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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-07-23 Daily Xml
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STATE CYCLING STRATEGY

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. M. Parnell:

That the Legislative Council notes—

1. The following actions under objective 2 of the State Cycling Strategy (entitled Safety in Numbers)—

(a) include in all new urban road projects or road upgrades safe, direct and attractive cycling facilities that are planned, designed, constructed and maintained in accordance with 'Austroads, Guide to Traffic Engineering Par 14—Bicycles'; and

(b) extend and improve cycling routes along dedicated public transport corridors (e.g. Glenelg Tramway and the Willunga-Marino Rail Corridor);

2. State government investment of over $500,000 so far on creating an uninterrupted cycle pathway between Glenelg and the city as part of the City of Glenelg tramway cycling route project;

3. Strong support for a shared use pathway for pedestrians and cyclists across South Road as part of the public consultation on the South Road Upgrade Glenelg Tram Overpass project;

4. The need for major transport infrastructure in response to declining fuel supplies and the need to reduce greenhouse pollution, to include appropriate facilities for cyclists and pedestrians;

5. Poorer public health outcomes in the western suburbs of Adelaide, emphasising the importance of providing active transport opportunities; and

6. The negative impact on traffic flow along South Road if an on-demand street level crossing is provided to cyclists and pedestrians to enable safe passage across South Road;

and calls on the state government to ensure that the proposed tram overpass across South Road at Black Forest includes a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians along the elevated platform tram corridor.

(Continued from 18 June 2008. Page 3352.)

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (17:47): I rise to speak on behalf of the opposition in support of this motion, particularly in relation to the bike path overpass over the tramline on South Road. I am sure that, when the minister makes a contribution shortly, she will talk about the important announcement that she and the Minister for Transport made last night. I think that it is important to acknowledge that this has been a backflip by the government as a result of pressure brought to bear by a range of lobby groups. An article on page 32 of the paper today states:

The state government is to design a bicycle overpass for the northern side of the Glenelg tramway overpass following public pressure. The Advertiser revealed last month that a planned cycle and pedestrian path on the South Road tram overpass had been dumped. The move angered lobby groups, who said that the amended plans would block the popular 10-kilometre tramway cycling route. Minister Patrick Conlon and road safety minister, Carmel Zollo, last night announced a plan to build a bicycle facility.

I think this is an example of good, sensible pressure on government, in a parliamentary sense, by members here and by the public organisations, such as Bike SA, and a whole range of other lobby groups. While I know that we have a hefty agenda of private members' business, I will make a few comments and let the minister speak, after which the Hon. Mark Parnell may wish to sum up, and we may get this done before dinner.

Given our increasing fuel prices, increasing awareness of and reaction to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, and a community awareness that we need to be more active, there has been a tremendous increase in cycling over a number of years. In particular, I will mention some of the very important and groundbreaking initiatives the Hon. Diana Laidlaw launched when she was minister for transport in the previous Liberal government.

We are certainly seeing all over the world now a whole range of initiatives where bikes are made readily available by governments for people to actually pick up and ride. I noticed recently looking at a website called Biking Barcelona, there was a model where—and this is a pretty broad description of it—the government owns many thousands of bikes and they are situated at stations all over the city. I will use my example of living in Mitcham. I could wander to the Mitcham bike station, hop on a bike, ride into the city on a protected bike lane that kept me safe from other traffic, dump the bike at a registered station here in the city, go about my daily work here in Parliament House and then if it was cold, or wet, or I had other meetings or other commitments, I would not necessarily have to ride home because I had already dumped that bike back into the station.

There are initiatives like that all over the world, and I think they are groundbreaking initiatives and something that we need to look to as a state as to how we can actually encourage more cycling and having dedicated shared pedestrian and bike paths. Taking the bikes out of mainstream traffic is certainly an important step forward, certainly for my own personal safety but also as a parent of three children. I would love to see them riding a lot more, but I also want to make sure they are safe.

I certainly support the government. I would not necessarily say I congratulate it for doing it, but I congratulate it for realising that it had got it wrong and that the public and parliamentary pressure was such that it needed to do something about it.

I will just quickly mention some of the things the Hon. Diana Laidlaw did. On 31 March 1999, we saw a spectacular increase in the number of bicycles carried on trains as a result of the 'Bikes travel free' government initiative that led to an expansion of the scheme and funding for the upgrade of rail cars. I think few people realise that that was certainly an initiative of the Hon. Diana Laidlaw.

