Page 527 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 March 2014
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Cycling—injuries
MR WALL: My question is to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services. Minister, in the past year the Insurance Authority has paid three compensation payments on behalf of your directorate of $45,000, $90,000 and $100,000 to cyclists injured on Canberra’s cycle and roads network. What were the problems on the cycle paths and the roads network that led to these payments being made?
MR RATTENBURY: I thank Mr Wall for the question. As you rightly identify, there were three claims and they were for a range of matters. One of the matters was where somebody alleges that when she went alongside the track she hit a drain immediately adjacent to the bike track and was thrown from her bicycle. And there was no warning of that drain.
In the second matter, the claimant alleged that the complainant had been struck by several tree branches across the path and therefore lost control, resulting in injury. In the third case, the claimant claimed that the claimant was cycling along a road—I am not sure how much detail to go into here—and that the road was in a state of disrepair and the cyclist was unable to avoid the debris and gravel on the road and fell off the bicycle, again resulting in injury. They are three quite different matters in quite different parts of town.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Wall.
MR WALL: Minister, what actions are being taken to address known safety problems for cyclists throughout the network, such as obstructions caused by roadworks, for example, on Ginninderra Drive near Lawson?
MR RATTENBURY: There is a range of mechanisms in place to address safety concerns on the cycle network. They range, obviously, from things like Canberra Connect, where people can and do regularly report problems and they will be addressed by TAMS. They will be inspected and, depending on the nature of the issue, it may be that an area needs to be swept or may require repairs. There are certain footpaths, for example, as members will be aware, that will perhaps be ground in the first instance to remove a lip and then potentially replaced at a later point in time. There is obviously a more proactive program of upgrading parts of the network and seeking to remove breaks in the network, for want of a better term. There are areas, of course, where cycle infrastructure is still not as adequate as we would like it to be. So there is an ongoing program of investment to improve areas, and that is improving safety.
Perhaps the best way to describe it is that there are two elements. One is an element of being reactive, in response to issues and complaints that are raised. In that, I would also put issues indentified by TAMS staff as they go around in the course of their regular business. The second element is a proactive approach to improving the network.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Coe.
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