A few weeks ago we asked members to write to their local council and state government candidates asking them about their support for cycling. In response we had a number of people ask for some sample letters they could use as a basis for their own letters, so we’ve put together some examples kindly supplied for the purpose by other members.
Remember, it’s much less important exactly what you say than simply that you say it. Pick some issues of interest to you (either of your own or from our list of suggestions), or don’t even bother doing that — just tell your local candidates that you think supporting cycling is important, and ask them what they’re planning to do.
State election
A few days after our previous post the Premier announced that the state election would be held on 24 March, and the local government elections delayed until 28 April. Obviously this makes the state election the immediate priority, but the local government elections aren’t far behind.
Lists of state election candidates for each party are available from the ALP, LNP and Greens, while combined lists are available from Wikipedia, Crikey and the ABC. If you’re not sure which electorate you’re in, check the ECQ’s maps.
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We’re well into the wet season now and, while we haven’t had as much heavy rain as last year, La Niña has still certainly had her moments. We’d like to hear how much of an impact the rain has on your regular cycling.
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Do you have any particular tips on dealing with wet weather, or anything else to add? Let us know in the comments below.
The CBD BUG is very privileged to announce the guest speaker for our next general meeting will be Rachel Smith. The topic of her address will be: Developing Sustainable Transport Options for Australian Communities.
The meeting will start at 12.30pm on Wednesday 29 February 2012, in the usual Brisbane Square tiered theatrette. See the Meetings page for more information.
Rachel is one of Australia’s leading active and sustainable transport specialists and is well known to Brisbane cyclists as a progressive thinker and advocate for long term solutions to contemporary urban transport/planning issues.
As the winner of the 2008 Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management Janet Brash Memorial Scholarship Rachel used this opportunity to investigate a number of international cities with highly developed cycling infrastructure networks. Based on this work she subsequently launched her Cycling Super Highways concept in 2010.
Rachel is part of the BMW Guggenheim Lab following her nomination by Enrique Penalosa the former Mayor of Bogota and international urbanist. The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a mobile laboratory led by international, interdisciplinary emerging talents in urbanism, architecture, technology and sustainability. The Lab addresses issues of contemporary urban life through programs and public discourse. Its goal is the exploration of new ideas, experimentation, and ultimately the creation of forward-thinking solutions for city life, such as ideas for cycling and sustainable transport.
Location of the works.
(Click for a larger version)
BCC advises that from next Tuesday, 21 February it will be operating heavy machinery across the Kangaroo Point bikeway near the corner of Macdonald Street and Mackenzie Street (just south of the jazz club).
The machinery will include an excavator and tandem tippers accessing the boat ramp in James Warner park to load rock onto a barge. The rock is being taken to the Maritime Museum for rock wall construction. Traffic control will be in place, and any damage to the parkland or bikeway will be repaired upon completion.
Location of the bridge.
(Click for a larger version)
BCC advises that work will commence this Thursday, 16 February to replace the deteriorating plywood panels on the bridge near the Drift Restaurant. Work times will be to 9am – 3pm daily. A traffic controller will be employed at each end of the bridge to implement a stop/go arrangement. BCC expects the works should take 2–3 days in total to complete. 1.2m of the bridge width will be kept open during work hours for bridge users.
Signs warning users of work ahead will be erected.
BCC advises all users to exercise caution when going through the work area.
Map of affected section.
(Click for a larger version)
BCC advises the Toowong (Regatta) stretch of the Bicentennial Bikeway will be partially closed for 100m sections from 23 February to 10 March 2012 from 8pm to 5am to allow geotechnical drilling for
Stage 4 of the bikeway reconstruction.
The work area will be under traffic control.
Cyclists and pedestrians are advised to exercise caution around the work area.
For further information, please contact the BCC Call Centre on 3403 8888.
Lazy Sunday Cycle flyer
(Click for a larger version)
The
Lazy Sunday Cycle is kicking off the year with a
ride this Sunday 5 February, starting at 10 am from the city Botanic Gardens and ending with a sausage sizzle at Kangaroo Point. The route is 100% off roads and traffic-free.
Lazy Sunday Cycle is a fun, family-oriented ride, open to anybody of any age, speed or skill level (nobody will be left behind!). Come by yourself or bring your friends, children or parents, and choose to ride however much you want to, be it 5 km or 20 km. More information about upcoming rides is on the flyer to the right, and on the Facebook page.
If you’re interested in this weekend’s ride, meet at 9:45 am outside the Stamford Plaza Hotel (near the Edward Street entrance to the Botanic Gardens). Please also RSVP to Rachel@cyclingrachelsmith.com (or via Facebook) to be sure there’s enough sausages to go around.
This month’s meeting is the Annual General Meeting, to be held at 12.30pm this Wednesday, 25 January in the usual tiered theatrette in the BCC library on the ground floor of Brisbane Square, 266 George Street.
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Local government elections will be held in Queensland on 31 March 2012 while the last possible date for the next Queensland State Election is 16 June 2012.
Election campaigns are the prime opportunity for cyclists to obtain some policy announcements from political aspirants regarding improving cyclist safety.
Accordingly, all cyclists are urged to contact their local candidates and the respective party leaders and express their views on what is required to make cycling safer and thereby increase the number of people who leave their cars at home and cycle instead.
Some suggested commitments to ask for include:
- Strengthening drivers licensing testing process
- Reducing the urban speed limit
- Ongoing motorist education regarding sharing the road safely with cyclists
- Overhaul Queensland Road Rules to remove the numerous bike rider hostile provisions e.g. dismounting to use ped crossing and dangerous rights of way on multi-lane roundabouts
- Addressing major cyclist infrastructure needs e.g.
| CBD |
- Comprehensive network of bike lanes
|
| North: |
- Direct link between Gateway Bridge and Redcliffe
- Connect Brisbane Airport to the CBD
|
| South: |
- Link Mansfield to the South East Bikeway
- Create safe cyclist space along Fairfield Rd
|
| East: |
- Build green bridge between Bulimba and Teneriffe
- Link between Carindale Shopping Centre to the CBD
|
| West: |
- Cyclist off-road bypass of Moggill Rd
- Centenary Motorway flyover for cyclists at Moggill Rd
|
King tides this weekend will mean some bikeways in the city and suburbs may be underwater.
The highest tide will be 2.55 m at the Brisbane Bar (near the mouth of the river) at 9:39 am Monday, which should mean tides peaking around 1.6–1.7 m at 10:14 am at the Brisbane City Gauge (in the CBD), and a slightly lower peak at 9:31 am Sunday.
This isn’t expected to be as bad as last year’s king tide (or the really high tide just after that), but be aware that many of the bikeways that are usually susceptible are likely to be flooded.
If you have observations about which bikeways do or do not go under water at particular river heights please let us know, as we’d like to gather the data and be able to offer more specific advice about which bikeways are likely to be affected by future tides.
