[bikeqld] Cycling across crossings enforcement

[John Nightingale]

Some background.

Years ago, when I was on the State Cycle Committee, there was a determined
move to have the law changed so that cyclists could cycle across crossings,
subject to blah blah about doing so responsibly. The argument was
unassailable, the evidence gathered strong, no substantial reasons in
opposition, a lay-down misere for change.

All the cycle relevant people on the SCC, including all the QT people who
were driving this, were strongly in favour, given that the law was generally
ignored by all, that there was a zero reporting of incidents or injury
involving cycling across a ped crossing.

The opposition was led by deadheads from Education - the crossing
supervisors had a say in it somehow - and dopey bureaucrats from head
office, and the safety-at-any-cost crowd of Ambo people, who were unlikely
to be satisfied by any regulation short of keeping everyone in bed for 24
hrs/day. The cops who attended the SCC were either bureaucrats who only said
they couldn't say anything, or really dopey uniform PC Plods who naturally
opposed any change of anything on principle.

Naturally, the dopes and deadheads opinions meant that nothing went to the
Minister. Of course, that was when the SCC fell into the hands of the
dreariest bureaucrat in the service, a man so dull that he doesn't have a
name, but he's still in charge of the smart travel centre.

That's the way of this world, I guess,
J.

On 17/4/09 9:02 AM, "Ian Lister" <list-bikeqld at lister.dnsalias.net> wrote:

> See below for an article on this enforcement in this week's Westside
> News (p.6), also at:
> 
>    http://westside-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/no-more-free-ride/
> 
> Ian
> 
> =====8<-----
> No more free ride
> 
> POLICE have warned cyclists they face a $60 fine for riding across
> pedestrian crossings.
> 
> Police conducted a recent blitz on the issue, warning and fining riders in
> the Moggill area.
> 
> Current road rules state bicycle riders must not ride across a road, or a
> part of a road, on a children's crossing or a pedestrian crossing unless
> there are green bicycle crossing lights.
> 
> Member for Moggill Bruce Flegg said many cyclists were not aware they had
> to dismount at a crossing.
> 
> Dr Flegg said the crossings at Pullenvale Rd and Moggill Rd were not
> heavily used by pedestrians.
> 
> He asked Main Roads to look at installing lights for cyclists to continue
> riding across the crossing.
> 
> A Main Roads spokeswoman said the Department of Transport and Main Roads
> were currently assessing options to upgrade facilities on the bicycle
> network along Moggill Rd at the Western Freeway.
> 
> "Funding and timeliness for these works will be determined once the
> assessment is complete and a suitable option is prioritised," she said.
> 
> Dr Flegg said the number of cyclists in the area was "booming".
> 
> "There's about 2000 cyclists using the Western Freeway a day," Dr Flegg
> said.
> 
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