War on cars

[warthog1]

Armed cyclist.
Well I am glad we don't have the legal right to do similar, but it has caused discussion about the safety of cyclists perhaps

https://road.cc/content/news/florida-ma ... ate-303035

[mikesbytes]

Armed cyclist.
Well I am glad we don't have the legal right to do similar, but it has caused discussion about the safety of cyclists perhaps

https://road.cc/content/news/florida-ma ... ate-303035

I'm not exactly sure what is holding up all those flashing lights but its not as obvious as this one

[warthog1]

[foo on patrol]

Have a mate that worked in Saudi for 10yrs and he always carried a large knife with him, when out riding.

Foo

[baabaa]

worth a look
[shareyoutube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obs9Xh875Lg[/shareyoutube]

[Cyclophiliac]

I wasn't sure what other thread to post this in:
According to https://www.theage.com.au/national/vict ... 5dzd5.html ,

They [VicRoads] said that more than 180 kilometres of walking and cycling connections had been built as part of major infrastructure projects, including underneath elevated “skyrail” train lines, with 320 kilometres more planned

It sounds good, right? Not really. According to https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/parkin ... roads.aspx ,

There are over 342 kilometres of roads within the municipality of Melbourne

That means the total road distance in the Greater Melbourne area is so much more, which makes the figure from the first article I quoted a lot less impressive. We're still a car-dominated city, and our walking/cycling infrastructure has so much room for improvement.

I could have searched for more related articles, but it was getting me pretty depressed, so I stopped.

[g-boaf]

War on cars gets heated, tyre slashing:

https://www.news.com.au/technology/moto ... 646d826dfc

Wonder if it's okay to slash the tyres of those activists too? Can I assume they drive a car too... That means they are part of the problem.

Cars are the problem, regardless of type.

[find_bruce]

War on cars gets heated, tyre slashing:

https://www.news.com.au/technology/moto ... 646d826dfc

Wonder if it's okay to slash the tyres of those activists too? Can I assume they drive a car too... That means they are part of the problem.

Cars are the problem, regardless of type.

Tyres are deflated rather than slashed - either depressing or removing the valve. Be an interesting argument whether letting the air out is criminal damage or maybe offensive conduct

[g-boaf]

Saw petrol at almost 245 per litre! RON95 and not even 98.

That’s about the highest I’ve seen it.

[Thoglette]

Car sharing in residential developments could be key to reducing inner-city traffic congestion
ABC Gold Coast Mackenzie Colahan

Problems with congestion can't be solved with more cars, more road space, more parking.

What history has taught us in every other city is the real solution is less cars.

[elantra]

Car sharing in residential developments could be key to reducing inner-city traffic congestion
ABC Gold Coast Mackenzie Colahan

Problems with congestion can't be solved with more cars, more road space, more parking.

What history has taught us in every other city is the real solution is less cars.

There’s an entrenched public perception that “ownership” of a car (or similar 4 wheel vehicle) also implies “ownership” of the right to claim public roadspace for parking.

This obviously does not pass the any logical thought process but since when have motor cars been associated with logic ?

As far as I can see our major population centres are being white-anted by too many cars, not just moving on the streets but also being parked on the streets- usually for free !

Decades ago, cars were expensive items and only the wealthiest people had more than one car in their ownership. And of course cars were on average, smaller than they are now (on average)

There is one part of the Gold Coast where a lot of medium density units have been built recently, on either side of a popular bicycle route.
It’s pathetic how the City Council has failed to protect the integrity of the road - and the cycling route- by failing to mandate NO PARKING on this road.
It is now a shambles of parked cars with a frightfully narrow roadspace which is now very intimidating to cyclists because there is barely enough space for one car on what is left of “the road”

This sort of nonsense is presumably occurring on a huge scale in all major and provincial cities in Australia.
All because PEOPLE OWN TOO MANY CARS THESE DAYS.
And think that public roadspace is ideal for their “storage”

Now obviously one “solution” for this problem would be for Councils to make it mandatory for all new unit and townhouse developments to have off-street parking for 4 cars !!!
But that is plainly ridiculous when we are seeing the national consequences of the cost of providing housing being so high as it is now.

