyone else. There

will be plenty of anti-cyclist sentiment, even though the Path is for everybody.

CSBug and PortBug have worked hard to have an environmentally sensitive

beachfront aligned Coast Path included in the options to be consulted on, so it

would be good to get support from the broader cycling community.

It is really important that we have a Coast Path that goes along the coast.

People value the coastal experience, not the 'one street back from the coast'

experience. The consultation goes from 29th September to 7th November, with

two public 'speak-outs' on dates to be determined. See the Council website

www.yoursaycharlessturt.com.au

8

And now for something completely different…

Support the Bicycle Institute while enjoying a wickedly good read!

Fairly Wicked Tales is a new anthology of 23 re-writings of fables and fairy

tales, debuting at #64 in Amazon's top 100. In support of the Bicycle Institute's

recent change to a free membership model, contributing author Fay Patterson

is donating profits from sales of the book to the Bicycle Institute.

Think you know the real story behind those fables

and fairy tales you read as a child? Stories are

written from the viewpoint of the heroes, but the

lines between hero and villain, good and evil, are

often blurred. What if Snow White wasn’t as pure

as the newly driven snow? What if Red Riding

Hood was far more dangerous than the Big Bad

Wolf? What if Rapunzel was hell bent on

revenge? Forget Disney, forget the Brothers

Grimm, say hello to Fairly Wicked Tales—a book

for adults who harbour the wicked child within.

At a member price of $17.50 (RRP: US$18.95) with free pick-up/hand delivery

in Adelaide, Fairly Wicked Tales(380 pages) is also a great idea as an Xmas gift

that gives twice. Orders close on 24 October our Quiz Night to enable

delivery by early December.

?*?*? BICYCLE INSTITUTE QUIZ NIGHT ?*?*?

Friday 24 th October at Plympton Community Centre, 34 Long St, Plympton

Arrive after 6.30 pm for 7pm start: Cost $15/$10 concession

For further details and to book a table, go to: http://www.bisa.asn.au/node/376

9

Why I’ll be voting for the other guy by Edward@bikeadelaide

Not long ago, I received an email from Mark Hamilton; one of the candidates

running for the position of Adelaide's mayor. It was a very helpful email. Even

though I do not live in the Adelaide City Council area, the fact that I am self-

employed and working in the CBD means I am nevertheless eligible to vote.

That was very good of Mr Hamilton. I won't be voting for him though.

Mr Hamilton was one of the most vocal opponents of Frome Street and

remains so. He described it in April as cycling policy “gone berserk" and a sure

sign that ACC is anti-car. I would be the first to admit that the Frome Street

bikeway is far from best practice. It is unfinished, its design could be so much

better and it was surprisingly expensive compared to what can be done for the

same money (http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2009/11/costings-of-

improvements-for-cyclists.html). But having said that, it is part of one of at

least two planned north-south routes and, as far as I am aware, there are east-

west routes planned too (or maybe one is). Not only that, as we all know, the

bikeway was the subject of fairly extensive consultation before it was begun

and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Mr Hamilton feels this is the wrong direction for

Adelaide. To that end, he has developed a 13

point "car friendly" city action plan.

Not people friendly, not family friendly, not even

mobility scooter friendly - just cars. I think the

chain of logic seems to be along the lines of (1)

cars carry people, (2) businesses need people, (3)

we therefore need cars.

The 13 points include limits on car parking fee

increases, no further removals of on-street car

parks, scrapping bus lanes, opposing 40 km/h

speed limits and introducing a year-long moratorium on new bike lanes.

10

(http://www.hamiltonforlordmayor2014.com.au/assets/Uploads/Car-Friendly-

City-Action-Plan-F10.pdf):

Car Parks

According to the blurb, "Mark wants to bring back the days when we all had

the chance of getting that ‘rock-star’ car park out the front of restaurants,

shops and businesses. Plus, maximising the number of street car parks helps

our local city businesses and traders."

That is such a nice idea. The problem is that 'rock star' car park really is a

matter of luck. We all remember the scene from Seinfeld when Jerry's Dad got

a car park right outside his building. He ended up not driving his car for days

because he didn't want to lose it. Trying to provide an unlimited number of car

parks is a nice idea but it is like the provision of bread in the Soviet Union:

there is an insatiable demand and never enough to go around.