It is interesting to look at some of the facts and figures. In January 1998, TransAdelaide carried 4,500 bikes on its trains, and in January 1999—12 months later—that number had doubled, so you can see that there was actually a market there for that sort of initiative. We have had a major focus in South Australia on bicycles. We have had the 'Bikes free on trains' initiative and the Tour Down Under bicycle race. Unfortunately we have seen some misjudgements with the government's commitment in relation to the Tour Down Under. We have been hosting the Australasian VelOZity bicycle conference and we are helping South Australians to realise that cycling is healthy, environmentally sound, socially responsible and fun for transport.

We also saw that in May 1999 local government received an extra $750,000 to help with cycling initiatives, and that was part of the $2.3 million the Liberal government set aside for council bike subsidies. In August 1999, the state government announced $2 million for a partnership with local government authorities throughout the state to fund cycling projects.

Then, in November 2000, the minister of transport the Hon. Diana Laidlaw announced that Golden Grove was to get its first park-and-ride commuter facility, not only for cars but for bicycles as well. There was actually a commitment to provide cycling facilities and a safe lock-up area for bicycles at Golden Grove.

In 2001, the state government was entering a $2 million partnership with local authorities throughout the state to fund cycling projects such as the installation of bike lanes across metropolitan and regional South Australia, construction of off-road cycle paths, implementation of local area bike plans, delivery of a Bike-Ed program for primary school children and a variety of promotional activities to encourage cycling.

Mr President, you can see that the Liberal Party has had a long and proud history of supporting cycling in this state and, as I said, we are pleased that the government has bowed to the pressure of the lobby groups and common sense and has agreed to build this bike path.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (17:54): Clearly this government does recognise the value of cycling and indeed aims to promote cycling and walking as alternative forms of transport to motor vehicles. Yes, Adelaide's landscape and climate are conducive to cycling, and we are focused on encouraging more people to cycle and providing more facilities and infrastructure for people to do so. We know that safe cycling and the provision of good cycling infrastructure are important to both the environment and the health of the community, and we understand that cycling safety is a critical deciding factor for people as to whether they take up cycling or cycle more than they already do.

This financial year, funds totalling $2.15 million have been specifically allocated for cycling facilities and the safety program provided in South Australia. This includes over half a million dollars for cycling education and the Tour Down Under sponsorship, as well as BikeEd, a nationally accredited bicycle education program provided to South Australian primary school students aged between nine and 13 years. About 4,000 children receive the safety and wellbeing training each year, with approximately 38,000 children having undertaken the program.

An amount of $450,000 has been allocated for the Arterial Road Bicycle Facilities Program to improve cycling conditions and safety on arterial roads, including intersection modifications and the installation of bicycle lanes. Bicycle lanes are installed by a combination of methods: the reallocation of available road space, road widening and the restriction of on-road parking. An amount of $738,000 has been quarantined for the State Black Spot Cycling Project and $431,000 for the State Bicycle Fund. Subsidy funds are made available to councils on an up to dollar for dollar basis for the development and implementation of suitable cycling initiatives, some of which I have already placed on record.

In early 2006, the government released Safety in Numbers—A Cycling Strategy for South Australia 2006-10. The strategy provides a framework for all state government departments and agencies to promote more people cycling safely more often. The vision of the strategy is that cycling is embraced throughout the community as an activity that contributes significant health, environmental, economic and social benefits for all South Australians.

Safety in Numbers outlines how cycling contributes to multiple targets in South Australia's Strategic Plan. The strategy commits the government to providing safe facilities for cyclists in all new arterial road projects or road upgrades in urbanised areas. So, as part of the general road upgrades, even more cycling facilities will be constructed in the coming year to improve the cycling network.

Honourable members would be aware that we made an announcement today that a bicycle overpass for the northern side of the Glenelg Tram Overpass project will be designed as a further step to provide free-flow traffic on South Road. This government is aware of the importance attached to an overpass for cyclists across South Road, however, some construction issues needed to be taken into account. A number of complex issues needed to be addressed, including: the potential to retain tram services during construction, minimising the impact on significant trees and major underground services. In particular, we believe that a bicycle overpass on the northern side will minimise the impact on significant trees.

I am advised that only 50 cyclists currently cross South Road near the tram crossing, but it is expected, and accepted, that this number will increase as further sections of the city to Glenelg cycling route are completed. The City of Marion is currently designing a section to the north of the Morphettville Racecourse, and council is to be commended for its initiative in this regard.

