ABC VIDEO: Are our cities ready for the coming cycling revolution?

[Thoglette]

Are our cities ready for the coming cycling revolution?

Australia is going through a slow but steady cycling revolution. It's a welcome trend – cycling is good for both health and the environment.

But while more people are taking up cycling, are our cities ready? Peter McCutcheon reports.

QLD focused interview (with transcript)
PROF. MATTHEW BURKE, GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY:
RACHEL NOLAN, CHAIR BICYCLE QLD
plus two vox-pops.

Mostly re-stating the bleeding obvious, including that we used to cycle and that the problem is our modern traffic and lack of alternatives.

[blizzard]

It might be restating the obvious, but a lot of the general public believe that cars are the only way to get around. So anything that raises awareness is welcome.

[rkelsen]

That's an easy one.

Yes, the cities are ready... It's the people that aren't.

Of course our little corner of the internet is well aware of the benefits, but there was one time when I was called a scumbag by a relative for using the roads and not paying rego, fuel excise or GST. They reckoned they were funding my free (!) trips to work.

We've got talkback hosts all over the country who are dead against anything to do with cycling or the promotion of it.

Unfortunately, the anti-cycling rhetoric runs deep across this country, and because of that there will never be a so-called "cycling revolution."

[trailgumby]

Unfortunately, the anti-cycling rhetoric runs deep across this country, and because of that there will never be a so-called "cycling revolution."

Don't mean to be rude, but that attitude guarantees it. You're conceding defeat before entering the fight.

Will it be hard? Hell, yes. Are the murdoch and stokes fossil fuel friendly media empires against it? Definitely. But is defeat inevitable? Absolutely not. Will there be setbacks? Of course. Can the truth win? That's inevitable ... but it depends on us, and possibly those who come after us.

In our favour is simple geography. 40% of our urban land area is already taken up with roads. We have a housing affordabilty crisis driven by lack of supply in the areas where people actually want to live, so giving an even greater share to roads just won't fly. The simple truth is we can't fit more cars on the roads. We have to use what we have more efficiently.

That means shifting mode share to micro-mobility. Bikes. e-bikes. Scooters.

We're seeing signs already with TfNSW's road user space allocation policy putting private motor vehicles last.

Like water on stone, the steady drip of truth will wear down the motor centric mindset if only we stay the course.

[Cyclophiliac]

Unfortunately, the anti-cycling rhetoric runs deep across this country, and because of that there will never be a so-called "cycling revolution."

Don't mean to be rude, but that attitude guarantees it. You're conceding defeat before entering the fight.

I've cycled in Australia most of my life, and I've never seen cycling anything but marginalised here. I agree there will never be a cycling "revolution", my observations for the last 50 years supports that. I just can't be bothered even trying anymore to convince people in this country that cycling is good for the country.

[rkelsen]

Don't mean to be rude, but that attitude guarantees it. You're conceding defeat before entering the fight.

I'm a rider, not a fighter.

Don't get me wrong. I'll happily sell the benefits to anyone who'll listen. But those are few and far between. There are only a couple of family members I can talk about it with, and we daren't raise the subject at Christmas dinner.

[Mububban]

Don't get me wrong. I'll happily sell the benefits to anyone who'll listen. But those are few and far between. There are only a couple of family members I can talk about it with, and we daren't raise the subject at Christmas dinner.

Yep, even my own dad who knows how much I cycle still says things in my company about "bloody cyclists" etc etc. And you know, I don't even know how passionately he truly hates us as a group really. He's not a hate-filled person. But he just appears conditioned by a lifetime of media exposure, and not having ridden a bike since childhood, so it's an automatic reflex to repeat negative talking points whenever the subject arises.

I reckon it's the same with his mild anti-gay comments. I've never seen him ever have a problem with anyone based on race, religion etc but he'll say the typical old things almost like it's expected, not because he truly believes it.

Which is very different to the very real animosity I've experienced in person while cycling.

Humans are strange.

[g-boaf]

Don't get me wrong. I'll happily sell the benefits to anyone who'll listen. But those are few and far between. There are only a couple of family members I can talk about it with, and we daren't raise the subject at Christmas dinner.

Yep, even my own dad who knows how much I cycle still says things in my company about "bloody cyclists" etc etc. And you know, I don't even know how passionately he truly hates us as a group really. He's not a hate-filled person. But he just appears conditioned by a lifetime of media exposure, and not having ridden a bike since childhood, so it's an automatic reflex to repeat negative talking points whenever the subject arises.

I reckon it's the same with his mild anti-gay comments. I've never seen him ever have a problem with anyone based on race, religion etc but he'll say the typical old things almost like it's expected, not because he truly believes it.

Which is very different to the very real animosity I've experienced in person while cycling.

Humans are strange.

All you can do is try to make arguments against the usual media negative talking points.

Our cities can take the cycling improvements no problem and there are loads of easy wins, especially out in Western Sydney where I am - simple things like fixing up missing links, adding lights to existing cycleways so they are safer at night for everyone who uses them.

[warthog1]

Don't mean to be rude, but that attitude guarantees it. You're conceding defeat before entering the fight.

Will it be hard? Hell, yes. Are the murdoch and stokes fossil fuel friendly media empires against it? Definitely. But is defeat inevitable? Absolutely not. Will there be setbacks? Of course. Can the truth win? That's inevitable ... but it depends on us, and possibly those who come after us.

In our favour is simple geography. 40% of our urban land area is already taken up with roads. We have a housing affordabilty crisis driven by lack of supply in the areas where people actually want to live, so giving an even greater share to roads just won't fly. The simple truth is we can't fit more cars on the roads. We have to use what we have more efficiently.

That means shifting mode share to micro-mobility. Bikes. e-bikes. Scooters.

We're seeing signs already with TfNSW's road user space allocation policy putting private motor vehicles last.

Like water on stone, the steady drip of truth will wear down the motor centric mindset if only we stay the course.

There are some good points there, and it is different elsewhere I believe. Holland, Denmark, France and other places.
We have a long way to go unfortunately.
When I do visit Melbourne there are some changes, more painted paths and more people on bikes. Still a very small percentage of travel mode it appears.
Where I am in Bendigo, I think it is actually getting less safe.
Covid and house prices are pushing/drawing people out of the city and increasing the population outside of the major centres.
Driver distraction is getting worse as has traffic density.
I have bailed to an extent. Very choosy where and when I ride. More gravel and places away from cars. It is far more pleasant and there is less chance of being run down.

I CBFed fighting the fight as an advocate . I don't see the chance of positive change very likely but it is good there are those who do. The more advocating the higher the chance of positive change.

I see the best chance of getting people out of cars will be electric mobility devices.
If that accelerates it will bring issues with idiots on them, an idiot on an electric scooter is less likely to kill me than one in a car.

[brumby33]

This is somewhat tongue in cheek but we need to find a word terminology that shames those against those who choose bicycles to get around.
So what can we minority Bicycle riders call those and shame those who are against us.....seems that being labeled tends to be the popular defense tactic these days. It appears there's a certain mob that's using the rainbow signage these days and seem to be gaining traction around the world, just like cancel culture.
Could we say perhaps, No I'm not a cyclist or bicyclist, I'm non-binary transport user, I cannot be defined by the way I choose to get around

[fat and old]

Soooooooo non PC thee.