Fewer Canberrans are riding to work in 2017, and that's a problem

Maya123 said :

You must remember that the members who lobby for better cycling facilities are volunteers, who don’t get paid and do this work in their own time (often on top of full time jobs). They try to represent the members. However, it is always easier to comment on an area if they know it, so it would be natural that with their limited, unpaid time, that they would gravitate to issues in areas that they know better. They are volunteers; they are not paid workers who can be told what to do. They do this job in good will.

Ok, so the cycling lobby group who advises the government and petitions for where and how taxes are spent on cycling infrastructure, is run by a small group of geographically centered, self interested volunteers? How is that acceptable? Do we have a small group of motorists from Belconnen advising where roads infrastructure spending is needed? Do we have a small group of scientists in one branch of the CSIRO advocating for scientific investment allocations?
The government should have people employed in departments, who have the expertise and unbiased opinions on where spending needs to happen, not self interest groups who direct money to where they prefer it to go. This is why we have spent so much money on cycling infrastructure and still have issues with it, because the people in charge of the purse strings are listening to advice from non-experts who think they know best but in reality are in it for themselves.
So the counting has been conducted in the city area for the last five years, which is where most of the cycling infrastyructure spending has ended up. Why not Belconnen, Tuggeranong, Woden and other locations? Is the ANU precinct so worthy of focus just because uni students and Greenies are constantly in the ear of the government for more subsidies and spending on their “environmentally friendly” projects? Is this narrow field of vision the reason that maintenance on existing cycle-ways in outlying areas has been neglected?

I wonder if there are other reasons for the decline in cycling. Perhaps the fact that it is the day after a public holiday Monday, meaning a lot of folks are having a four day weekend by incorporating their flexi day on Tuesday. Could it be the fact many jobs have been relocated from Civic to Woden in the health department? Well, it appears not, if less than 3% cycle for commuting reasons anyway. Perhaps people just don’t like cycling as much as in the past.
Whatever the reason, I do not think it is prudent to keep spending money on infrastructure whose usage is in decline. Sure, if more people were getting on board then it makes sense, but to blame the infrastructure for the decline is not a logical argument because it has had more money spent to encourage use, which apparently hasn’t achieved the desired outcome. Time to examine the causes before throwing more cash at it.

I find the analysis on this small downturn to be quite simplistic. For example, there has been no discussion on the impact of the previous month or so of record temperatures on people’s general sense of well being (I personally took a while to recover), what else was going on around town and the general employment situation.

I also wonder what the result would be if a couple of snapshots were taken during the year. If not feasible to do a full count, perhaps at a couple of key point. Pedal Power seems to have enough mature members from seeing their organised rides to allow one to hypothesise that would have sufficient free labour available.

Masquara said :

Canberra is only conducive to cycling for a few months a year. In summer it’s too hot and the sun is ferocious. Winter is too cold for work commuting other than for the most hardcore of cyclists. That leaves (in most years) about five months a year that are truly comfortable for cycling …

As someone who cycled all year to work, I know what you say is untrue. Cycling to work I did not cycle in the middle of the day, so that avoided the worst of the hot summer sun. In winter I dressed for the cold. I must admit to being a bit of a wimp on wet days though, Then I would catch the bus and walk two kms each way to work at the end of the bus ride. At least I didn’t have to cycle over icy, snowy ground through falling snow, a many people cycling in Europe do.

I am certainly not the “most hardcore of cyclists”, to quote you, as outside of commuting to work I didn’t do a massive amount of cycling, especially as I got older.

Canberra is only conducive to cycling for a few months a year. In summer it’s too hot and the sun is ferocious. Winter is too cold for work commuting other than for the most hardcore of cyclists. That leaves (in most years) about five months a year that are truly comfortable for cycling …

Maya123 said :

Re dungfungus’ comments about Pedal Power.

You must remember that the members who lobby for better cycling facilities are volunteers, who don’t get paid and do this work in their own time (often on top of full time jobs). They try to represent the members. However, it is always easier to comment on an area if they know it, so it would be natural that with their limited, unpaid time, that they would gravitate to issues in areas that they know better. They are volunteers; they are not paid workers who can be told what to do. They do this job in good will.