I can assure the chamber that this is not a backflip or a backdown, as it has just been described. A great deal of work has been put into this project for a very long time. Many technical difficulties needed to be overcome and a number of design and construction solutions needed to be explored before an announcement could be made. Nevertheless, the government has undertaken a great deal of community consultation about the issue and, despite there being concerns, the community was assured that this project was being given serious consideration, but more time was needed to explore all the options to ensure that the best decision was made.

Community consultation has occurred to get the project to the stage where it can be designed and built to completion. I know from my colleague in the other place, the member for Ashford (Hon. Steph Key), that there has been considerable interest in the issue of pedestrian access on the South Road tram overpass. I am aware that there has been a great deal of consultation with residents in the Ashford area about issues relating to cycling and pedestrians and, in particular, issues with respect to schools and aged-care housing and the communities that will be served by the overpass.

I know that the community has been very active about this issue and that the South Road Neighbourhood Action Group, which meets in the office of the member for Ashford, has been meeting with officers of the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure for some time. The South Road Neighbourhood Action Group has been very vocal in raising issues relating to pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users, such as those in wheelchairs, or access for elderly pedestrians on walking frames.

Many of these issues have been resolved, with the member for Ashford and the local neighbourhood action group working together on solutions to ensure that vulnerable road users have the best access to crossings and that pedestrian safety is paramount. The member for Ashford should be commended for her work around these issues.

Since coming to office, the Rann Labor government has been delivering to the cyclists of South Australia. The announcement of the inclusion of a cycle overpass over South Road to continue the Glenelg tramway cycle route will please many of the state's cyclists. The overpass will form an integral part of the Tramway Park project and will provide a safe and convenient way for pedestrians and cyclists alike to cross South Road. The new bridge is another step towards Tramway Park becoming a reality.

The Glenelg tramway bike route is already very popular with commuter cyclists. They currently use the paralleling roads to travel between Glenelg and the CBD via Unley. For those members who are not aware, Tramway Park will one day be a new linear park along the length of the Adelaide to Glenelg tram corridor, a distance of 10 kilometres. The linear park will provide a formal green travel corridor along the tramline between South Terrace in the city and Brighton Road, with the bridge being a key part of this.

For the information of members, the Tramway Park Concept Plan was coordinated by Planning SA and jointly funded by local government (the Cities of Adelaide, Unley, Marion, West Torrens and Holdfast Bay) in consultation with a number of state government agencies, including DTEI. The provision of a bridge over South Road will complement the four signalised crossings of arterial roads already constructed by DTEI at Morphett Road, Cross Road, Marion Road and Goodwood Road and the existing shared use paths in Unley and Plympton. The construction of the bridge will provide a fillip for the complete development of Tramway Park.

There now needs to be support from the councils along the route to play their part in developing the route further. The City of Marion is currently doing this, with the intention to begin construction in early 2009 of the vital missing link of the route along Morphettville Racecourse. DTEI is providing financial assistance of $100,000 to the council for this link, together with Planning SA, which is providing a major contribution of funding towards completing this key section. So, whilst further work is to be undertaken over the next two to three years, we will see some exciting development.

I would like to place on record the contribution of the Hon. Mark Parnell in progressing this issue and diligently representing the interests of the cycling community. We all know that he is a keen cyclist and advocates for other cyclists. However, I again place on the record that this is not a backflip. Important engineering considerations were required: it is part of a very important cycling corridor. So, I again thank the Hon. Mark Parnell, but we as a government are committed to ensuring that, where possible, new developments include cycling infrastructure, and encouraging the design and development of new projects that consider the needs of all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians.

The Hon. M. PARNELL (18:00): I will be very brief. I thank the Hon. David Ridgway for his support for the motion. I also thank the minister in particular for her announcement today giving effect to the substance of the motion, which is to ensure that we do get a cycle facility across South Road. This is a victory for common sense, and I am very pleased that the government has listened to the community on this one.

For the benefit of members, I understand that the rally proposed for next Sunday will now be called off. I know a number of members would have wanted to attend, but I think that they can now make other arrangements for Sunday. I know that the members of the Bicycle Institute of South Australia and Bicycle SA are looking forward to working with the government on finetuning the proposals for this overpass. In particular, we need to ensure that, if the overpass is to be on the north side of the tram overpass, it does adequately connect with the bulk of the cycle route which is on the south side of the tram route.

In relation to the minister's comment about the small number of people who currently seek to cross South Road at this point, that is precisely because there is no crossing and it is very difficult to cross South Road. I am sure vast numbers of people will use this commuter route once the government has the Glenelg to city cycleway fully in place. This will be an important addition to that route. With those words, I thank members for supporting the motion.

Motion carried.

[Sitting suspended from 18:03 to 19:45]


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