[bikeqld] Cycling across crossings enforcement

[Ian Lister]

On Thu, 19 Mar 2009, Glen Fergus wrote:
[ Ian wrote: ]
>> ...Imagine my further surprise (OK, so I'm naive) when, at the
>> end of the breakfast, three bike cops happily cycled across the
>> marked foot crossing on North Quay:
[snip]

> Two of the three look like they're not actually ON the crossing
> Ian (though damn close).
[snip]

You're right, the photo is not the greatest, and doesn't show all three on 
the crossing. I'm not sure that's all that important, though, unless 
perhaps I were trying to prosecute the officers based on the evidence in 
the photo, which I'm not.

Although it's not shown in that photo, all three officers entered and 
exited the road using the ramps within the marked foot crossing, went out 
towards the centre of the intersection to give the pedestrians a 
respectably wide berth, then at a relaxed pace headed down to the 
Bicentennial Bikeway and out to Toowong (coincidentally the same place I 
was going). At the end of the North Quay section of separated path two of 
the officers seemed unaware that the path had become a shared path and 
continued on the wrong side of it for about ten or twenty metres, until 
their companion called out to them and narrowly averted a collision with 
some oncoming cyclists. At the Regatta lights they briefly but 
inconclusively discussed whether they should dismount to cross. When the 
lights eventually changed they did start to cross dismounted but then 
hopped back on their bikes part way across, left the boundaries of the 
marked foot crossing, and headed off down Sylvan Rd, mostly sticking to 
the bike lane where it exists, but sometimes straying out into the 
general traffic lane.

In short they acted just as most other ordinary cyclists do every day. 
Nothing to be particularly surprised or concerned about, other than being 
at a slightly higher risk of disgruntlement when they (the QPS) then hold 
other ordinary cyclists to a higher standard by warning or charging them 
for committing any of the above offences, as they were doing on Tuesday.

Ian