Jeremy Murray, a Parkwood resident, said ahead of Ride2Work Day tomorrow that the number one reason people did not ride was the fear of being hit by a car, which could sometimes be beaten up in the media as a ‘war’ between cars and bikes.
The aim of Ride2Work Day is to encourage Australians to get back on their bikes and ride to work.
Mr Murray said it would be good to see a mutual respect between cyclists and drivers when it came to using the roads.
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READ NOW“The first thing we don’t need is media beating up a story about cars versus bikes and bike rage,” he said.
“The perceived fear is the number one reason why people don’t ride a bike.”
Mr Murray said there had been improvements to cycle paths in WA, especially on the freeway path from Mandurah to the Perth CBD, which he described as “world class”.
“It is a challenge connecting the suburbs,” he said.
“The State Government and local councils investing in good infrastructure in bike lanes can encourage people to ride bikes.
“If they see the designated space, they can see it is easy to go from home to work.”
A survey by the Australian Bicycle Council in July found that WA had the highest cycling participation rate of any state in the nation.
Mr Murray said population growth and traffic congestion were among the reasons more West Australians were getting on their bicycles.