It’s time for New Zealand councils to take more care of those who choose a form of city transport that ticks all the boxes environmentally, but simultaneously lays them open to being maimed or killed by careless motorists.
And as this picture shows at left, there are plenty of reasons why using a cycle lane can be a difficult proposition, thanks to cars and road workers.
By GRAHAM HAWKES
The day after a British nurse died in November last year while cycling along Tamaki Drive, there began a public examination of conscience in Auckland that was unprecedented.
The woman had tried to avoid colliding with a car door that was suddenly opened in front of her, and was hit by a truck.
Her death came at a time when a number of other cyclists had been killed or maimed around the country, and coincided with a number of serious bicycle versus car incidents on Tamaki Drive.
To the credit of Auckland Mayor Len Brown, the council acted quickly and removed several car parks on the stretch of road where the woman died, close by the corner where Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World aquarium is situated.
The thinking was that when tourist buses and parked cars fill all the available spaces on the seawall side of the road, cyclists have nowhere safe to go whenever a vehicle closes off their riding line.
In reality, as our photographs show, tourist buses still occupy valuable space close to the apex of that corner, and when cars and bikes jockey for position alongside the buses, there’s still very little wriggle room.
In the days following the woman’s tragic death, newspapers and particularly talk radio began to chew over the perceived rights and wrongs of cyclists on a busy road such as Tamaki Drive.
What followed was an outpouring of irrational dislike of cyclists from motorists, which sometimes bordered on calls for vigilantism.
The one rational, commonsense element that was so steadfastly ignored by many of the angry motorists was the fact that they are the only party who sits inside a piece of metal weighing upwards of 800 kilograms. These motorists are in charge of a vehicle which is capable of far greater speeds than a bicycle and which carries a fearful momentum into a crash involving a cyclist.
When a bike rider is hit by a car, a truck or a bus, there is no argument over which party is going to suffer most from the impact. For a driver to run over a cyclist and then start arguing about who was technically at fault under the laws of the road, is an obscenity.
New Zealanders have many great qualities, but to hear so many of them arguing on talk radio that the act of maiming a cyclist can somehow be justified under traffic regulations, calls into question (a) the effectiveness of our education system, and (b) the nation’s collective intelligence quotient.
While much of the public discussion on the issue was dominated by car drivers; and while the discussion was often based on ignorance of the law; and while the debate often descended into spiteful ‘them or us’ bluster, it has definitely helped to put cyclists’ safety firmly on the agenda.
Recently, my morning bike rides along Tamaki Drive have discovered a high level of awareness among most car drivers of the need to allow plenty of space between their vehicle and a bike. They seem to be taking extra care when passing cyclists on corners, and there’s evidence of motorists being willing to allow cyclists to safely get under way first, when traffic lights go green.
The only blot on this otherwise rosy picture was my recent ride along Tamaki drive from the city at 5.30 in the afternoon. It was during the first week back at work for most Aucklanders following the holiday break and many of the car drivers were in no mood to be polite or considerate towards any other road user, especially a cyclist.
However, on Saturday and Sunday mornings in particular, there has been none of that impatience on the part of car drivers. I believe one good reason for this is the noticeable police presence along Tamaki Drive on these days, with at least one marked patrol car keeping an eye on motorists’ and cyclists’ behaviour, and occasionally two of them.
Could I make an appeal to Auckland police bosses — please keep this up, it’s definitely working. Yes, there are still occasional ‘peletons’ of 20 or more cyclists in a tightly packed group as long as a bus, which must irritate many car drivers; but it’s very seldom I see groups of cyclists riding more than the legal two abreast.
The feeling on the Drive these early mornings has definitely been one of co-operation. During a three-week period of daily rides, only one driver has opened his door on me as I rode past. One man at Mission Bay tried to lead his wife and child into a painful collision when he walked off the pavement onto the road without once looking to his right. If I hadn’t shouted at him and braked heavily, the four of us would have gone down in a heap.
Many car drivers — and the Prime Minister as well — have asked why ‘cyclists-for-fitness’ are not using the cycle lane on the harbour-side of Tamaki Drive. The reason is that the lane these days is mostly used by parents with young children in strollers or on trikes; in-line skaters; walkers, joggers and the elderly.
To have fitness-oriented bike-riders using this cycle lane in large numbers would be a disaster. Frankly, the only answer is for motorists to accommodate cyclists on the Tamaki Drive roadway, because that’s what the law demands of them. End of story.
Has the public debate of recent weeks helped? — because something has changed motorists’ behaviour. Is it that the number of cyclist deaths has finally got through into drivers’ consciousness? Is it the sheer number of cyclists using Tamaki Drive these days that is forcing vehicle drivers to wake up?
Another highly visible and frankly, confronting reminder of the British woman’s tragic death is a bicycle chained at the corner where the cyclist was killed. Painted an eerie, faintly luminous white, it leaves no room for argument. It is accusatory, shaming and desperately saddening. As bold a statement against a senseless death as I’ve ever seen.
The ghost bike or ghost cycle movement can lay claim to something approaching a world-wide awareness: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_bike and it deserves support. It certainly doesn’t deserve the act of one of our Neanderthal young alcohol worshippers who recently decided to smash two beer bottles against the bike’s frame. Why are so many of our young men so adept at demonstrating their stupidity and their appallingly bad education at every opportunity?
Can we in this country move forward with respect to cyclist safety at a level demonstrated by cities such as Portland, San Francisco (even New York) and of course so many European cities where bicycles have always been recognised as intelligent solutions to traffic congestion and as contributors to health and fitness?
Bicycles have been highly efficient methods of transport for decades upon decades, but the phenomenal leaps of technical efficiency that bikes have made in recent years mean they cannot be ignored any more by any law maker, any urban designer, any planner of towns and cities anywhere in the world.
Can we in New Zealand make the leap between being a nation of car-worshippers and being a country that not only tolerates cycling but welcomes it? Well, yes we can. And if you are wondering why this article has been published in New Zealand Local Government magazine, well, here is the kicker.
Let’s not wait for central government to start a revolution. The current Government has undoubtedly made some very good moves, particularly in providing funding for cycleways in various parts of the country. And of course the PM’s pet project of a national cycleway is a fantastic initiative.
But let’s remember that cars and cyclists most often come to blows within towns and cities where commuting and recreational cyclists meet vehicle drivers with entrenched views on who is king.
Inexpensive road marking and lane creation, signage that alerts motorists to the presence and rights of cyclists can change mindsets without adding much to the rates bill.
Can I appeal to councils all round the country? Have a meeting with your designers, talk to cyclists, have a good think about how you can promote cycling amongst your ratepayers, and ensure that you put in place plenty of protection for them.
Force car drivers and drivers of trucks and buses to see cyclists, accommodate them, and give them safe right-of-way. Look at ways to get school children safely riding to school again. Encourage parents to get involved. Demand that car drivers realise they share the roads with vulnerable cyclists and pedestrians, and make it easier for those people to enjoy equality with and protection from, car drivers.
Over a period of years, this country can shift from being a replica of car-loving America of the 1960s to a more European-influenced model where cars give way to cyclists and pedestrians. Frankly, it just makes sense. Make it happen.