Get on with it

Commenting on the story: Detour for east-west city bikeway

Another bikeway detour! How many can that be?

Council’s committee meeting, October 2015, shows that in April 2012 community and stakeholder engagement commenced on city bikeways.

Here we are exactly seven years later, and we have “the world’s shortest bikeway” at 800 metres.

The north-south bikeway, and now the east-west bikeway, has been subjected to continual resistance by conservative elected representatives. In the last council the resistance came from a loosely affiliated group of conservative councillors, some of whom were Liberal Party members.

This council now contends with a seven person Liberal-aligned conservative faction.

Having achieved agreement with the State Government to deliver the east-west bikeway during the Haese council, there are now moves which became clear at Tuesday’s workshop, to maybe/perhaps/could be think that Pirie-Waymouth is preferred.

The decision was made but hey, let’s revisit! This is a consistent and deliberate tactic to resist roll out of any bikeway. Why? Bikeways will consume some car parking space.

At Council on 26 February Councillor Donovan moved a motion which was in essence a ‘get on with the east-west bikeway motion’. The Liberal conservatives voted this down. The replacement motion was to hold another workshop and to relinquish the Council’s Smart Move strategy by sending it off to the Capital City Committee.

This committee is not transparent. It only publishes an annual report. This seems another attempt to resist progress. A new Smart Move strategy is now two years away.

There was no need to kill off Donovan’s motion by sending Smart Move off to the Capital City committee. As with opening up new debate about which street is best, this was resistance, pure and simple.

The city’s Liberal conservatives remind me of now PM Morrison cradling a lump of coal. The coal is a symbol of resistance to the takeover of renewable energy. It’s as though council conservatives cradle the car. It’s a symbol of resistance to a re-made and differently mobile city – a city they cannot imagine.

Get on with it! – Peter Lumb

Melbourne is rolling our the red carpet to people riding bikes into their CBD and Adelaide should follow suit to increase our state’s liveability and help stem the brain drain of our millennials looking for a less car dependant lifestyle. – William Matthews

As a recent convert to riding a bike into the city and leaving the car at home I can say that most traffic does Flinders-Franklin and then diverts to Pirie where it’s easier to negotiate West Terrace.

This is simply to take the current safest line, not because it’s convenient. Having had a close incident on average every three days at least, I will stop taking this option unless something happens fast.

If it’s a Wakefield or Grote St option then its back to the car for me, as it’s too much diversion to Sir Donald Bradman and Henley Beach roads that feed the west. It would appear Franklin is the best for both arteries for bikes.

 It is also interesting that there is not a separate bike bridge over the railway lines that feeds to the cycle paths along West Terrace. – Rob Naudi

Build it and they will come

Commenting on the story: Population growth plan “risky, costly and problematic”

Before we encourage more people to live in SA, we need a better transport system, especially in the country areas where there is nothing but road transport.

 Not everyone is capable of driving a car.

 Most of what is left of the country rail network lays abandoned, especially in the world famous Barossa Valley –how embarrassing!

 It has been proven interstate, people will move to an area with proper public transport.

 We need a proper integrated public transport system before we encourage more people to live here in SA. – Graham Nixon

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