Ant’s Rant - Source

It was only a matter of time that a serious accident or death caused by bad placement and planning of a bike lane had to happen. The one in Fitzroy Street is a prime example of a badly designed double bike lane with little or no thought to safety. The recent death of a 57 year old pedestrian on 10 June 2022 (https://7news.com.au/news/melbourne/respected-melbourne-charity-worker-revealed-as-man-struck-and-killed-by-cyclist-c-7310472) crossing this nightmare bike lane is a clear indication of how this anti-car ideology has gotten out of control and how little thought has gone into squeezing bike lanes onto our road system. Roads that have been designed for motorised vehicles such as cars, trucks and motorcycles with road rules designed to ensure a safe road transport system where there are consistent rules and drivers that are licensed to understand and obey these rules. 

Is it practical to paint lines or place barriers on our roadways with little or no thought to safety or how this makeshift bike lane system would affect traffic flow? No thought to education of bike riders or rules where and when and how the system actually works. No consistency in how these popping up bike lanes connect or interact with traffic. Cheap, nasty, no thought, solutions hatched by council to solve the imaginary bicycle transport problem. Or rather a half-baked solution looking for a non-existent problem.  

Forcing cars off our roads in anticipation or rather hope of a new world order where push bike riding rules our roadways is bizarre, foolhardy and a lunatics pipe dream that defies logic or reality. What evidence is there to support these dramatic wholesale interruptions to our road systems. Are bikes the future for the greater community? Babies, children, school students, mums, workers, shoppers, retirees, old aged and infirmed, will they all be getting around on bicycles now?  If anything, there will be more electric vehicles adding to our road traffic congestion not less and for safety sake slow moving push bikes and faster moving motorised vehicles need to be separated from each other and not just by painting white lines on the roadways .

Our Council has made poor decisions with little or no input from the wider community who must endure poorly located and designed lanes. The bike lobby have undue influence on councils and our Councillors are not listening to the community. The greater community don't want these poorly designed and potentially dangerous bike lanes. Bike lanes must be designed to specifically keep everyone safe. There need to be rules for bike riders not just motorists. Some busy and fast-moving roads are not suited for bike riders and bike lane must be located in suitable street to keep riders safe. 

We need well designed and interconnected bike lane systems that don't interfere with road systems. Proper routes, proper rules, and proper planning. Less and safer solutions not a free for all. The reality is that bikes will never outnumber vehicles on our roads, especially in inclement weather. Not everyone can or wants this as their transport system so council needs to take a reality check and redress the current foolish bike lane trend. 

I would implore all residents to contact your Councillors and the CEO and get them to stop this madness before more residents are killed or maimed on our roads.