If someone thinks their area is not getting enough support, the answer is simple. Obviously the issues of that area are familiar to you, so you volunteer and join the unpaid workers and then you can research and bring up issues that you are familiar with. It is always better to have someone who knows the area.

I am not a member of any PP committee. But I am aware how voluntary organisations work.

Pedal Power ACT Inc. is no ordinary volunteer organisation.

I know the data collected is done by volunteers but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Pedal Power isn’t receiving a fee from the ACT government as their 31/12/2012 income statement reveals they received $41,800 for “cordon counts” which are the “annual bike counts” referred to in the lead article of this thread. Financial statements here:

http://www.pedalpower.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/PP2012-Annual-Report-web-V2.pdf

Was this function put out to tender?

They also received grants totalling almost $85,000 as well as membership fees of $144,513.
Surprisingly there are payments to “volunteers” of $5,374 revealed as well as a lot of other quirky things. It’s all above board and audited but I personally believe their association with the ACT government is a little too cosy.

One thing is for sure and that is the Executive Officer doesn’t work on a voluntary basis as his salary is revealed as being $84,378 (plus super) and probably use of a company bike.

Maya123 said :

dungfungus said :

Maya123 said :

dungfungus said :

rommeldog56 said :

Despite the ongoing outlay of multi millions of Ratepayers $ on cycling infrastructure, that is not good news.

I use the cycle path from Gowrie/Fadden Pines to Lake Tuggeranong (and enployment centres there) twice daily (weather permitting). It is a heavily used shared path. I must say, that I sometimes think twice about riding my bike on that path or driving/getting the bus. Why ?

Its because the path is in such a poor state of repair, that in places, its dangerous particularly when cyclists have to swerve to miss obstructions. There are holes in the asphalt, tree roots have dangerously raised the asphalt from underneath creating long stretches of a extremely bumpy surface, there are many weeds growing through the asphalt (which will lead to additional and more expensive repairs into the future), tree branches overhang the path obstructing vision and there is at least one part where a crack in the asphalt is so large, it just about swallows a bike tyre ! In parts, the shared path around Lake Tuggeranong can certainly use some maintenance and repair too.

Two approaches to the ACT Govt to maintain this heavily used shared path have not been acknowledged let alone responded to. Then I look at my absurdly rapidly increasing Annual Rates year on year……..

From my perspective, maintenance of shared paths in good/safe condition is essential to encourage their use and perhaps thats why to some extent, riding to work using the safer shared path option) might be dropping off.

Apparently, Petal Power is only concerned about what is happening in Civic and trendy locations like the Arboretum.

I note the ACT Government has also funded the Cycle Works program. It’s a bottomless pit.

As for your comment on the lack of maintenence work to benefit cyclists using shared paths in Tuggeranong, there has been a token effort made to acknowledge cyclists by creating random cycling lanes on Coyne Street (adjacent to Fadden Pines). The “lanes” were painted in at the same time those useless speed humps were created in the same street.
Yet I drive that street at least twice a day and I have never yet seen a cyclist using those lanes. Very rarely are cyclists seen using the dedicated lanes on the Monaro Highway either.

The last time I rode in the Arboretum, most of it was rough dirt tracks; some of it muddy. Lots of reaching blackberries too. The main road in also had no separate bike lane, so what are you referring to?

I was referring to the bike paths in Tuggeranong. The clue was Coyne Street (next to Fadden Pines). The main road was the Monaro Highway, hello?

Your words: “Apparently, Petal Power is only concerned about what is happening in Civic and trendy locations like the Arboretum.”

Meaning they are apparently doing bugger-all to get the government to maintain shared paths in Tuggeranong because they are only concerned with Civic.

Obviously, we went to different schools, and there is nothing wrong with that!.

Re dungfungus’ comments about Pedal Power.

You must remember that the members who lobby for better cycling facilities are volunteers, who don’t get paid and do this work in their own time (often on top of full time jobs). They try to represent the members. However, it is always easier to comment on an area if they know it, so it would be natural that with their limited, unpaid time, that they would gravitate to issues in areas that they know better. They are volunteers; they are not paid workers who can be told what to do. They do this job in good will.

