Brisbane Shared Paths

(Copy of e-mail to the Brisbane Lord Mayor) Thank you for taking the time to read this e-mail. I have written to you before regarding improving cycling facilties in Forest Lake and was very pleased when we eventually received  more road markings which I believe has contributed, as we had hoped, to increasing motorists awareness of cyclists on our local roads.  I wish to draw your attention in this instance to my concerns regarding the use of shared paths in Brisbane.

As a pedestrian, cyclist and car driver (not necessarily in that order) I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of each of the aforementioned groups on each other when utilising roads and shared paths in the Brisbane area. I work in mining and have done for 23 years now, both in Australia and overseas. When my colleagues and I analyse risks during our everyday activities on mine sites, in smelters and on the street after work, we ask ourselves the following 3 questions:

During a recent walk on a shared path in Brisbane I applied the above rules to what I was about to do, and I’m afraid to say, that the signed advice on the shared pathway did not pass this basic test.

“Keeping to the Left” places pedestrians with their backs to cyclists, in-line skaters and people on or operating, other motorised equipment which is an inherently unsafe position for any walker to be placed in.

Many people operating these conveyances either don’t have (which is illegal) or refuse to use, warning bells for fear of frightening walkers into their path, meaning there is often little or no warning, as they overtake you.

In effect using a shared path as a pedestrian, is like walking on a road without a footpath. There are many references [*^] to this situation where the accepted (safe) practice has been documented as ”It is preferable in most situations to walk on the side of the road facing the oncoming traffic”.

I don’t know the numbers of pedestrians or other shared path users injured or killed each year as a result of coming into contact with each other, but over the years I have observed many occurrences and near hits.

Pedestrians having a good view of other path users as they approach and pass them from the front, is clearly more preferable for everybody than for pedestrians to be wandering along in complete oblivion listening to music or sending a text message etc, without a care in the world, and then being totally scared out of their wits by something they never knew was coming?

The already difficult situation on the shared paths in Brisbane is only going to become worse when there are another 3000 bikes introduced into the mix by the BCC bike hire scheme (Which I support wholeheartedly by the way).

Quite possibly the path environment and whole experience of using the shared pathways could be improved and the situation calmed somewhat by BCC and Qld Transport rationalising the requirement for people to walk on the left, where without a doubt they are more “at risk”

I for one will not be willingly walking on the left side of shared paths in future.