2015-06-22
Senator Janet Rice
Some level of animosity will always exist while cars and bikes share our roads. There is no getting around this. Drivers are slowed up and can feel like they're put into risky situations to avoid bikes. And riders can feel intimated and unsafe because of the much larger vehicles they are forced to share the road with.
Last year, 45 Australians died while riding their bike. Every one of those deaths was a tragedy and we should be doing everything we can to get this down to zero. But consider this – in the same year there were around 16,000 premature deaths due to inactivity.
But what if we can address all these issues at a relatively low cost? What if we could end the 'war' between cyclists and drivers, get more people riding their bikes and reduce the number of bike-related deaths?
With co-operation from local, state and federal governments, we can achieve all of this.
This time last year I was on my ride from Melbourne to Canberra to take my seat in the Senate.
The ride showed me the potential for cycling. I don't expect anyone to be commuting between Melbourne and Canberra on a regular basis. And I don't expect everyone to start riding to work, school or leisure. That's simply impractical.
But we can be doing a lot more to make it easier to increase the number of people jumping on their bikes.
The health benefits of regular cycling are enormous. As a commuter cyclist, I was riding on average just 10km a day. Yet this brought my fitness to a level that was enough to ride 50 to 80 km a day for two weeks on my ride to Canberra.
Choosing a bike over a car for these small journeys didn't add much to my travel time – in many cases it was even faster – but it did wonders for my fitness.
And still does.
So many more of our society can enjoy these benefits if we remove barriers. The biggest thing holding people back is a lack of infrastructure. 44% of people are prevented from cycling because facilities aren't sufficient. People in the inner city might be doing okay, but as you move out to the suburbs and beyond, it's just not feasible to hop on your bike.
A direct reason for this is a lack of prioritised funding.
In Melbourne, we have successfully knocked off the $18 billion East West Link. This was going to be a huge amount of money to spend on a massive polluting tollway that would have only increased congestion and done nothing for people's health. Alternatively, the same amount of money could provide 18000 km of shared paths for riders and pedestrians. Imagine the difference that would make!
The solution is clear. Separated bike lanes would end the needless “trench warfare” between drivers and people who ride, make people feel safer to get to work or school by bike and most importantly increase cyclist safety and decrease obesity-related deaths.
It has public support.
Figures released recently show 71% of people support more funding for cycling, walking and public transport infrastructure.
The deeper you dig, the more support you have and the more sense it makes to prioritise investment in clean smart transport.
It could be crucial in tackling childhood obesity.
The past few decades has seen a dramatic decline in children riding to school. Currently, a whopping 62% of kids are driven to school. A mere 8% ride their bike.
This is the parents' choice. If we had up-to-scratch infrastructure, more than half of parents would let their kids to ride or walk to school.
This is also a matter of gender equality.
Men were twice as likely as women to ride on busy roads. When roads don't have bike lanes, women are significantly more likely to report feeling less comfortable riding.
Women deserve to feel safe on their bikes. We must break the glass cycling barrier for women riders.
The solution is a roll out of separated bike lanes.
We need a commitment from local, state and federal governments to make this a reality.
I do not accept the current federal government's insistence on wiping their hands clean of this problem.
In the wake of the death of cyclist Alberto Paulon in Sydney Rd, Brunswick, earlier this year, the Senate passed a Greens motion calling on the Abbott government to follow the lead of the UK Government and adopt a national walking and cycling investment strategy, including specific time-bound objectives and funding allocated to achieve those objectives.
We just need our lycra-clad Prime Minister to get on board. His government has shown its first signs of budging on public transport funding, with the Transport Minister Warren Truss saying they are “quite happy to fund metro rail projects”. But there's still no word on cycling infrastructure.
If they continue to refuse, we have to make sure they're booted out of office.
Meanwhile, the Greens are pushing at all levels of government to roll out more cycling infrastructure.
At a local level, Councils need to commit money to building bike facilities, and to promote cycling in their communities. At a local government level, Greens councillors in Victoria have been working hard to create safer bicycle lanes, shared pathways and bike parking facilities. Cities like Melbourne and Yarra in Victoria are leading the way and should be congratulated.
State governments also need to have dedicated funds for bike facilities, and implement other measures like the 'A metre matters' legislation. This requires drivers to leave a minimum distance of one metre when overtaking bicycle riders on roads up to 60km/h, and 1.5 metres on faster roads.
The Greens are leading the way to make this a reality: NSW MP Jamie Parker introduced legislation in 2013, as did SA Greens MP Mark Parnell. In the ACT, Greens MP Shane Rattenbury was instrumental in establishing the ACT's Inquiry Into Vulnerable Road Users. Now, both South Australia and ACT governments are preparing to start 'metre matters' trials.
The WA parliament is currently debating metre matters legislation tabled by Greens MP Lynn MacLaren in 2014. In Victoria, Samantha Dunn MP has just introduced a Metre Matters laws to Victorian Parliament.
This is the sort of co-operation we need across the board to end the divide between cyclists and drivers.
Together, we can make life easier, healthier and safer for people who ride and encourage millions more to hop on their bike!
Janet Rice is a Victorian Senator and the Australian Greens spokesperson for transport and infrastructure