How do you educate a bicycle?

I went there as a kid and found it fantastic. You got experience with rules of the road and mini working traffic lights and street signs as you treddled round on your three-wheeler and all the other kids whooshed by on their two-wheelers.

I would hope they’ve got something better in place if they’re not using it anymore.

That construction site is supposed to be a bocce court/pitch/green whatever you call it. It’s connected to the Club there but it’s been like that for over a year.

Maybe someone ran out of money??

“This part of Belconnen – in the so-called town centre – is looking very down-at-heel indeed.”

The whole place is grim. You could remake ones of those “Thatcher’s bloody Britain” films from the early eighties in Belco – and parts would make a great East Berlin.

They had a similar education center many years ago somewhere near the Mint, in Deakin.

As primary school students we had several visits there riding bikes on miniature streets with working lights, intersections and lanes etc – one of the few educational experiences we actually found fun!

Perhaps that’s why we’ve got so may sh!te P plate drivers on our roads, coz they axed these types of worthwhile activities.

I went to the bike riding place in primary school, it was awesome fun. I had to have my bike taken away from me though as I ran over another student.

I went to the Deakin one as well but only lasted 5 minutes. That time they made me walk laps around the outside fence as my punishment.

Regarding the bocce court/pitch/green; that would make two in Belco that got half built then ran out of money. The first one was formally in Kaleen.

What a fitting post to reach my “troublemaker” status!

I remember having to walk laps of the fence for some sort of traffic infringement as well.

seekay said :

“This part of Belconnen – in the so-called town centre – is looking very down-at-heel indeed.”

The whole place is grim. You could remake ones of those “Thatcher’s bloody Britain” films from the early eighties in Belco – and parts would make a great East Berlin.

“Boys from the Bike Stuff”

Disposable said :

I had to have my bike taken away from me though as I ran over another student.

LOL

Did the miniature ambulance come pedalling out?

I remember the one in Deakin (?). They’d present the best cyclist with a Maccas voucher at the end of the day. Sadly I never won it; I lacked discipline.

Does anyone remember exactly where it was?

I spent the whole day being stressed out about doing the wrong thing and getting into trouble with the police.

LOL

Did the miniature ambulance come pedalling out?

No but a Policeman did threaten to send me to jail.

The Deakin one was at an old primary school around the John James hospital area. It was near the big concrete building with the thin “bomb blast conspiracy” windows. It never had traffic lights or even street signs if I remember correctly?

At least I wasn’t the only person who had to walk laps!

It’s better than a mini remand centre, anyhow ….

: P

A few handcuffs would have added a nice touch of drama, though!

I personally think they should have made you pedal the laps and done a police chase ending in the obligatory tackle and arrest. The other kids would have loved it!

Unfortunately they didn’t have me around to think of everything, or I would have suggested it.

*sigh*

The Bocce Club has some good ideas for the area, beyond bocce, if you’re willing to talk to the octogenarian Italian gentleman who runs it…

There was a primary school near the mint and John James Hospital ?

Do you mean The Woden School, or perhaps Alfred Deakin High School?

nanzan said :

There was a primary school near the mint and John James Hospital ?

Do you mean The Woden School, or perhaps Alfred Deakin High School?

I think the site of the Deakin traffic school has long since been built over. It was almost next door to the Beaver Gallery in amongst some gum trees.

When I went there in the early 80s it had working traffic lights – they were probably less than two metres tall.

Mystery solved re the old Children’s Traffic Training Centre in Deakin!

My 1987 Gregorys street directory shows it as being between John James Memorial Hospital and Deakin [sic] High School – where Napier Close is now.

Still, that doesn’t solve what happened to the Belconnen one (which was also there in 1987) and what is to become of the property.

A quick search of google came up with this:

Belconnen Traffic Centre Closes After 25 Years

Mmm, that’s sad. I’ve got fond memories of a primary school visit there too.

I think it was a clever idea to try and teach the kids about road safety in a safe environment.

I’ve never even heard of this Cycle Ed program before – does anyone know of any kids that have done it?

I’ve never even heard of this Cycle Ed program before – does anyone know of any kids that have done it?

I went to the Belconnen Centre while I was at Primary school. It was really fun to ride around a bike road as if you were a car. They even had people acting as pedestrians. As for the actual theory side, it was too long ago to remember.

“We will continue to support Canberra school children through the Konstable Kenneth Koala (KKK) program, which provides direct face-to-face contact with an average of 14,000 children a year in around 800 classroom visits,” he said.

“The theoretical component of student road safety training will continue through the KKK program,” he said.

OK, I’m a dead set cynic when the NRMA (and its various non accountable subsidiaries) and ACT Gov are mentioned in the same post.

This ‘Cycle Ed’. Has anyone here or their kids/aquaintences had any experience with it? Can anyone find a record of the funds ‘donated’ by the NRMA (AIVNAS) to establish/run the program?

Or was it a way for the NRMA (AIVNAS) to improve their Third Party Insurance monopoly bottom line yet again at the expense of the ACT motoring public?

I just don’t know that I’ve ever heard of a Canberra kid that’s done ‘Cycle Ed’, yet nearly every person posting seemed to get a visit to the traffic centre.

It will be sad if it’s gone altogether.

One could suggest that the old cycling training centre has been abandoned and let go to ruin so that the ACT government can sell the land.

Sad that it’s gone though.

BenMac said :

It was really fun to ride around a bike road as if you were a car.

Some people here would say that cyclists still do this. But not I! :0)

I remember going a couple of times while I was at primary school and had a great time. They even had a set of real traffic lights.

If one of the coppers saw you break a road rule you had to sit out for a few minutes.

If you’re looking for Canberra-based Cycle Ed classes for either primary school kids or for adults wishing to learn to ride you can try Cycle Education. It’s run by a friend of mine

and that it is very unkempt looking with weeds and long grass everywhere. It looks like a Lilliputian ghetto!

I cruised past today out of curiosity, and it has been recently mowed. A sign of the power of the Riotact?

belco is a dump full stop. just look at the bus interchange.

i loved going to the traffic ed place. it was awesome fun.