Cycling in Brisbane Australia
Rider down in Norman Park
Came across the always horrible sight this morning of an ambulance with the doors closing and a bike leaning up against the wall on the side of the road this morning.
It was on Bennett's road where Wynnum rd forks heading inbound.
Don't know what happened or how, but it's one of those spots where I always take a lane if I'm continuing along Bennett's, and have to be a bit careful if I'm heading up Wynnum rd. It's a tricky spot sometimes if people are getting impatient.
Hope the rider is ok and it's none of the regulars here.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Paul Martin on -
Not good... such busy roads should have bikeways the width of an entire road lane.
I know that spot well and the junction design is car-centric. Unfortunately the only way to navigate it safely is by 'taking the lane'... easier said than done when cars are flying in excess of the 60km/h limit there...
I hope they get well soon.
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Permalink Reply by DamianM on -
It's an interesting spot at the time in the morning, the traffic is either coming out of the wynnum rd traffic jam, or from the riding rd carpark trying to get though the limited amount of Green light time. So while nobody is going ultra fast usually, they are impatient.
If you're trying to turn right onto the City bound part of Wynnum Rd it's tricky you have to sit in the middle of two lanes which takes a bit of courage. The other factor there is the bus stop that people will do crazy stuff to get around.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Martin on
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I've not been there at peak periods and by the sound of that I'm glad I haven't! Awful.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon on -
'If you're trying to turn right onto the City bound part of Wynnum Rd it's tricky you have to sit in the middle of two lanes which takes a bit of courage.'
Expended my courage doing exactly that this morning heading into the city. And after navigating that part of the road, keeping eyes all over the head in all directions at once, hand signaling, gritting teeth etc then you get to the top of Galloway's Hill. Then what's with the 'off road' bike track on the footpath along Wynnum Rd down through Norman Park? Which idiot in town planning patted themselves on the back for a job well done there?
If you don't want to mix it with the traffic on Wynnum Rd crossing over Norman Creek you've got to use the bike path which has just got to be the most half baked dangerous cycling infrastructure in all the world. To quote Paul in his Self Congratulatory Dross - "No infrastructure is better than bad infrastructure."
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Permalink Reply by DamianM on
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it is crap isn't it.
I'll usually stick to the road on the way in (downhill), I don't mind mixing it with trucks if I can keep some speed, and in peak hour it's not going fast. You just need to be able to lanesplit if you want to get anywhere.
Outward bound though you'd be a bit suicidal not to use the footpath.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Martin on
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That's my strategy if I'm on a road bike or the velo but on my dutch bike(s) I'll stick to the 'shared path' on the river side of Wynnum Road and take it easy. The surface and the dozens of blind driveways makes it dangerous to ride at speed anyway.
It's a perfect example of what not to do... :( I've been almost cleaned up by drivers exiting their driveways without looking. To be fair, the path is so close to the fence line that they have to put half their car onto the path before they can *see* the path. Again, badly implemented.
From memory there were recent complaints by parents about the intersection up near Hawthorne road being unsafe for their children. Perhaps we should join forces with them and improve conditions for everyone not contained in a motor vehicle?
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Permalink Reply by Gordon on
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The problem with the driveways is three fold:
1. They are close to the path, have high walls and foliage, which restricts vision.
2. The first 'threatening' traffic flow an exiting driver encounters is outbound or from the right. This means they are looking right as they exit whilst the flow of cyclists, inbound, is from their left, down hill at higher speed.
3. Lets add to that extra obstructions to visibility, being wheelie bins, usually grouped in mass, sun rising in the east and absolute morons that park their vehicles on the cycle path. ("I gotta love the council for giving me such a nice carpark out the front of my place, I just don't understand why they made it so long")
Then we can look at the path itself with:
1. uneven surfaces,
2. debris & pollen from overhead trees,
3. cut outs for drives,
4. incisions, dug outs & rough spots from building access;
5. ever so slippery steel plates for underground access; and
6. bus stops where unsuspecting commuters step straight off the bus into the path of cyclists. (Can't blame the commuter for that one)
7. No room to move with no margin for error.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Martin on
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I think you've got most of it covered, Gordon! :)
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Permalink Reply by DamianM on
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You forgot the Cat 5 racers (aka super commuters) ringing their bells and passing pedestrians waaay too close and way too fast (only to of course run out of puff as the hill gets a little steeper at the top).
I've seen a pedestrian clipped by a hi-vis vest wearing commuter one night. Did he stop and apologise ? hell no.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Martin on
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Hmm... I really hate that. I see a bit of that through Southbank. I'm often overtaken (in the Mango) as I take it easy through there, only to pass them all again once clear of the shared zone.
Not sure why they're all in such a !@#$ing hurry but it gives cyclists a bad name. Impatience seems to be widespread - drivers, pedestrians & cyclists - but fortunately confined to a minority (<5% I reckon)
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Permalink Reply by Paul Stockwell on -
I used to travel along that bit on Southbank regularly and I couldn't get away from it fast enough. At least once a day you'd have some nutjob screaming through there at about Mach 2, often not even bothering to ding the bell and scare the hell out of some poor unsuspecting pedestrian walking along.
It got so bad some days that I'd ring my bell when I saw the cycle jockey ahead approach pedestrians to try to give at least SOME notice. Of course, then they think that the incoming bike is further away than it is, which presents a whole different set of problems :(
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Permalink Reply by Gordon on
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Yep. I cringe with trepidation every time I see a cyclist on Wynnum Rd outbound. I saw one guy almost get cleaned up by four cars, one after the other, after they rounded the dog leg just before the bridge at high speed, to be confronted by a cyclist at low speed.
I think he was blissfully oblivious to the danger he was in and the pandemonium that was going on behind him with heavy braking and rapid lane changes, which had a knock on effect in the right lane. It's only a matter of time. If it wasn't so damned dangerous I would have laughed at his Mr Magoo moment.
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