Councillor Don Palmer Providing Local Leadership & Working for You

Earlier this week we saw how Adelaide City Council is considering pulling up the bike lane infrastructure recently installed in Frome Street.

 

I can tell you that Adelaide City Council’s Economic and Community Development Committee meeting voted to develop options and costings to return the street to four lanes of traffic during peak times, allowing parking in off-peak times.

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This is despite an expert consultant report (and the Council administration) recommending no change to the current arrangement. The Committee’s proposal will be put to a full Council meeting next Tuesday.

This decision one must wonder is in response to the ongoing criticism from motorists since they were installed.

Meanwhile Cyclists are riding down car lanes at College Street in Sydney’s CBD to protest against the State Government’s decision to rip up the adjacent cycleway to allow construction of a new light rail line. In their case they are not being ripped up for the sake of cars but trams.

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As a motorist myself, and one who could not conduct this business with other than motor vehicle transport I understand the frustration of those behind the wheel.

But I must say I am not blind to the fact that if we in Adelaide keep our motor car paradigm rather than develop a transport paradigm we are driving in to a nightmare.

If those of us who drive but who could ride or cycle chase to change don’t do this then we are driving ourselves into a traffic jam in maybe as little as 10years but certainly 20 years. Our roads cannot handle an increase in cars but this is what is going to happen if we don’t change our commuting habits. And if you believe commute times are too long now watch out for then.

And I can see the headlines then. “Protestors angry that governments did not address our traffic problems when they could back in 2015”. But it won’t be the fault of governments rather than those in the public with (sorry) selfish arguments who will be responsible.