Monday, July 19, 2010

Huh? Is this a cycleway?

Bonanzacam is back - blasting the big issues direct to your eyeballs!

I guess we must applaud Clover in her laudable mission to make Sydney cycle-friendly ("Friendly" is going to be a big paradigm shift for the town's non-biking populace...)
Anyway - there is visible evidence of noble intent scattered sporadically about the CBD & immediate environs in the form of dedicated cycleway projects
(The SMH's Miranda Divine recently had a pointed whinge about Ms Moore's shortcomings on these and it's true that the pace of progress has been a bit frustrating (and haphazard))
But there is another side to these advancements and that is: how my old nemeses, the pedestrians,  integrate these changes into their lives
I'm just going to highlight one location
For the better part of a year, a short stretch of Ultimo back road running from behind the casino to the Pyrmont Bridge pub has had new cycleway work done
It was sort of finished a week or two ago* and the many cyclists using that route took to the new path in numbers - unfortunately... so did pedestrians!

Now... to anyone observing the location - this is utterly baffling
The footpath (which has always been there) running immediately adjacent to the new cycleway is considerably WIDER than the cycle lane yet for reasons that escape your humble author, walkers have taken to using the ABSOLUTELY UNMISTAKABLY CLEARLY MARKED cycle only lane
As I say - Baffling (On top of that, the pedestrians you are politely swearing at to get out of the way, look totally mystified - this is a cycleway? Who'da thought?)
So - after a few days of weaving and frantic bell ringing I decided the people had to see for themselves


This isn't even a bad day - but you get the idea
(to make it extra mysterious - this practise persisted even on rainy days - even though the 'immediately adjacent' and 'considerably WIDER' footpath was protected by an awning...)

Sigh - will feet and wheels ever get along?

*Closed off again - maybe they're painting bigger 'cycle only' signs?