Good cycling infrastructure can be simple or complex. It can be extensive, or it can be small. Regardless of the format, it needs to be safe and effective.

In this weeks post we highlight a sore point for cyclists in Port Macquarie and compare it to the gold standard. Of course we are talking about Pacific Drive in the vacinity of Oxley Beach. Compare the two images below.

The image on the left shows a portion of shoulder parking and adjacent bike lane at Oxley beach. As you can see there is not enough space to park a vehicle without endangering cyclists. Not only is there a danger of being “doored”, but as you can plainly see, the cyclist in the picture has to move into traffic to negotiate this obsticle. So not safe, nore is it effective as the parking space is inadequate. This is an example of what good cycling infrastructure doesn’t look like.
Now consider the image on the right. Taken from the publication “Summary of Design Principles for Good Bicycle Infrastructure“, published by Bicycle NSW, it outlines the design specs for safe distances when creating shared areas for parking and cycling. This document is free to download from Bicycle NSW or from our resources page here.

So what’s the solution for the above situation? One option to consider is creating a shared zone where the bicycle lane is eliminated for the section where there is parking and reduce the speed limit to 30 Km/h. This would still allow parking, safe transit by bycicle and safe passage for pedestrians. That’s a “win – win” situation. All it takes is a bit of political will. What do you think?

One our organisations goals is to work with council to better inform their decisions with regard to the infrastructure they plan to impliment over the next few years. Stay tuned!

P.S – if you have an issue you want to report to council, use this link to go to PMHC websites “Report and Issue” page.