Paths for Yamba Drive

Thanks for the nod, Aeek. Its good to see that 12 years of emails and letters to successive ACT Governments finally having an effect. PedalPower’s budget submission also had a big part to play.

To those not in the know (especially you, magiccar9), until this stretch of path was built, there was no safe way to ride a bicycle to Canberra Hospital from the north. TCH has had major problems with car parking, and instead of upgrading bike path facilities for a relatively cheap cost, they chose to build a $41 million multi-story car park instead. That $41m came out of the health budget, and reduced funding for health services. $41m can pay for a lot of nurses and ICU beds. Magiccar9, that car park was a waste of taxpayers money.

That Weston Park loop is very nice except for the small gravel bit that will get a few people unstuck!

magiccar9 said :

I’ve watched them constructing these 2 (don’t ask me why they need a path down both sides of Yamba Drive, serving the exact same function) every day since they began. I particularly attest to the ripping up of perfectly usable, existing, paths only to relay them again albeit with hot-seal/bitumen this time.

What I photographed never existed before. The new tar could be because they trashed it during construction.
Other side, no idea – but if it is separated from the road it is completely different, then its a path available to legally ride either direction, unlike a bike lane which is a lane of the road. Too many people get confused and ride the wrong way on the road. Hopefully this will stop that.

Couple of times I’ve been riding with an entirely appropriate on road light only to blind the idiot coming the wrong way who swerves to my right into the potential traffic. I’d rather not witness them killed.

magiccar9 said :

A down-right waste of taxpayers money here!

I’ve watched them constructing these 2 (don’t ask me why they need a path down both sides of Yamba Drive, serving the exact same function) every day since they began.

Good point, in fact they don’t need Yamba Drive at all, since there is a perfectly good vehicle route using Melrose Drive. If they remove Yamba Drive between the Melrose and Launceston intersections then there will only need to be one path!

A very relieved bunch of motorists would appreciate this path being extended to between Mawson Drive and Beazley St.

A gentleman has taken to driving his ‘Gopher’ (a small self propelled four wheel contraption used by the infirm for shopping, etc) down this section of Yamba, generally in fading light and with NO lighting/reflectors/high vis items on board.

Tonight he was seen travelling in the right hand lane, heading north, and could only be described as a ‘black blob on the road’.

Saw AFP have a chat to him a couple of days ago, but he must be a slow learner.

A down-right waste of taxpayers money here!

I’ve watched them constructing these 2 (don’t ask me why they need a path down both sides of Yamba Drive, serving the exact same function) every day since they began. I particularly attest to the ripping up of perfectly usable, existing, paths only to relay them again albeit with hot-seal/bitumen this time.

Since they’ve been completed, I don’t think I’ve seen more than 3 people using them – total…

It is already mapped in OpenStreetMap!

Aeek said :

end of Launceston St to get onto this,

It’s a really nice route between Curtin and Canberra Hospital. Good path goes all the way to Hindmarsh Drive. There is an existing path to Isaacs, Farrer Ridge.

When I was there around xmas, there was some construction on the other (Hughes) side of the Yamba Drive too.

There’s also a very nice new path around the edge of Weston Park. Remember that “open-air prison”?

http://the-riotact.com/weston-park-only-open-when-the-government-wants-you-there/71162

Confirmed. I used the path from the end of Launceston St to get onto this, Judging by the disturbed soil its also new. I suspect this is all because the construction will break the existing path, not because its been needed for years,