Page 5339 - Week 14 - Thursday, 19 November 2009
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
They were very supportive of our cycling policy at the last election—a policy that I too am very proud of and one that everyone on this side of the chamber is proud of. I might reiterate the key components of that cycling policy that we took to the 2008 election.
Those five points are these. We promised to spend $900,000 to signpost the entire cyclepath network; that is something which I think is well overdue. We also committed to spending $2.1 million on a maintenance blitz to repair and replace degraded, unsafe and substandard sections around our ageing network of off-road cyclepaths. The off-road cyclepaths are a great way to encourage cyclists new to cycling. It is all very well to have on-road cyclepaths, and they certainly target a certain cycling demographic, but for people who are not cycling they can be intimidating. If we have an off-road cyclepath that is in a good state of repair, we will be encouraging people to cycle and thus be rewarded with all the benefits that come with that.
We also promised to consult with the cycling community to prioritise key missing links in our cyclepath network—both the on-road and off-road networks. We provided $4 million for that, beginning in 2010. There are many missing links in the network. Anyone who lives in the northern parts of Canberra would know that getting from Belconnen to the inner north or from Gungahlin to the inner north can be tricky. Whilst there are a couple of links, it would be good to have those links upgraded—and perhaps even put a few more links in there as well.
We also promised to invest $120,000 in secure bike lockers at the park and ride facilities across Canberra. Again, that is something which is long overdue—both the park and ride facilities and additional secure bike lockers. We also said that we would ask the new independent infrastructure commissioner to assess and publish estimates of the maintenance work needed to sustain the existing network into the future as well as to sustain proposed new sections of the network.
Cycling in Canberra has a very long and cherished history. It would be a shame if our neglect of the current network meant that that did not continue into the future. From Pedal Power, I would like to commend for their good work the President, John Widdup; the vice-presidents, Jeff Ibbotson and Leon Arundell; and someone that I have dealt with in particular, Tony Shields, who is the coordinator of advocacy for Pedal Power. They do a fantastic job with their advocacy. They are probably one of the most effective advocates in any particular cause here in ACT politics; they are doing a great job for their members.
I would like to point out one particular part of the network which I think is failing cyclists, bus users, other road users and even pedestrians. That is just around the corner here on Northbourne Avenue and London Circuit. If you are heading southbound on Northbourne Avenue where it meets London Circuit, in the space of 50 metres or so you have a bus stop as part of the bus interchange, you have a turn-left lane, you have a cycle lane and you have three lanes of traffic going southbound. In addition to that, you have traffic lights and there is a red light camera. And there are also pedestrians there. In addition to that, it is a very, very busy part of the city.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video