Cyclist's death raises safety issues

Shared walking and riding paths don't work. They have shared cycle pedestrian paths here in Melbourne because the
government are too lazy to put in proper cycle lanes and it just doesn't
work.

Pedestrians don't share - they wander all over the path like animals, and these days with iPods they can't hear bike bells.  It might work if the pedestrians could manage to walk single file and keep to the left instead of walking in groups that hog the whole path.

I cycle regularly around town. I learnt long ago to take little notice of cycle lanes - motorists don't. I ride that part of the road I consider safest, and often that is not the painted cycle lane. Anyone who thinks that is a silly approach should try and navigate the cycle lane heading into town adjacent to the Oval.

Likewise, when I am driving, I am more conscious of cyclists than I am of any white painted cycle lanes. Survival is my goal, and often that means totally ignoring someone else's idea of where I should ride.

Foreveryoung: Yes, combine cycling infrastructure with walking rather than with motorised vehicles where possible as the consequences are far less extreme.

Ideally each form of transportation should have dedicated facilities, but with limited space and resources this does not happen.  If we cannot create separate infrastructure then we should aim for limiting the consequences when collisions occur.

What will it take to get logging trucks removed from the streets of Dunedin?  While roading is so heavily subsidised in both dollars and now human life, rail provides a perfectly good alternative mere metres from this terrible tragedy. 

It is time the national, regional, and local governments put aside their squabbling over jurisdiction and properly addressed the need for us to have safe places to live. Properly separate the cycle lanes, actually make progress on the west harbour trails, and - this is the biggie - get the unnecessary trucks off the road.

This accident is really sad. I personally cycle regularly less than 100 metres from here.

Two suggestions: a) Ban heavy vehicles from entering Castle St from Anzac Ave. They could take the bypass route behind the Railway station; or turn up St Andrew St. OR b) We could use it as a reason to reinstate Rail transport for logs. Truck drivers would complain of one more set of lights at St Andrew/Castle intersection.

I know the Rail Transport option is very easy because the Taieri Gorge Railway line is less than 100 metres from the main forestry processing plant at Mount Allen.

I've had two friends almost get hit on that corner in recent months, it was a tragety waiting to happen. Dunedin is extremly unsafe for cyclists, I live in the Valley and gave up cycling into town long ago. In some places it's so unsafe to cycle that you have to use the footpath, only the cops fine you if you get caught doing that. As others have said, I have no idea why they encourage cycilists to use the one way system. 

I personally think anyone wanting to cycle on the road with cars is one brave soul. Mad, even. Its always going to be a tradegy waiting to happen and my thoughts go out to both families involved.

The best example of cycle lanes I have seen is in Milton Keynes in England. There are cycle lanes throughout the city running away from the road like footpaths but wide enough for both walkers, runners and cycles to share at the same time.

The cycle lanes run along all major roads, removing the need for cyclists to be on the road. OK, its a grid, man made city and was built for a purpose and it would be much harder to adopt in Dunedin, but wider footpaths could be adopted along main routes to remove cyclists from the roads.

Sorry, not quite sure what you are saying. Are you suggesting combining cycle/pedestrian lanes? If so i tend to agree. As a daily cyclist and driver on Portobello Rd, combining the new walkway with a cycle lane would have been much safer for cyclists.

The current cycle lane is a joke. It completely disappears in places, has numerous pot holes and uneven tarseal and debris collects from the road making it unridable in places. Roadworks signs are frequently placed in the middle of the cycle lane, making it impossible to use.

I was almost hit by a car today trying to negotiate one of three road works signs on the new cycle lane at Vauxhaull. Unfortunately I fear cycling on Portobello Rd is an accident waiting to happen.

Hy per thermia- I wasn't sure if you were joking about directing bikes in the opposite direction to motorised traffic on bike lanes. This would be remarkably dangerous at junctions. It would also be very scarey in the lane by the Palms Restaurant. As it is, cyclists ride between two lanes of state highway one going in the same direction. It would be a real daredevil who would be willing to ride between two streams of oncoming traffic.

As  a child I was taught that when walking on country roads I should walk on the opposite side to the traffic, that is, facing the traffic coming on that side of the road.  Whether daydreaming or with poor visibility one sees the vehicle approaching, they don't come up suddenly from behind.  Also, and this applies more to cyclists than pedestrians because cyclists travel a greater distance in the same time, the period when they and the vehicle are side by side is shorter.  The vulnerable person on foot or cycle has a better chance to judge whether the driver has noticed him and take evasive action.  So I suggest cycle lanes be marked with arrows to indicate that cyclists should ride in the opposite direction to the traffic in the lane immediately beside them.  Nothing is an adequate substitute for careful driving/cycling.  On the other hand it will be year or two before human nature becomes perfect 24/7 so measures to deal with imperfection must to be sought.

Cycle vs truck/car: terrible tragedy for all. Cycle vs pedestrian: at the most, cuts and bruises. Is it really that difficult to see this?

My heart goes out to the cyclist and his family, and to the driver, who must feel terrible.

As far as safety for cyclists, I personally know two cyclists who got into accidents this year.  One had to go to the hospital.  In my opinion, cyclists and pedestrians crossing the street have to be extremely vigilant in Dunedin.

In most European countries, cyclists share the footpath with pedestrians in built up areas, removing them completely from the traffic equation. And no, people don't get mowed down by cyclists. Absolutely no reason why they can't be done here for the cost of a white stripe of paint.

One of the most dangerous places on the road is the left hand side of a heavy goods vehicle.  Experience from overseas show that the vast majority of fatalities happen there.  A lot can be done with mirrors and cameras, but in the end, it's just a very tricky thing, and very prone to accidents.

In the UK, there have even been calls to ban HGVs from city streets. I think in our case some imaginative thinking on good cycle routes through town that seperate the streams of traffic might be a good start. 

My condolences go out to everyone affected by this horrid accident. 

This is what happens when you draw a white line on a main thoroughfare and call it a cycling lane. In Japan and Taiwan I noticed that they put a lane along with the sidewalk instead of on the main road, why this can't be done here is something beyond me. For the majority of the time the so called pedestrian sidewalks (especially around Cadbury) are completely empty. All this talk about cyclists' rights to the roads and reclaiming the tarmac etc. don't make much sense when a massive truck trailer decides to take a swing in your direction and the only thing in the way is a thin strip of white paint.

All that aside: I offer many condolences for the bereaved family and friends.

I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to both victims of this tragedy. Unlike the reported articles, I see two families lives devestated by this terrible event.  The cyclist and the driver.