Posted by I’m going to go off half-cocked here and say that I saw this sign this morning and I was p*ssed …
But to explain why, I probably need to go back a few steps and say that a few months ago (or it may have been weeks – I lose track) I saw that the Tasmanian Government was going to be putting up these signs as part of a road safety campaign.
And I thought this was a good thing.
So good in fact that I made the effort to contact some people and suggest a few routes where these signs could be located.
Yes, I’ll admit that my suggested locations did have a strong (OK, complete) correlation with where I ride, but there was a good and logical reason for this – research has conclusively proven a 100% correlation between where I ride and where I am likely to be hit by a car, which means it makes sense to put the signs up at locations where I ride.
This is obvious.
Now before any of you come up and join me on my high horse (perhaps espousing that you might actually like some signs where you ride as well) I will point out that I ride a lot of places, and I do actually have a pretty good feel for some of the less safe places to ride on Tassie’s roads (especially around Hobart) … and so my suggestions were probably quite reasonable. They may even have been where you might have wanted one as well, which would be dandy, just lower on my priority scale.
You’re welcome.
But .. and this is a big but … it didn’t matter anyway because when I raised my suggestions, I was informed that discussions had already been held with ‘key stakeholders’ and ‘peak cycling bodies’ to decide where to put these signs and it was all wrapped up and my input wasn’t needed.
I was shattered (mainly about not being considered a key stakeholder, but also about the decision having already being made as well).
Which brings us to today and this frickin sign …
Did they put it on one of the many dangerous pinch point commuter routes heading into Hobart?
Nope.
Did they put it on a major arterial route so it would be seen by lots of people?
Nope there as well.
They put it here …
or if it helps, here …
Yep, they’ve put it at the end of Pittwater Road near Seven Mile Beach.
Yes, it’s a popular road cycling route, but is it a busy road or a dangerous cycling route?
I’m happy to stand corrected, but I wouldn’t say so from my experience. I’ve certainly never felt threatened cycling along there (except maybe by the rough surface).
Maybe there’s lots of other signs elsewhere and so I’m being harsh, but I’d like to know where they are, because I compare this sign’s location to the section of road between Rokeby and Lauderdale (which is where I suggested a sign should be put) and I think … FAIL!
And that’s my half-cocked opinion.
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POSTSCRIPT … All is saved … I saw this posted the day after my post … http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/roadsafety/roads/cyclist_warning_signs , there are lots of other signs and they do look to be well placed. There you go – who knew I’d admit to being wrong.