The idea also forgets that there is a finite amount of road space available for

on-street parking. Mr Hamilton complains about the number of on-street car

parks that have been removed but frankly, the number is tiny. They are still

everywhere. When they are too cheap (as they are), they are taken and used

very quickly. One consequence is that a lot of traffic consists of cars hunting

for a car parking space. You can limit that by rationing them - through pricing.

That is done either by charging an appropriate amount and/or having a time

limit. You can actually do a lot with variable pricing depending on the time of

day and demand.

More and more off-street parking is also a nice idea that Mr Hamilton

advocates. Not only should the current batch of U-Park car parks not be sold,

there should be plans for the next wave of them. If that is what rate-payers

vote for, so be it. But they should understand that by building car parks to

provide cheap parking, it is a direct subsidy only to motorists who come from

out of town. It also means money that could otherwise be spent on supporting

business by encouraging more foot traffic is spent on your car parks.

11

When you're using up all your energy catering to cars (because of the common

mistake about their importance) you can end up not seeing the forest for the

trees.

This is a small set of shops in

Walkerville. It is fairly typical of

the kind you see all over the

city. Most people seem to

come for the IGA supermarket

but there is also a hairdresser,

a newsagent, a bakery, a florist

and a gift store:

Not including the car park for people with disabilities in the front of the

picture, there is a total of 14 car parks. That's your limit. Now imagine on a

Saturday morning, you have a couple of people who are visiting the hairdresser

and planning for a highlights and a haircut. They will be blocking the car park

all morning. You'll also have a few sitting in the bakery contemplating life and

making their soy latte last 45 minutes. Do we honestly think that the

remaining car parks support the other businesses?

If as a business you cater solely to motor vehicles, you are seriously cutting

yourself short. It is obvious that not everyone does arrive by car. I cannot see

how the businesses would survive if they did. Business owners consistently

over-estimate the importance of car traffic to their business - and it seems that

Mr Hamilton does as well. But if you set up a system where all of the

alternatives are so awful and difficult that people don't bother and you are

reliant solely on car traffic, watch what happens. We have seen it around the

world. You end up with a doughnut city that is dead outside of the hours that

office workers are there. If that's what you want, knock yourself out.

12

Anybody advocating more and more free parking has to read The High Cost of

Free Parking (http://www.uctc.net/papers/351.pdf) by Donald Shoup and

address the inevitable negative effects.

Bus Lanes

Mr Hamilton's opposition to bus lanes surprises me. Prior to their introduction

on Grenfell Street, traffic during rush hour was at a standstill. Cars and buses

blocked each other. The new system, while not perfect, is a serious

improvement.

If you're sitting in a car in stationary traffic and a lone bus goes by in the bus

lane, it is natural to feel a little miffed that those bus passengers are getting a

free ride. But often, even that single bus is carrying more people itself than

the line of cars you are sitting in. If bus lanes are working well, they do look

empty by comparison to the car lane. The important point is that they are

carrying more people. A single bus can carry as many people as 50 single-

occupant cars. Should the bus be treated on an equal footing with a car

containing one person? No. It is a no-brainer to provide faster travel times to

people who use limited capacity more efficiently

(http://www.humantransit.org/2010/10/london-uk-conservatives-attack-m4-

bus-lane.html).

Bike Lanes

I am not entirely sure where Mr Hamilton gets his figures from but he says that

of 130,000 workers commuting into the city each day, 0.8% of them arrive on a

bike. That could be right. But, he says, cycling lanes take up around 20% of

effective roadway and "numerous" on-street car parks have been removed to

make them.

Eh?

Name me one street in the CBD where on-street car parks have been removed

to make way for a bike lane. I am not sure of any. About three were removed

for Frome Street but please show me the "numerous" others.

13

20% of effective roadway? Seriously? Frome Street is the only place anywhere

in the CBD where a single car lane has been removed. That's it. Where do you

get 20%? Most CBD lanes don't even have bike lanes and on those that do, the

lanes are poxy little painted ones about 80cm wide.