The best solution would be for councils to grow some kohunas and make residential streets off limits for all day parking.

Get serious Councils, paint some yellow lines along the sides of streets, and get the local towies to police it ! They would love to be paid to “free up” some roadspace!
It would make so many people realise that having more than one car is a luxury that our cities and in fact the Planet can ill afford.
Rant over !

[jasonc]

well said elantra

[blizzard]

Look at West End in Brisbane, they built a heap of apartments, and almost no new active transport or road infrastructure. Traffic is terrible, they aren't doing a lot to entice people out of their cars or into share vehicles. It would be the perfect area for the use of cargo bikes if there were safe cycling routes available.

[Thoglette]

Get serious Councils, paint some yellow lines along the sides of streets, and get the local towies to police it ! They would love to be paid to “free up” some roadspace!

Meanwhile over in Wait Awhile, that’s exactly what the Perth Council does on clear ways in the CBD.
Most entertaining for those sitting in street side bars

[brumby33]

Agreed 100%, and it gets worse around schools when the cotton wool kids get picked up and dropped off, it's crazy, when i was a kid, the only time I ever got picked up from school was when it was absolutely pouring with rain, the rest of the time i just walked.

In Japan in most parts, there are no on-street parking at all, if a business doesn't have registered car parking, you can't take your car there and is why public transport or cycling is one of the main forms of transport.

Just in my in-law's area, there are multi- level bicycle parking, no such car parking. There may be a few exceptions like around some larger train stations but they are more or less pick up and drop off zones or very time limited.

I seen this huge RAM pick-up the other day parked in a school zone here in Albury, it wasn't one of the smaller ones but the 2500 which are huge and too damned big for Australian roads, mr Show-off was waiting to pick up his 2 kids from school.......fairdinkum!! They almost as wide as a Prime mover. I reckon those huge utes need to be restricted.

Yesterday, one of our bus drivers accidently clipped the front of a car waiting near a school to do the cotton wool kids pick-up, the road in question was a designated bus route, cars were parked on both sides and almost no room for the bus to park, now our company is up for fixing said car all because they wanted to take up the entire street on both sides.

Albury is mostly flat and usually a very safe place to ride bicycles, many kids I see ride their bikes to and from school but those who won't allow it, have got to use their behemoth SUV to pick their little darlings up day in and day out.

[elantra]

Agreed 100%, and it gets worse around schools when the cotton wool kids get picked up and dropped off, it's crazy, when i was a kid, the only time I ever got picked up from school was when it was absolutely pouring with rain, the rest of the time i just walked.

In Japan in most parts, there are no on-street parking at all, if a business doesn't have registered car parking, you can't take your car there and is why public transport or cycling is one of the main forms of transport.

Just in my in-law's area, there are multi- level bicycle parking, no such car parking. There may be a few exceptions like around some larger train stations but they are more or less pick up and drop off zones or very time limited.

I seen this huge RAM pick-up the other day parked in a school zone here in Albury, it wasn't one of the smaller ones but the 2500 which are huge and too damned big for Australian roads, mr Show-off was waiting to pick up his 2 kids from school.......fairdinkum!! They almost as wide as a Prime mover. I reckon those huge utes need to be restricted…..
(Snip)

There’s obviously some people who have way too much money - I think these “2500” Utes start at 145,000 dollars new.
Actually they are Chevrolet Silverado, but you are excused for calling them a “Ram” because they all look the same, and these days it’s hard to keep track of which huge Automotive company owns which brands
But seriously it is just nuts that these dinosaurs have become all the rage… like a fashion accessory.
Is the “greed is good” mantra a thing again- I thought that went out 30 years ago!

I thought that a more recent imperative in an increasingly populated Australia was “user pays”, which is a nice way of saying that we Aussies don’t really want to ban anything but we (our civic leaders) will make you pay extra for the privilege of using things that are in short supply- like urban roads and school pickup areas.
In other words, we should expect to pay SIGNIFICANTLY MORE registration fees to use a SILVERADO than a COROLLA in congested urban areas, as above.

