Adelaide City councillor Mark Hamilton will push for the Frome St bikeway to be scrapped
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ADELAIDE City councillor Mark Hamilton will push for the Frome St bikeway to be ripped up in what would be a major embarrassment for the council ahead of the Velo-city international cycling conference next month.
Construction of the separated bikeway, which the council is racing to complete as far north as Pirie St before the May 27-30 conference, has caused a backlash from motorists and prominent business leaders, including Theo Maras.
“I’d rip it up,” Cr Hamilton said this morning, after penning a column for The Advertiser labelling the bikeway an example of cycling policy “gone berserk” and attacking Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood for being “anti-car”.
“It’s restricting traffic access at peak hour and slowing right hand turns and slowing traffic dispersal along the street for people going to and from work.
“I went and had a look at it and apart from the obvious (traffic) problems I think it’s frankly ridiculous, bunging white pieces of concrete into the roadway.”
Cr Hamilton will push for the bikeway to be scrapped, a year-long moratorium on new bike lanes and a scaling back of the current network at a council meeting in early May, just weeks before the city hosts one of the world’s most important cycling talkfests.
“I’m not concerned about embarrassment. I’m concerned about good governance of the city,” he said.
If Cr Hamilton succeeds it would be the second time the council has dug up a separated bikeway. It spent $100,000 removing the $400,000 Sturt St bike lanes four years ago.
Mr Yarwood and Mr Hamilton are expected to contest the lord mayoral position at council elections in November, though neither has formally declared their candidacy.
If they do square off, the election looms as a referendum on CBD transport issues.
In his column, Cr Hamilton called for the council to build more UParks, restore on-street parks and right-hand turns, and continue lobbying the State Government to scrap the carpark tax and priority bus lanes.
His position contradicts the council’s Smart Move blueprint for encouraging public transport, cycling and walking.
Chariot Chauffeured Vehicles owner Ian Johns backed Cr Hamilton’s views and said the Frome St bikeway was “the joke of the century”.
“The traffic from Frome St will only move to Pulteney St and cause even more congestion,” he said.
“No right turns in so many city streets has not only cost us valuable time, but business.
“We used to do three Central Market tours a week involving around 40 tourists a time. They spent money. We don’t do that anymore because of lack of parking and the time delays caused by no right turns and (the) Victoria Square (upgrade).
“It will only be a matter of time before our city tours are cancelled too.”
The Frome St bikeway is designed to be the crucial city link in a safe cycling route running from Mitcham to North Adelaide.
Bike SA has sent a newsletter to members warning that the growing campaign against the project was putting it at risk and could “set investment in cycling back a decade or more”.
CEO Christian Haag lamented the “highly charged political environment” around Frome St but said it should be the first of a network of separated bike lanes across the CBD.
“We need four, the existing one being built, an equivalent north-south one on the western side of the city and two east-west routes,” he told The Advertiser.
“We need to get (Frome St) up and used and the benefit will be there for everyone to see.”
The number of cyclists commuting to the city each day has doubled to more than 5000 over the past decade.
Mr Haag said that equated to a $25 million boost to the state economy, based on a Federal Government study that considered factors such as health benefits, emission reductions and crashes and found there was a $21 economic benefit per trip.
Comment is being sought from Mr Yarwood.