If someone thinks their area is not getting enough support, the answer is simple. Obviously the issues of that area are familiar to you, so you volunteer and join the unpaid workers and then you can research and bring up issues that you are familiar with. It is always better to have someone who knows the area.

I am not a member of any PP committee. But I am aware how voluntary organisations work.

dungfungus said :

Maya123 said :

dungfungus said :

rommeldog56 said :

Despite the ongoing outlay of multi millions of Ratepayers $ on cycling infrastructure, that is not good news.

I use the cycle path from Gowrie/Fadden Pines to Lake Tuggeranong (and enployment centres there) twice daily (weather permitting). It is a heavily used shared path. I must say, that I sometimes think twice about riding my bike on that path or driving/getting the bus. Why ?

Its because the path is in such a poor state of repair, that in places, its dangerous particularly when cyclists have to swerve to miss obstructions. There are holes in the asphalt, tree roots have dangerously raised the asphalt from underneath creating long stretches of a extremely bumpy surface, there are many weeds growing through the asphalt (which will lead to additional and more expensive repairs into the future), tree branches overhang the path obstructing vision and there is at least one part where a crack in the asphalt is so large, it just about swallows a bike tyre ! In parts, the shared path around Lake Tuggeranong can certainly use some maintenance and repair too.

Two approaches to the ACT Govt to maintain this heavily used shared path have not been acknowledged let alone responded to. Then I look at my absurdly rapidly increasing Annual Rates year on year……..

From my perspective, maintenance of shared paths in good/safe condition is essential to encourage their use and perhaps thats why to some extent, riding to work using the safer shared path option) might be dropping off.

Apparently, Petal Power is only concerned about what is happening in Civic and trendy locations like the Arboretum.

I note the ACT Government has also funded the Cycle Works program. It’s a bottomless pit.

As for your comment on the lack of maintenence work to benefit cyclists using shared paths in Tuggeranong, there has been a token effort made to acknowledge cyclists by creating random cycling lanes on Coyne Street (adjacent to Fadden Pines). The “lanes” were painted in at the same time those useless speed humps were created in the same street.
Yet I drive that street at least twice a day and I have never yet seen a cyclist using those lanes. Very rarely are cyclists seen using the dedicated lanes on the Monaro Highway either.

The last time I rode in the Arboretum, most of it was rough dirt tracks; some of it muddy. Lots of reaching blackberries too. The main road in also had no separate bike lane, so what are you referring to?

I was referring to the bike paths in Tuggeranong. The clue was Coyne Street (next to Fadden Pines). The main road was the Monaro Highway, hello?

Your words: “Apparently, Petal Power is only concerned about what is happening in Civic and trendy locations like the Arboretum.”

bikhet said :

What appears at first glance to be another simplistic survey presenting results that actually result from a complex situation. To take as an example the comment that:

“An initial review of the data collected by Pedal Power ACT on behalf of the ACT government during this year’s count in Civic shows that numbers have been dropping for the past couple of years. The number of people riding into Civic during the morning count is trending downwards 2.1% per year on average, over the past three years.

The downward trend is partly attributable to new housing in Civic. But with our population set to grow to 421,000 by 2020, we need stronger action on making riding for transport appealing to more Canberrans.”

A couple of other possibilities that do not imply a reduction in the numbers cycling to work:

1) that the routes people are now using to cycle to work are now different from those they used in previous years and so are not being counted in the survey.

2) that people who cycle to work are now working in areas other than Civic and so are not being counted in the survey.

It may be that the survey controls for these factors and for others that might affect its accuracy – the weather for example – but there is no way for the reader to tell.

How much money does Pedal Power get paid for collecting this date for the ACT government?

Maya123 said :

dungfungus said :

rommeldog56 said :

Despite the ongoing outlay of multi millions of Ratepayers $ on cycling infrastructure, that is not good news.

