Report has ring of truth

With the help of the Victoria Park Transition Network and Vic Park Collective, Andrew Wilkinson (32) spent a few months writing the Perth Cycle Ring report that advocates the internationally accepted Dutch model of providing protected lanes for cyclists, keeping them apart from motorists and pedestrians.

The economist, who has delivered urban planning lectures at Curtin and Melbourne universities, said that people were less likely to cycle if they didn’t feel safe for the entire route of their journey.

‘The Dutch model is becoming the international standard and is a strong trend in North America where bicycle use has quadrupled in the last five years, the average number of uses for those paths has grown by 75 per cent with 90 per cent of cyclists saying that they feel safe,’ Mr Wilkinson said.

He said comparable lanes were rare in Perth but pointed to a 400m stretch between the Canning Highway overpass and Kensington Primary School that, he said, could be extended in all directions, giving access to the river and CBD and from the city to Curtin University.

The former Bicycle Transport Alliance board member said all cyclists had had close calls with motorists, citing incidents where he had deliberately been passed at close quarters at high speed or shouted at.

‘Protected bike lanes can be installed cheaply by using specifically designed plastic separation barriers, on local streets with spare road width,’ he said.

‘The Perth Cycle Ring concept is a safe, circular cycling route around the middle suburbs.

‘It connects the existing strategic bike network with train stations, universities, schools, shops and centres of employment.’

Go to http://perthcyclering.wix.com/report for more information.