Dear Minister,
Every day I take my life out of my own hands, and into the hands of others who are around me. Every morning, Monday to Friday, I ride from my home in Bundoora into the city, and then back home again. My route takes me down Plenty Road to Bell Street, and then St Georges Road and Brunswick Street into the city.
It is a route that is busy and dangerous. I am often verbally abused by drivers for no reason, passengers lean out and scream at me, and on occasion have had drivers deliberately drive too close to me. I have tried alternative routes but they too have their own safety issues. My route is the best of a bad bunch of options.
I love to ride my bike and I do it well. I have ridden professionally as well as having spent many months cycle touring in many places around the world. My commute in Melbourne each day fills me with more fear and concern than any of my previous experiences of cycling: be it racing or riding with road traffic.
I would like to share with you an exchange I had with a driver this morning.
I turned onto Plenty Road from Grimshaw Street in Bundoora and commenced heading south, riding appropriately on the left hand side of the left lane. Cars were passing me easily, and I know they can do this here as the lane width is generous.
A white Toyota landcruiser (WIR 665) came past what I felt was unnecessarily close. I instinctively felt a need to move further left, although there was not much capacity for me to do this. The initial concern for my own safety was replaced by horror as I realised the Toyota was pulling a wide caravan. It must have missed me by millimetres, and I gasped at just how close I was to being knocked down and seriously injured or killed. I was speechless.
The landcruiser pulled up at the next set of lights at Greenwood Drive, and I was able to ride up alongside the caravan-pulling driver. I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps, despite this clear day with great visibility, he hadn’t seen me. It is possible, as many drivers use this excuse when they hit cyclists.
So I stopped next to the driver and I waved at him. It was a wave of ‘hello! I am here!’ and delivered with enthusiasm. He looked at me a bit shocked, and then waved back with equal energy. Except he didn't smile. Still, perhaps I was right to give him the benefit of the doubt. I was comforted that if he wasn’t beforehand, he was now aware that a cyclist was on the road and that he needs to consider his driving actions to accommodate both road users.
He wound down his window. I said to him, ‘Just so you know, I have a family and a daughter’. I said this because sometimes people classify cyclists only by how they appear, and not because they are people with feelings and families.
He replied:
“Who gives a fuck? Why don’t you get off the fucking road?”
It was delivered with venom and hatred, and with what I believe was a complete disregard for my life.
He wound up his window and continued to speak angrily, but I was unable to hear what was said. I saw his mouth form a few more words beginning with ‘f’.
I was shocked. The lights changed and he drove off. I continued to ride, slowly at first as I absorbed what had transpired. I was unnerved, intimidated and fearful for my life.
I know each day that my safety and wellbeing is in the hands of others. I like to believe that those around me who are in control of whether or not I get to work or home safely actually care about whether or not I am alive.
I think about what would have happened had he succeeded in hitting me. The police would be called, and he would be asked to explain. He may claim he didn’t see me. He may suggest that it was my fault for some reason, without knowing my background in cycling, my skill level and road awareness. His caravan would probably have shielded potential witnesses from viewing the accident. The police may or may not get his eyes checked. And as there is no mechanism to charge a driver for deliberately hitting a cyclist with the intent to hurt or kill, he may only be fined and would probably be back on the road without showing any remorse for his actions. Perhaps.
Having ridden Plenty Road daily for five years, I know that the section of road in Bundoora is particularly unsafe for cyclists. Despite being part of the Principal Bike Network for many years, there has been no investment in cycling provision or improvements to make drivers more aware of cyclists as legitimate road users. Bike lanes exist north of Bundoora, commencing from Mill Park and extending all the way through to Whittlesea. Many bike riders use this route, and have done so since the 1920s as a weekend training ride. The road improvements in South Morang will provide for new bike lanes, and we look forward to seeing these reinstated when road works are completed.
Towards the south, there is evidence that bikes belong on Plenty Road: bike boxes appear at major intersections such as Plenty Road and Albert Street, and Bell Street.
Why are there no bike lanes in Bundoora?
I wonder why the caravan driver, and other drivers I receive unnecessary abuse from daily, believe so passionately that I don’t belong on Plenty Road. Are they not aware of the law? Do they know there is no alternative for me? It is because there is no formal recognition that bikes belong on this stretch of Plenty Road?
Bundoora is home to two major Universities, with connections to surrounding off road bike paths. It is also the gateway to the cycling opportunities in the north of Melbourne, including Whittlesea, Kinglake and beyond. Residential and other developments currently underway and planned for along Plenty Road have potential to increase traffic unless provisions are made to provide safe alternative modes of travel.
Throughout Bundoora bike lanes are also missing in key areas. There are no bike lane markings on Settlement Road, which provides links to a major off road recreational bike path. There are also no bike lanes on Grimshaw Street, a rare east-west connection linking Bundoora to the east and providing eventual access to other popular cycling routes and off road paths.
In theory it would be possible to accommodate a bike lane along Plenty Road from Albert Street right through to where the existing bike lane commences at Mill Park. During this section, Plenty Road contains three lanes of traffic in either direction, and these lanes are all wide. Since speed limits along here have been reduced to 70km/h, wide car lanes are unnecessary. It would be possible to modify these lanes to a more acceptable lane width standard - such as the lane widths on the Westgate Bridge which are 3.1m – enabling a bike lane to be accommodated without any need for major infrastructure work to widen the road space.
I ask you as Minister for Roads to consider the serious concerns cyclists have for their safety on Plenty Road and request that you seek VicRoads to investigate how cyclists can be made safer through the provision of bike lanes.