I use the cycle path from Gowrie/Fadden Pines to Lake Tuggeranong (and enployment centres there) twice daily (weather permitting). It is a heavily used shared path. I must say, that I sometimes think twice about riding my bike on that path or driving/getting the bus. Why ?

Its because the path is in such a poor state of repair, that in places, its dangerous particularly when cyclists have to swerve to miss obstructions. There are holes in the asphalt, tree roots have dangerously raised the asphalt from underneath creating long stretches of a extremely bumpy surface, there are many weeds growing through the asphalt (which will lead to additional and more expensive repairs into the future), tree branches overhang the path obstructing vision and there is at least one part where a crack in the asphalt is so large, it just about swallows a bike tyre ! In parts, the shared path around Lake Tuggeranong can certainly use some maintenance and repair too.

Two approaches to the ACT Govt to maintain this heavily used shared path have not been acknowledged let alone responded to. Then I look at my absurdly rapidly increasing Annual Rates year on year……..

From my perspective, maintenance of shared paths in good/safe condition is essential to encourage their use and perhaps thats why to some extent, riding to work using the safer shared path option) might be dropping off.

Apparently, Petal Power is only concerned about what is happening in Civic and trendy locations like the Arboretum.

I note the ACT Government has also funded the Cycle Works program. It’s a bottomless pit.

As for your comment on the lack of maintenence work to benefit cyclists using shared paths in Tuggeranong, there has been a token effort made to acknowledge cyclists by creating random cycling lanes on Coyne Street (adjacent to Fadden Pines). The “lanes” were painted in at the same time those useless speed humps were created in the same street.
Yet I drive that street at least twice a day and I have never yet seen a cyclist using those lanes. Very rarely are cyclists seen using the dedicated lanes on the Monaro Highway either.

The last time I rode in the Arboretum, most of it was rough dirt tracks; some of it muddy. Lots of reaching blackberries too. The main road in also had no separate bike lane, so what are you referring to?

I was referring to the bike paths in Tuggeranong. The clue was Coyne Street (next to Fadden Pines). The main road was the Monaro Highway, hello?

What appears at first glance to be another simplistic survey presenting results that actually result from a complex situation. To take as an example the comment that:

“An initial review of the data collected by Pedal Power ACT on behalf of the ACT government during this year’s count in Civic shows that numbers have been dropping for the past couple of years. The number of people riding into Civic during the morning count is trending downwards 2.1% per year on average, over the past three years.

The downward trend is partly attributable to new housing in Civic. But with our population set to grow to 421,000 by 2020, we need stronger action on making riding for transport appealing to more Canberrans.”

A couple of other possibilities that do not imply a reduction in the numbers cycling to work:

1) that the routes people are now using to cycle to work are now different from those they used in previous years and so are not being counted in the survey.

2) that people who cycle to work are now working in areas other than Civic and so are not being counted in the survey.

It may be that the survey controls for these factors and for others that might affect its accuracy – the weather for example – but there is no way for the reader to tell.

dungfungus said :

rommeldog56 said :

Despite the ongoing outlay of multi millions of Ratepayers $ on cycling infrastructure, that is not good news.

I use the cycle path from Gowrie/Fadden Pines to Lake Tuggeranong (and enployment centres there) twice daily (weather permitting). It is a heavily used shared path. I must say, that I sometimes think twice about riding my bike on that path or driving/getting the bus. Why ?

Its because the path is in such a poor state of repair, that in places, its dangerous particularly when cyclists have to swerve to miss obstructions. There are holes in the asphalt, tree roots have dangerously raised the asphalt from underneath creating long stretches of a extremely bumpy surface, there are many weeds growing through the asphalt (which will lead to additional and more expensive repairs into the future), tree branches overhang the path obstructing vision and there is at least one part where a crack in the asphalt is so large, it just about swallows a bike tyre ! In parts, the shared path around Lake Tuggeranong can certainly use some maintenance and repair too.

Two approaches to the ACT Govt to maintain this heavily used shared path have not been acknowledged let alone responded to. Then I look at my absurdly rapidly increasing Annual Rates year on year……..

