Bayside Leader: “My Melbourne Survey: Bayside’s public enemy No. 1″
A startling percentage of Bayside residents have pointed to bike riders as the biggest problem on our roads.
The Leader Community Newspapers’ My Melbourne survey reveals that 15 per cent of Bayside residents – three times the Melbourne average – think cyclists were their No. 1 traffic issue. More than 8000 responses from 33 council areas were analysed for the citywide survey.
Bicycle Victoria spokesman Garry Brennan said the results reflected that on weekends, Beach Rd has Australia’s highest concentration of cyclists – 7500 people ride from 6am to 10am on Saturdays and Sundays.
“You have bikes outnumbering cars three to one, so it is understandable that locals feel somewhat disconcerted,” Mr Brennan said.
He said this showed there was a need for a weekend clearway to be introduced on Beach Rd.
Sandringham Hospital director of emergency services Dr James Taylor said the survey results were to be expected “given the high profile cyclists have in Bayside”. The hospital’s emergency department treats about 140 cyclists each year.
Beach Rd Cyclist Group spokesman Marcel Lema said he thought the percentage of residents who considered cyclists to be the No. 1 problem would be higher and more education was needed for drivers and riders to co-exist safely.
Bayside’s Traffic Management Unit Acting Sen-Sgt Herb Lonsing said people must remember roads were a shared resource.
RACV traffic and transport chief engineer Peter Daly said eight out of 10 people believed governments should prioritise improvements to make cycling safer.
Results for the My Melbourne survey can be viewed at leadernewspapers.com.au, see link http://more.leadernews.com.au/mymelbourne/ for more details.
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I wish more of us would tell the foolish ones of us to obey the road laws along beach road so the local paper doesn’t have anything to say,about us,every week.I ride on beach rd.every day and every day I see at least one idiot doing the wrong thing on a bicycle.Not to mention the countless drivers doing almost anything you can imagine wrong.Keep it real guys.
The only reason bayside residents don’t like cyclists is because of the local paper.However they don’t see that these people bring bussiness to local shops and cafes every weekend,even supporting local bussinesses during other times simply because they have seen them while cycling through the area on weekends.
Hang on. 15%? That’s not bad. That’s a minority in my view. And 5% (3 times) for the rest of Melbourne? Again that’s a small minority. It’s obvious most motorists respect and don’t mind cyclists on the road, but we have media going bezerk supporting the view of minority drivers that probably don’t even know what a bicycle is.
Sounds like the residents in the bayside area need to perhaps reconsider their view of cyclists. Motor vehicles and idiot drivers kill people, every day. Cyclists may inconvenience you. Take a deep breath, share the roads, and enjoy life while you can.