Advocacy News

The debate over Shane Warne's comments on bicycles  is a reminder that all road users , be they cyclists, motorists or pedestrians should obey the road rules and be courteous to other road users, according to Bicycle NSW, the peak Bicycle Group in New South Wales.

Yesterday marked another day of celebration for cycling in Australia with the commencement of the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, this year involving Australia's first World Pro Team in Green Edge.

The Bourke Road separated cycleway, from Wyndam Street to Gardeners Road, Alexandria, opened in March 2010, after community consultation.

The City of Sydney is committed to creating a safe and connected cycling network in the city, to provide more transport options, free up seats on public transport, and reduce congestion for those who need to drive.

Cyclists and pedestrian safety on Hannell Street at Wickham will be improved as Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) move forward with plans to upgrade the existing shared path crossing.

"RMS is providing $275,000 to upgrade the existing crossing near Throsby Creek," Member for Newcastle, Tim Owen AM MP said.

"This project will improve safety at this busy location and encourage more people to safely use the shared path.

The opening of the Ermington Bay Nature Trails completes a major missing link along the Parramatta River. The raised boardwalk follows the Parramatta River foreshore from Wharf Road, Ermington to George Kendall Reserve. It is a combination of raised boardwalk and concrete shared path - a rideable boardwalk through the mangrove area in Ermington Bay.

Following on from the workshop held on 8-9 August, HUB traffic and transport hasbeen working with Planning in Motion to bring the BYPAD policy audit process to Australia under the auspices of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Institute of Australasia (SA).  They have been pursuing this methodology as a means of addressing the issue of the lack of integrated bicycle policy/bicycle policy governance, which was identified during the workshop.

The NSW Government's failure to adequately address the needs of the bicycling public has come home to roost says Bicycle NSW after a new study found the proportion of people cycling in NSW lags significantly behind every other state and territory.

The 2011 National Cycling Participation Survey released today found nearly 9 million people are cycling in Australia - many more than previously thought.  In NSW, over 2.7 million people get on a bike each year but the frequency of riding is much lower compared to the other states.

Over 1500 cyclists have already signed up to contribute information about their riding experiences to the Safer Cycling Study at the University of New South Wales. This study, which is quite unique, will provide important data to help inform policy and planning for safer cycling in NSW.

The study hopes to enrol another 1,000 cyclists from around NSW.

The Cook's River Cycleway is one of the most expansive and well-used cycling routes in all of Sydney. So, when several missing sign reports were reported along the Prince's Highway section--one of the more confusing of the route--to our missing sign tool (http://bicyclensw.org.au/content/report-missing-sign), one of our volunteers, Aaron Burger, went out to investigate them. Here's Aaron's report:

After an initial trial period, Musgrave Avenue Gates in Centennial Park will now be permanently opened daily from sunrise to sunset, in line with other vehicle gates around Centennial Park. The Centennial Parklands Trust initiated the trial in response to feedback from cyclists regarding the accessibility of this key entry point of the Park. Bicycle NSW is delighted that this collaboration between cyclists and the Trust has been so successful and we hope it will prove to be a role model for other councils and the cycling community.

Bicycle NSW is calling into question the safety of the M2 detour cycle route which provides people riding bikes an alternative route during the construction of the $550 million M2 Upgrade project.

Despite a recent statement released by Transurban that maintains the project team has worked closely with Bicycle NSW and other local cycling groups to determine the route, the alternative cycle route has not been endorsed as either safe or suitable by Bicycle NSW, Bike North and CAMWEST.  Click here to read the full Media Release