From my perspective, maintenance of shared paths in good/safe condition is essential to encourage their use and perhaps thats why to some extent, riding to work using the safer shared path option) might be dropping off.

Apparently, Petal Power is only concerned about what is happening in Civic and trendy locations like the Arboretum.

I note the ACT Government has also funded the Cycle Works program. It’s a bottomless pit.

As for your comment on the lack of maintenence work to benefit cyclists using shared paths in Tuggeranong, there has been a token effort made to acknowledge cyclists by creating random cycling lanes on Coyne Street (adjacent to Fadden Pines). The “lanes” were painted in at the same time those useless speed humps were created in the same street.
Yet I drive that street at least twice a day and I have never yet seen a cyclist using those lanes. Very rarely are cyclists seen using the dedicated lanes on the Monaro Highway either.

The last time I rode in the Arboretum, most of it was rough dirt tracks; some of it muddy. Lots of reaching blackberries too. The main road in also had no separate bike lane, so what are you referring to?

rommeldog56 said :

Despite the ongoing outlay of multi millions of Ratepayers $ on cycling infrastructure, that is not good news.

I use the cycle path from Gowrie/Fadden Pines to Lake Tuggeranong (and enployment centres there) twice daily (weather permitting). It is a heavily used shared path. I must say, that I sometimes think twice about riding my bike on that path or driving/getting the bus. Why ?

Its because the path is in such a poor state of repair, that in places, its dangerous particularly when cyclists have to swerve to miss obstructions. There are holes in the asphalt, tree roots have dangerously raised the asphalt from underneath creating long stretches of a extremely bumpy surface, there are many weeds growing through the asphalt (which will lead to additional and more expensive repairs into the future), tree branches overhang the path obstructing vision and there is at least one part where a crack in the asphalt is so large, it just about swallows a bike tyre ! In parts, the shared path around Lake Tuggeranong can certainly use some maintenance and repair too.

Two approaches to the ACT Govt to maintain this heavily used shared path have not been acknowledged let alone responded to. Then I look at my absurdly rapidly increasing Annual Rates year on year……..

From my perspective, maintenance of shared paths in good/safe condition is essential to encourage their use and perhaps thats why to some extent, riding to work using the safer shared path option) might be dropping off.

Apparently, Petal Power is only concerned about what is happening in Civic and trendy locations like the Arboretum.

I note the ACT Government has also funded the Cycle Works program. It’s a bottomless pit.

As for your comment on the lack of maintenence work to benefit cyclists using shared paths in Tuggeranong, there has been a token effort made to acknowledge cyclists by creating random cycling lanes on Coyne Street (adjacent to Fadden Pines). The “lanes” were painted in at the same time those useless speed humps were created in the same street.
Yet I drive that street at least twice a day and I have never yet seen a cyclist using those lanes. Very rarely are cyclists seen using the dedicated lanes on the Monaro Highway either.

Despite the ongoing outlay of multi millions of Ratepayers $ on cycling infrastructure, that is not good news.

I use the cycle path from Gowrie/Fadden Pines to Lake Tuggeranong (and enployment centres there) twice daily (weather permitting). It is a heavily used shared path. I must say, that I sometimes think twice about riding my bike on that path or driving/getting the bus. Why ?

Its because the path is in such a poor state of repair, that in places, its dangerous particularly when cyclists have to swerve to miss obstructions. There are holes in the asphalt, tree roots have dangerously raised the asphalt from underneath creating long stretches of a extremely bumpy surface, there are many weeds growing through the asphalt (which will lead to additional and more expensive repairs into the future), tree branches overhang the path obstructing vision and there is at least one part where a crack in the asphalt is so large, it just about swallows a bike tyre ! In parts, the shared path around Lake Tuggeranong can certainly use some maintenance and repair too.

Two approaches to the ACT Govt to maintain this heavily used shared path have not been acknowledged let alone responded to. Then I look at my absurdly rapidly increasing Annual Rates year on year……..

From my perspective, maintenance of shared paths in good/safe condition is essential to encourage their use and perhaps thats why to some extent, riding to work using the safer shared path option) might be dropping off.

Even after spending all that money on projects exclusively for cyclists?