I wrote to you on 9 December, 1997, enclosing letters I had written to the M4 upgrading project manager, Mr Bernie Chellingworth, and the CEO of the RTA, Mr Ron Christie. My purpose in writing was to draw to your attention the failure, indeed the stubborn refusal, of the RTA, to properly consider the legitimate needs of cyclists during and after the widening of the M4 from four to six lanes. As a result, cyclists will be faced with dangerous, degraded conditions for years to come despite the RTA having spent over $100m of public funds "upgrading" the M4.
Since I wrote to you, I have received a response from one of the M4 upgrading project engineers. Since it may be of interest to you, I have enclosed my reply and a followup letter I sent to Mr Ron Christie.
The reply from the M4 project engineer confirms my thesis that there is a real systemic problem within the RTA that results in cyclists being effectively ignored or deliberately "designed out" of the road system. You may not be aware, but a cyclist, Mr Gregory Borkowski, was killed on the M4 on the 14th October, 1997. I strongly believe that his death is directly attributable to the negligence, indifference, and underlying contemptuous hostility of the RTA towards cyclists; attitudes that I have experienced at first hand.
As my letters of December 9 noted, RTA engineers don't care about cyclists because they are not obliged to. This systemic problem can and must be corrected and you as Minister have the opportunity to ensure that this occurs.
I believe there is the possibility of real electoral gain for the government at essentially no cost by forcing the RTA to address its systemic hostility (or at best indifference) towards providing for cyclists in the road system.
The changes are positive, progressive, reasonable and easily implemented. In practical terms, they are no more than changes to engineering standards and practices but will have far reaching consequences. The changes can be easily justified on the grounds of equity, an evolving road and urban engineering environment, and improved project management practices. The RTA, an organisation that professes a commitment to "world's best practice", can have no legitimate grounds for objection.