It’s been over a month since the new “cycling safety” rules came into force in New South Wales. Despite the protests of numerous cycling groups armed with a petition of over 10,000 signatures and a disallowance motion tabled in state parliament by Greens MP, Mehreen Faruqi, the government appears intent on punishing two-wheeled human-powered road users.
Scores of cyclists have been issued major fines for minor offences including not having a bell on the handlebars, riding without a reflector, riding while helmet straps are loose and cycling on a footpath.
If social media can be believed, the evidence is that police are actively enforcing the section of the law that targets cyclists and ignoring the only provision that will truly keep bike riders safe – the one-metre distance required when passing a cyclist. Roads minister Duncan Gay can easily respond to these social media criticisms by releasing the figures on the number of cyclists and motorists fined under the new laws. So far, he hasn’t.
According to the Australian Cyclists Party, NSW police have managed to creatively interpret the “riding dangerously” provision. They’ve apparently fined a cyclist for “track standing” – the practise some cyclists can master of staying upright and cleated into the pedals while motionless at traffic lights. Perhaps the cops just don’t like posers?
Meanwhile, Sydney continues to suffer under traffic jams of Duncanian proportions. A bingle on the Harbour Bridge recently resulted in queues stretching back a whopping 12km. There was much antagonism on social media as commuters in buses complained that single-occupant cars were filling the transit lane, so even public transport could not get through. The only people moving were pedestrians and ... those lawbreaking cyclists.
A Fairfax Media analysis of the government’s recent Road Report showed that average commuting times have lengthened on a staggering 124 routes. Yet the NRMA keeps its head firmly stuck in the bitumen, claiming it’s the construction work on the new roads that’s slowing commute times. In transport-nirvana, once the work is complete, everyone will zip into the city at top speed!
Or, as report after report has shown, commute times will drop for a brief period before returning to snail-pace as the road clogs with more motorists, left to sit in a slow-moving car park. In some cases, these car-bound lemmings will be paying a toll for the privilege. No wonder so many Sydney motorists are angry and looking for a scapegoat. Ooh look, there goes another lycra-clad fool zipping past me. Arrest that man!
While Melbourne plans to have one-in-four city-bound commuters on a bicycle by 2020, the NSW government builds even more roads so the traffic jams can extend across the whole tortured city. With a blinkered transport policy that thunders “four wheels good, two wheels bad,” the environmentally-friendly, budget-conscious option of a network of bike lanes is ignored. Even the legendary traffic-snarled city of New York has woken up to the folly of building more roads, and instead installed a comprehensive cycle lane network.
Meanwhile, the NSW government has become guardians of an anti-youth, anti-fun agenda. The simple pleasures of cycling, getting a drink at any hour and protesting for what you believe in have all been subjected to hammer and walnut legislation.
If you’re seething about the daily time-consuming commute, direct your indignation at Duncan Gay, the man in charge of Sydney roads. Or buy a bike, plot a cycle route to the office – on what’s left of the city bike lanes – and laugh all the way to your morning latte. And can someone tell the police that fining cyclists for loose helmet straps won’t really solve a crime wave, fix Sydney traffic, or endear them to the community at large.
Welcome to NSW 2016.
