Letter to Drummoyne Council

I am writing to you concerning recent bicycle-adverse changes to traffic conditions on Henley Marine Drive at Rodd Point and other related matters within Drummoyne municipality. These concerns were raised during a meeting on Friday 11-Aug-1995 between Mr Bob Moore (from the Leichhardt Bicycle Users Group) and myself, and Mr Geoff Garnsey and Mr Peter Higgs. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Garnsey and Mr Higgs for their attendance and their courteous, professional and helpful manner during the meeting.

My comments, questions and observations to Mr Garnsey and Mr Higgs were based on my experiences as a regular commuting cyclist rather than those of an occasional recreational cyclist. I believe the distinction is an important one because it seems to me that many of the recent changes to traffic conditions I've encountered on Sydney's roads have been predicated on the assumption that either, all cyclists fall into the latter group, or that cyclists don't (or shouldn't) use the road at all despite being legally entitled and obligated to do so.

I would like to explain what I mean by the term "commuting cyclist". A commuting cyclist is someone who:

• travels to and from work, typically by road, during peak hours. Therefore they want to get from place to place via the safest, most efficient route (just like a commuting motorist).,
• rides fairly quickly (I average over 20km/h),
• rides long distances each week in traffic (I average over 150km/week and travel to many parts of Sydney),
• is an experienced and competent cyclist who endeavours to obey the road rules,
• doesn't appreciate traffic measures (eg., badly designed bike paths and roundabouts) that force them but not cars to slow down, increase their travelling time, or which endanger their safety by introducing squeeze points,
• pays taxes and council rates just like motorists.

Henley Marine Drive at Rodd Point

Bob Moore and I pointed out several problems with the changes at Rodd Point in our discussions with Mr Garnsey and Mr Higgs. For cyclists travelling along Henley Marine Drive from Drummoyne towards Five Dock, the following deficiencies and problems were noted:

1. Traffic signs were installed in the bike lane itself. These greatly reduce the effective width of the cycle lane and the speed at which a cyclist can travel. A cyclist unfortunate enough to collide with one of the signs (which are positioned essentially edge-on to the cyclist) would receive a very nasty cut and/or other injuries.

2. Cyclists are suddenly shunted off the road before the car parking area at Rodd Point. Anyone riding along the bike lane will suddenly find their way blocked by a curb. They are forced to essentially stop and make sharp left and right turns onto the footpath, directly into the path of pedestrians. After crossing the intersection with the road leading to the parking area, a cyclist has to make sharp right and left turns to resume their journey. Due to the curbs jutting across the path, a cyclist cannot avoid following this route.

   The necessity of this arrangement was explained in terms of removing cyclists from the left turning lane to ensure that motorists are not delayed and cyclists are not endangered. Although the first reason may be valid, I find the second spurious. I believe this an example of the traffic engineer being solicitous of the needs of the motorist at the expense of the interests (and safety) of cyclists and pedestrians.

   I have several objections to this design:

   1. The shared footpath onto which cyclists are forced is very narrow and makes no provision for separating pedestrians and cyclists. I can imagine the reaction of a mother walking with her young children (who I've found act far less predictably than motorists) when she sees a bicycle bearing down on them having suddenly appeared from off the road.

   2. I believe that forcing cyclists off the road in this manner will not achieve the stated aim of reducing the likelihood of a car/bicycle accidents at the intersection. On the contrary, left-turning cars will suddenly come upon cyclists appearing on their left from outside their field of view.

   3. I would suggest to you that the commuting cyclist is no keener than the average motorist at having their journey delayed for no good reason. The current arrangement degrades the utility of the route for all cyclists (who may well be using the route every day) in favour of those motorists who happen want to park their cars at Rodd Point, no matter how infrequently this may occur.

   I believe a better approach would be to firstly, remove the left turning arrows since the lane ends at the intersection and the only reason for a car to be in the lane is make a left turn into the car park. Secondly, remove the curbs obstructing the cycle path and make the entire lane a shared car/bicycle lane. This will allow cyclists to proceed straight through on their journey while enabling cars to merge into the lane and turn into the car park without disrupting traffic flow.

   In addition, installing "Cars must give way to cyclists" signs would further improve cyclist's safety. This should happen anyway since cars turning into the car park would be travelling across the cyclist's path. However, making explicit the requirement that motorists yield to cyclists as they merge into the lane would make the intersection safer.

   Cyclists regularly encounter this merging/left turn situation on the road and based on my experience, I suggest that it will be far easier for cyclists and motorists to be aware of each other when they are in close proximity (eg., a cyclist can more easily note a car's indicator while a motorist will be able to see a cyclist when merging into the lane and preparing to turn).

For cyclists travelling from Five Dock to Drummoyne along Henley Marine Drive, the problems are slightly different. Mr Geoff Garnsey mentioned that in the original plans, no provision was made for cyclists. Instead they were meant to bypass Rodd Point altogether by turning left into a side street. Subsequently the lane was further narrowed with the aims of reducing car speeds and discouraging truck usage. This had the consequence of adding a shoulder which can be (and is) used by cyclists.