The failure of our governments to do anything to tackle issues like this is more than just annoying.
It is a potential environmental disaster in the making, and it adds vastly to the effects of congestion such as stress, impatience and loss of productivity.

Furthermore it results in the rise of vigilantism, such as the activists who are reportedly letting down the tyres of large vehicles etc.
it’s the old story, if the governments that are supposed to do things to protect us fail to protect us, then people start to take the law into their own hands

[jasonc]

it’s the old story, if the governments that are supposed to do things to protect us fail to protect us, then people start to take the law into their own hands

Like bike cameras and YouTube channels

Registration is the wrong angle. Registration pays for the registration system. We need a congestion tax. Base it on the size of the vehicle. Of course most people buying these behemoths probably have them registered as business vehicles for tax write off bs...

[elantra]

Yes Jason, that’s really what I am really saying….

On congested roads / areas etc I’m sure that technology would allow for vehicle sensors to be “pinged” and a toll imposed, based on the vehicle size etc.

And of course the toll could be variable based on the time of day, so that if a Parent expects to be able to drive a Silverado 2500 from Forest Lake (a Brisbane outer suburb) to BBC at Toowong to pick up little Johnny at a peak time of day, then the amount of revenue will make him/her think twice about their choice of vehicle.

In fact it might result in the Parent deciding that little Johnny can make use of the Public transport system
And furthermore the revenue derived from a “congestion tax” could be used perhaps to get better government services and infrastructure !

[jasonc]

I've said it for a long time. Private schools should include a go card with the yearly fees to encourage little johnny out of the silverado
"We've paid for it already, you will use it"

[brumby33]

Most of those big utes, American Pick-ups are owned by a Company of some kind but are usually usdd to tow the behemoth caravans or offroad campers, the difference is that they don't attract a Fringe Benefits tax like a car tupe SUV or car.
Even your Ford Ranger or Mazda ute qualifies as FBT free.

Thats why there's so many of them.

[mikesbytes]

Congestion tax could be modelled on somewhere else where it already happens, London come to mind

[brumby33]

Congestion tax could be modelled on somewhere else where it already happens, London come to mind

I'm surprised Dan Andrews hasn't bought it in already....he's a bit strapped atm

[Shred11]

… think that public roadspace is ideal for their “storage”

I really don’t understand why we permit cars to be stored on public streets. It’s one thing to park in the street while visiting a business or friends, but nobody should be allowed to keep their car on the street every night.

Near my home, there are two narrow, dangerous roads with very little parking at all. Each road has had an old bomb parked there that has not moved for years (I’m not exaggerating - I worked out from stored dashcam footage when they had last moved). As long as the owners keep the cars registered, the council cannot remove them. One has now been vandalised and is clearly unroadworthy. Cost of rego here is around $600 per year. You try to store a car in a proper storage facility for that: you cannot do it, the storage places would charge at least double.

[mikesbytes]

I'm surprised Dan Andrews hasn't bought it in already....he's a bit strapped atm

The opposition party in Vic has imploded so Dan could do whatever he wants at the moment

… think that public roadspace is ideal for their “storage”

I really don’t understand why we permit cars to be stored on public streets. It’s one thing to park in the street while visiting a business or friends, but nobody should be allowed to keep their car on the street every night.

Near my home, there are two narrow, dangerous roads with very little parking at all. Each road has had an old bomb parked there that has not moved for years (I’m not exaggerating - I worked out from stored dashcam footage when they had last moved). As long as the owners keep the cars registered, the council cannot remove them. One has now been vandalised and is clearly unroadworthy. Cost of rego here is around $600 per year. You try to store a car in a proper storage facility for that: you cannot do it, the storage places would charge at least double.

I see debate on my local FB groups about the parking of trailers etc etc

[g-boaf]

The opposition party in Vic has imploded so Dan could do whatever he wants at the moment

First thing the opposition could do to turn things around is start a war on cyclists, paint them all as crazy socialists who don't deserve to be allowed on roads, let alone paths. Push that into a frenzy like the "stopping the boats" and they will win.