Mr Hamilton's figures suggest that 91% of commuters arrive by car. If he's

right, shouldn't we be focussing on that figure? Is that really sustainable? Is

that consistent with the sort of city we want? Is there any sense in a transport

system that encourages people from suburbs as close as Unley and North

Adelaide to drive into the CBD because the alternatives are so inconvenient in

comparison? You end up increasing the very congestion you are trying to

avoid.

The rest of the world is moving on. It is time for us to catch up.

The one part of Mr Hamilton's Car Friendly City Action Plan that does intrigue

me is his plan to "review and reduce the number of existing bike lanes to end

up with a tightly defined, safe, bike lane network that doesn’t conflict with city

traffic". When that point is viewed in light of all of the other "buses and bikes

are shit" dot points, I am suspicious. But you never know, so I'll be chatting

with Mr Hamilton when he comes knocking on my door.

In the meantime, I would encourage anyone with a similar worldview to Mr

Hamilton to check out the latest from Streetfilms showing how our Danish

friends are moving even further ahead of us: (Journey Around Copenhagen’s

Latest Bicycle Innovations!)

Note: Edward’s blog at bikeadelaide@blogspot.com.au is complete with links

to interesting sources of relevance.

14

A letter in response ... by Sam Powrie (Secretary, PortBUG)

I note that in the April-June edition of Pedal Update, new Chairperson Ian

Radbone indicates that ‘Greenway funding has been axed’, thus robbing the

state bicycle budget of almost $4M p.a. I’m not sure that this is really

accurate. The sum total of the Greenway Budget - such as it existed - was as far

as I know only ever $12M allocated for spending over a 4 year period. It was

announced by Premier Rann in 2010 after extensive lobbying by BISA at the

time (see attached press release from the Portadbug web site

http://portadbug.org/the-outer-harbour-grange-greenway/).

The $12M was intended to fund projects to the end of 2014, including:

- improvements to the Marino Rocks & Sea to Vines cycleways

- finalising the Mike Turtur Bikeway

- works on the Outer Harbour Greenway

- improvements to the CBD to Goodwood/Showgrounds bike path

- planning activity for the City-to-Gawler Greenway

- works on the Amy Gillett RailTrail Cycleway.

The key point I think is that this was only ever limited ‘seed’ funding to get the

Greenway projects started. I believe that the idea was then to either gather

together a bundle of ongoing funds from various sources to ensure ongoing

development of existing and new routes, or to apply to Infrastructure Australia

for funding to continue development.

I think that the real issue is not really the ‘axing’ of a State Government budget

line, but the apparent lack of effort to find a source of ongoing funding! This is

I believe what we should collectively be aiming for rather than simply

complaining at the loss of a supposed recurring state budget item! As you can

imagine, all that Treasury would say is that there was no such thing!

I suspect the best source of ongoing funding ought to be Infrastructure

Australia with matched funding from the State Govt (maybe the Motor

Accident Commission whom I understand have plenty of $$$s). The PortBUG

would welcome the Bicycle Institute taking the lead in advocating for such a

funding effort with the Premier and Minister for Transport. It is an issue we

intend taking up when we next meet with him. 15

Path Guidance Trial by Fay Patterson

For paths to be practical cycle transport routes, both in the Park Lands paths

and further afield, they must be safe and convenient for after-dark as well as

daytime use. However, traditional lighting is expensive for councils to install

and maintain and then there's the cost of electricity.

As reported earlier, the Bicycle Institute has approached Adelaide City Council

and the distributors of two alternatives to standard path lighting. Astucia has

donated solar-LED studs or "cat-eyes", while Safety Path Systems is donating

glow-in-the-dark paint. The solar studs have been in place since May, on the

north side of the River Torrens between the Panda Bridge near the Zoo and

Hackney Bridge on Hackney Road. The glow-in-the-dark paint should be

installed by the end of September in the same area (between the solar studs

and the Panda Bridge).

These two technologies are much less expensive than standard lighting, don't

use electricity, and have advantages like no poles right next to (or in!) the path

and less light pollution to annoy the neighbours. They provide guidance rather

than light the path which may or may not be enough to justify installing

more.

The Bicycle Institute is now

after feedback from cycle

commuters about their opinions

for/ against both the studs and

the paint. We'd also like to

know if there are any problems

path users have noticed.