If anecdotal evidence is any guide, cyclists are not very keen on the idea of the bypass, nor are trucks discouraged, because we observed many cyclists and trucks proceeding along Henley Marine Drive while were talking.

I believe it was wrong of Council to try and bar cyclists from using Henley Marine Drive when they are not part of the problem. Bicycles don't exceed the speed limit, nor do they have rumbling exhaust notes, nor do they spew contaminants into the atmosphere, nor do they endanger residents.

Given that there is a marked shoulder I find it strange that at the apex of the curve at Rodd Point it suddenly dives into the curb only to immediately move back out into the lane. All this does is increase the danger for cyclists by allowing cars to use more of the road and travel at higher speeds around the corner. I don't think this was Council's original intention. The shoulder should be re-marked to remove this anomaly.

Traffic Calming and Cyclists

Roundabouts are a source of danger for cyclists because they introduce "squeeze points", ie., locations at which cyclists are forced to merge into a faster moving traffic flow. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that motorists are somewhat erratic in their observance of the traffic rules when using roundabouts (eg., they will often not give way to cyclists already in the roundabout, nor will they appreciably reduce their speed). Nor do motorists show any propensity to allow cyclists to merge into the traffic flow.

Currently, the roundabouts are designed so that the left curb extends out across the road to form a narrow, single traffic lane entry to the roundabout. The curb and inner traffic island then form a circular lane through the roundabout. Unfortunately, this invariably blocks the marked cycle path which resumes after the roundabout.

I urge Council to adopt a modified roundabout design (and to modify existing roundabouts) that would be safer for cyclists while maintaining the utility of the roundabout as a traffic calming device. The approach is based on the assumption that there is no left turn at the roundabout (which is generally the case for the roundabouts on Henley Marine Drive as one travels from Drummoyne to Five Dock). Thus there is no concern that a motorist will turn across the path of a cyclist. The main points of the design are outlined below.

1. The curb is modified to reduce its extent across the road thereby ensuring the marked cycle lane is not impeded. (When viewed from the centre of the traffic island, this corresponds to increasing the radius of the circular section of the curb forming the outer edge of the roundabout.)
2. Concrete blisters or blocks are installed at the entry and exit of the roundabout at the point to which the curb originally extended, thereby leaving room for the marked cycle lane.
3. The marked cycle lane is continued through the roundabout. This ensures the marked traffic lane (delimited by the inner traffic island, the concrete blisters at the entry and exit of the roundabout, and the inner line of the marked cycle lane) will be the same as before.

The effect of these changes will be to allow a cyclist and a motorist to proceed through the roundabout without the cyclist impeding the motorist. In addition a cyclist will not be forced to merge into the faster car-based traffic flow. However, the above changes in no way remove the obligation on a cyclist to obey the road rules pertaining to roundabouts.

Marked Cycle Lanes

Along much of its length, Henley Marine Drive has plenty of room for cars and bicycles. By explicitly marking an area of the road as being intended for motorists and cyclists you will be helping to ensure they coexist more safely.

Lyons Road

As one travels east along Lyons Road (from Canada Bay towards Five Dock) there is a marked shared bicycle/parking lane which permits cyclists to travel quickly while not impeding the faster car-based traffic flow. The main problem areas from a cyclist's point of view are the roundabouts at William Street and Harris Road.

Conditions are similar to the roundabouts on Henley Marine Drive in that there is no left turn at the roundabouts, and the road is wide enough for a traffic lane and marked cycle lane to proceed through the roundabout.

As a cyclist approaches the roundabout at the intersection with William Street, the cycle lane ends and they are forced into the single traffic lane. After the roundabout, Lyons Road climbs quite steeply up to the intersection with Harris Road. Because of the climb, a cyclist travels quite slowly with respect to the traffic. Therefore a cyclist is faced with a decision. A cyclist can stay in the single traffic lane (which they are entitled to do) in order to avoid having to merge a second time, or they can move into the cycle lane, and once again merge into the traffic flow.

If a cyclist stays in the single traffic they will delay the following traffic as they climb up to the intersection and risk being be subjected to abuse and intimidation from the motorists behind them. If they adopt the second approach and they will find that merging into the traffic flow before a roundabout normally means having to stop and wait for a suitable break in the traffic because there is no way a car will slow down or stop to let them in.

If the roundabouts were modified as suggested above, travelling along Lyons Road would be quicker, safer and more convenient for cyclists.

Conclusion

I strongly urge that the traffic engineering group from Drummoyne Council contact Bicycle NSW as a way of becoming better informed of the needs and problems of cyclists. Bicycle NSW has a wealth of information that would be of assistance to the traffic engineering group. At the very least I believe Council should adopt the ideas from "Part 14 - Bicycles" of the Ausroads Traffic Engineering Practice documents when making "improvements" to roads in the Drummoyne Municipality in the future.

As a resident of Drummoyne municipality, I would like to offer whatever assistance I can with regard to community input to Council on cycling matters. For example, I would be happy to read and comment on the Drummoyne Council's Cycle Plan when it becomes available. Please feel free to contact to me should you have any queries concerning the matters raised in this letter.