Should we have dedicated cycling lanes in Newcastle?

Ride On: A separated cycling lane in Vancouver. Cycling advocates say Newcastle should have some of these. Picture: Paul Krueger

Offspring understood it well.

The band's iconic lyric "You gotta keep 'em separated" was in fact about gang violence in the US, but we're not deterred by that. We're happy to hijack that theme for today's topic - the idea that Newcastle CBD should have dedicated cycling lanes.

The issue is fresh in our mind because Newcastle will host the 20^th Australian Walking and Cycling Conference on Thursday and Friday. [It's online, of course, due to the pandemic]

Matthew "Tepi" Mclaughlin, who managed the conference program, said Newcastle and its inner suburbs were "highly conducive to active travel [like walking and cycling]".

Tepi, who is also secretary of Newcastle Cycleways Movement, said mass driving and parking in Newcastle CBD was "unfeasible long-term".

He advocates for separated cycling paths to "reduce the conflict between motor traffic and bicycles".

Research shows that dedicated cycling lanes would encourage more people to cycle in Newcastle because they'd feel safer.

Tepi has done a stellar job with the conference program. It includes four keynote speakers and more than 40 presentations across the two days.

One of the keynote speakers is Dr Steven Fleming, author of Cycle Space, Architecture and Urban Design in the Age of the Bicycle and Velotopia: The Production of Cyclespace in Our Minds and Our Cities.

In Cycle Space, Dr Fleming identified a phenomenon occurring in cities from "New York to Sydney". That is, safe bike routes were accelerating construction. In Velotopia, he showed how to pursue this with purpose.

Conference registration is open to anyone. Visit walkingandcycling.com.au.

Singing In The Rain

Do you like to sing in the shower? Perhaps you prefer to cry in the shower?

A survey that dropped in our inbox reckons a lot of people end up doing the latter.

After trawling through almost 10,000 songs from Spotify playlists, the survey found that the place people "love to cry the most" is in the shower. Quite a few people, it seems, save their sobs for shower time.

The survey also worked out particular songs and artists people were listening to most in the shower. How did they manage that? It sounds creepy.

It didn't show up in the survey, but surely the best song to listen to in the shower is Singing In The Rain.

Snake Tales

Do black snakes and blue-tongue lizards keep brown snakes away? Three Charles Sturt University wildlife ecologists say no.

It's an old wives' tale, the trio said.

"The myth goes that if you see a red-bellied black snake or a blue-tongue lizard on your property, you're unlikely to see the highly venomous brown snake.

"This myth probably originates from observations of black snakes eating brown snakes, which they do."

It also goes the other way.

"There are many reported examples of brown snakes killing black snakes, too. Overall, no scientific evidence suggests one suppresses the other."

There is also no evidence blue-tongue lizards prey upon or scare brown snakes.

"In fact, many snakes - including brown snakes - feed on lizards."

The brown snakes apparently prefer mammals for dinner, but "won't hesitate to have a blue-tongue".