So if you walk or cycle along this section of Linear Path, or even if you don't but

can manage to visit the trial, please tell us what you think. Email us at

info@bisa.asn.au or tweet @BikeInstituteSA. (And by the time this is

published, there should also be stickers on the path with these addresses.)

16

A rose by any other name by Ian Radbone

A recent report adopted by the Norwood-Payneham-St Peters Council has

determined that instead of creating a “bicycle boulevard” as required under

the Council’s bike plan, Council should instead create the “Norwood Bikeway”

using Beulah Road.

The report notes that “the Norwood Bikeway Project that is the subject of this

report is not - and should not be -regarded as the first stage in the

implementation of a Bicycle Boulevard along Beulah Road”, and that a bicycle

boulevard

“- may include, but not be limited to, changes to road surface treatments,

way-finding signage, entry statements, landscaping and other

beautification measures and changes to existing hard infrastructure

(including as last options, traffic calming devices and changes to default

speed limits)”

So we know what Council staff think a bicycle boulevard “may include”, but

what actually is a bicycle boulevard?

What follows is a personal interpretation only of what is meant by "bicycle

boulevard", as no-one has a copyright on the term. Hopefully it will be useful.

First of all: “bikeway”. You and I might think of these as separated paths just

for cyclists, or perhaps pedestrians as well. After all, we have the Crafers

Bikeway, the Amy Gillett Bikeway and the Mike Turtur Bikeway. But that’s not

what DPTI or council staff have in mind. Some of South Australia's proclaimed

bikeways do use residential streets for part of the way, so calling Beulah Road

a bikeway might be appropriate in terms of route naming, but doesn't reflect

how it should be designed.

The term “bicycle boulevard” comes out of the United States of America,

specifically Portland, Oregon. Portland University has produced a bicycle

boulevard guidebook which describes the concept, its planning and its design.

17

The picture on the website (reproduced on

the left) gives an idea of what they look like:

stencils on the road encouraging cyclists to

occupy the middle of the lane, but there are

still cars on the road and plenty of car

parking. In Adelaide we have a growing

number of streets that have "sharrows"

(another American concept) and other bike

stencils painted in the middle of the lane,

especially in the City of Charles Sturt. Are

these bicycle boulevards, then? Perhaps - or

perhaps not.

What we'd find surprising about the photo is the double yellow line down the

centre, indicating that cars have to wait behind a cyclist. In South Australia we

prefer to have roads with no centre line at all – low traffic, low volume streets

where cars can easily move over to the other side of the road to pass the

cyclist.

The photo below is of the front cover of the guide. It shows a critical feature of

bike boulevards – a road closure that cyclists

can pass through.

Closures that are permeable for cyclists and

pedestrians are common in many countries,

including Australia. Beulah Road and Porter

Street in Parkside are examples. Sometime in

the past, the respective councils decided to

restrict the use of these roads to general

traffic. It is this feature that has made these

streets popular for cyclists (and residents!),

even before anyone had heard of the term

bicycle boulevard.

18

In Beulah Road’s case the blockages occur at Portrush Road and Osmond

Terrace. Unfortunately that still leaves four blocks between these two roads.

Also the blockages aren’t very strong: a driver can turn left and right into

Beulah Road from Portrush Road and (more awkwardly) from Osmond Terrace.

So Beulah Road is still used by rat runners and cars accessing the Parade’s car

parks, as well as by residents, and has about 3,000 cars a day. Unfortunately

this is not likely to change, though perhaps the redesigned roundabouts will

slow traffic and so make the route less attractive as a rat run.

Porter Street in Unley features a complete closure at Young Street some three

blocks north of a partial closure at Maud Street. Overall, it is more successful

for cyclists. There are only minor residential streets off Porter Street between

Greenhill Road and Young Street, leaving Porter Street very peaceful. The

narrow roadway and on-street parking keep speeds low, with a 40km/h speed

limit reminding drivers not to be in too much of a hurry. There is nowhere else

for cyclists to ride but in the middle of the lane.

A Streetview image of Porter Street.

In traditional South Australia style, the bike logo is against the kerb in the

parking lane (go figure!), but apart from that it looks like a pretty good, cheap

bike boulevard. Or is it a bikeway?

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Pedal Update is a newsletter of the Bicycle Institute of South Australia Inc., published four times per year. 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.

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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

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