HEALTHY TRANSPORT HOBART

Bikes lined up outside the TUU building

Reports from the Sandy Bay University of Tasmania Campus tell us that the Tasmanian University Bicycle User Group has been hosting super delicious breakfasts for biker riders on a few mornings this year. 

Just a reminder regarding the FREE Bike Breakfast to be held TOMORROW, Wednesday 27th May, 8.00-10.00am at the grassy area in front of the TUU Building.

Come down for a free bite to eat (delicious and healthy cereal, toast, fruit salad, yoghurt….), chill with other cyclists, and have your bike tuned and ready for the fast approaching winter! 

Weather forecast; (Absolutely nothing to be whinge about! Get some gloves on, and we’ll have a hot cuppa ready for ya when you arrive!)

WED		Light Rain. Cloudy. Cool.	23 km/h WSW	1mm (39%)	82%	9	13

Well done to Tom Luckman, Amelie Meyer and all the crew making these things happen!

An old bike is reborn

Ride Briefing

A drizzly and cold evening did not deter over 70 bike riders from joining the May Courteous Critical Mass ride in Hobart from filling the new Argyle and Campbell St Bike Lanes in a gesture of support for the development. While some motorists have reportedly ‘been left confused and angry over the new lanes’ (Mercury, 28/5/09), the ride filled over half the lanes as it travelled up to North Hobart on Friday evening.

Riders leave Franklin Square

Riding up Argyle St

The Start of the Campbell St Lanes

Hobart Cyclists riding with the monthly Courteous Critical Mass bike ride will take a detour this Friday to fill the new bike lanes on Argyle and Campbell Streets in a show of support for the project opened on Tuesday by Lord Mayor Rob Valentine and Minister Lisa Singh.

Health Advocacy group ‘Healthy Transport Hobart’ will be distributing up to 50 new bike bells to riders to ring on their way up Argyle St and down Campbell St this Friday.

Spokesperson Katie Kingshott said that she is ‘thrilled at the new lanes on her commute to and from university, but dismayed at the negative response from motorists’. “We want to make a strong point that the cycling population is growing considerably in Hobart and we are fully behind developments that improve our safety and reduce conflict with other forms of transport” she said.

Nursing and Public Health Honours Student and member of Healthy Transport Hobart, Liam Correy said that he “Hopes to make the pro bicycle transport message loud and clear with the ringing of at least 40 bells the group will provide free to riders”.

“We are deeply concerned at the animosity shown towards bicycle users in regards to registration, right to use the road and money spent on bicycle infrastructure”. “We want to put a stop to this immaturity by encouraging law abiding and safe riding so that motorists have no excuse to not respect the rights of vulnerable road users to be on the road”.

“Councils all around Australia are spending millions of dollars on bicycle infrastructure because it is an investment which equates to huge savings in health costs in the future, it is fitting that the Hobart City Council follows this lead”.

The ride will depart at 5.30pm from Franklin Square travelling up Argyle St to North Hobart and return down Burnett and Campbell Streets to Salamanca .

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/05/26/75775_lifestyle.html

Lord Mayor Rob Valentine and Minister Lisa Singh took to Argyle Street on bikes to open the new bike lane treatments on Argyle and Campbell Streets. Southern Cross and Win Local News covered the excitement!

Riders remember in front of Parliament House

Approximately 35 riders turned out to Hobart’s inaugural ride of silence 2009 which was initiated to remember the lives lost and injuries on our roads.  The ride travelled through St Davids Park along Sandy Bay Rd to the Long Beach Promenade at Lower Sandy Bay and was covered by ABC local radio, Sea Fm and Southern Cross TV.

Health Hobart Transport spokesperson, Katie Kingshott said, “We are gathering on Parliament Lawns tonight to remember all road users; motorist, motorcycle riders, cyclists and pedestrians who have suffered through no fault of their own”.

Riders listen to the briefing

 In Australia alone, road trauma costs an estimated $17 Billion dollars per year, a staggering 2.3% of Australia ’s gross domestic product (Centre fof National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2006).

 The ‘ride of silence’ is happening in over 300 cities around the world with an estimated rider tally of 22,500 participants.

 Hobart ride promoter Liam Correy is hoping that: ‘the ride can highlight the vulnerability of cyclists and pedestrians while also demonstrating the growing population of cyclists choosing a mode of transport that has far less risk of inflicting damage upon other road users”.

Breaking the silence along the Long Beach Promenade

 There is increasing evidence that higher levels of motor vehicle use increase the risk of road trauma. Therefore strategies that provide non-motorised transport options are increasingly recognised as an effective road safety strategy (Litman & Fitzroy, 2005 cited in Cycling Promotion Fund Website).

 Mr Correy said that he is “concerned by the opposition to decreased speed limits, especially in urban areas despite the research consensus world wide that points to increased speed as the single most important risk factor for serious or fatal collisions involving road users”.

 “Slowing urban traffic down is such a simple solution that costs a few minutes of someones day but would well save their whole life”.

 The World Health Organisation highlights this with research indicating that the pedestrian fatality rate is 85% when the speed is around 60km an hour, however, when the speed limit is dropped to 30 km an hour the pedestrian fatality rate is only 5%.

 Katie Kingshott concluded that she: “doesn’t want to come home one night to find that a family member or friend has been killed or injured just because the state government was so scared of public opinion that they couldn’t reduce the speed limit to levels that support the safety of vulnerable road users”.

 And big up to Singapore who had 400 odd riders in the humidity along with girls in skirts waving the riders off and giving a safety briefing.

Wednesday 13th May dawned a beautiful day for cyclists coming into town from the Newtown, North Hobart area with the beginning lines of the on street bicycle lanes providing an allocated space for cyclists on Campbell St. More progress was made that day and in the evening things got serious with a painting crew working through past 9.30pm with bike stencils and white paint!  Stay tuned for more updates, pictures and videos!

Parked Outside the Sultan Holdings Office

We  recently met with Sultan Holdings following their application to build a multilevel carpark on argyle st. Very encouraging talks were held in regards to them creating a decent bike parking, shower and locker facility at the base of the facility. Despite the fact that the new car park would bring an extra 700 cars into the central city area, we figured providing for bikes if it did go ahead would be a fantastic outcome. The most important thing we got from the meeting was that in order to get a good parking, showering and locker facility through the business sector, we have to show that there would be a strong demand. They believed they could run it for $4 a day per user if 50 cyclists used it regularly.

Inspiration came from the Cycle to City Project in Brisbane