New funding for active travel infrastructure in Canberra

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Cyclists often find themselves in the traffic on some of Canberra’s busiest roads, despite the city’s network of cycle ways. A new plan for the ACT Government aimed at improving those paths, but some advocates say this is not the answer.

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00:00 Jo Pibers has spent the last 18 months campaigning for safer streets.

00:06 Her husband, Paul O'Dwyer, was hit by a car while cycling on Northbourne Avenue, leaving

00:12 him with life-altering injuries.

00:14 He was knocked from his bike, he was catapulted 6 metres, he suffered a seizure, he had broken

00:22 spinal injuries, specifically his C1, and I guess for the first 24 hours it was terrifying,

00:31 wondering if he had a major brain injury, would he ever walk again, would he be able

00:35 to breathe on his own.

00:37 The ACT government is hoping its updated Active Travel Plan might help prevent further tragedies.

00:43 The priorities are about safety, it's about better connections, it's about embracing new

00:47 technologies and about making it easy for people.

00:51 It's promising $4 million to upgrade existing paths, while also creating a pop-up cycleway

00:58 from Kingston to Kings Avenue to shield people on bikes and on foot from the road.

01:03 Part of the priorities under the plan is to make sure that there's safe infrastructure

01:07 for walking and cycling and cyclists don't come into direct contact with vehicles on

01:11 the roadway, and also so that particularly in busy areas, pedestrians are also separated

01:17 from cyclists.

01:18 It's coincided with ACT policing renewing safety messaging for safe passing distances.

01:23 They have a right to be on the roads, do your best to give as much distance as possible,

01:29 and if you're providing a distance that looks like it's quite safe, it's highly likely it

01:33 will be around that 1 to 1.5 metres.

01:35 One of Canberra's busiest roads, Northbourne Avenue, is a particular hotspot for bike crashes.

01:41 The ACT government hopes upgrades to existing cycleways will encourage more people to take

01:46 a different route.

01:47 However, that's likely to make the commute longer for cyclists, and advocates aren't

01:51 so sure it's the answer.

01:52 It's a bit like telling a vehicle to say, "Why don't you meander through all the suburbs

02:00 as your way to get to work?"

02:02 It's just incredibly insulting and it flies in the face of all the reasons why people

02:11 won't cycle to work.

02:14 Fighting to share the road.

02:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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