The vision of police laden down by stab-proof vests zipping along on electric bikes, flashing their front lights and using their bells as sirens in a bid to stop cyclists using roads was good for a pre-Christmas laugh.
One commentator has suggested this new crack team be dubbed Bike Force Raptor. Of course, a whole new pursuits policy will be required to ensure the public is not endangered when fleeing cyclists run amok.
The proposal for fining cyclists for not using separated cycleways came from the National Party’s latest discussion document on transport, although it does not spell out what the fine might be.
It is a half-baked idea which has been roundly mocked.
The information in the document was short on detail. It is not clear if cycleways marked with nothing more than paint and a bike stencil on the edge of a road are in National’s sights.
It is understandable cyclists are wary of lanes where they are constantly at risk from the thoughtlessly opened vehicle door. Marked lanes at the edge of roads are also often full of gravel, glass and other debris and not suitable for skinny-tyred racing bikes.
As cyclists around the country have pointed out, there are not that many kilometres of fully separated and convenient cycleways which allow efficient movement by the shortest route.
Dunedin is a case in point. For example, biking north on the one-way system to North East Valley is great in parts, but still involves some death-defying manoeuvring through traffic. On the way back, cyclists must stop at the pedestrian lights at the Otago Museum, and cross there so they can continue on the separated cycleway which begins again on the other side of the road at Albany St.
National transport spokesman Chris Bishop was criticised for drawing parallels with the Netherlands, where he said using a physically separated bike path was compulsory in most places. Cycling advocates say the comparison is unrealistic and that if New Zealand had bike paths to the Netherlands’ standard, which truly protected cyclists and were convenient, people would be flocking to use them.
By announcing this proposal before any of the other possibly more sensible ideas in its discussion document, National again showed its enthusiasm for cynically seeking headlines with something which is likely to be divisive and appeal to the ill-informed.
If National wants us to believe it is truly interested in promoting cycling, then playing to the gallery of motorists who love to hate cyclists is not convincing.
It is hard to grasp how the fines policy would make any reluctant cyclist keen to take up the handlebars.
The Government recently drew attention to its initiative offering discounts on electric bikes for public sector staff around the country, including such organisations as district health boards, councils and state sector agencies.
The Dunedin City Council is among the 15 organisations which have taken up the scheme so far, but the Southern District Health Board and the University of Otago, which both have pressure on parking, do not feature on the list.
There have also been calls for the Government to provide a more general subsidy of electric bikes, rather than limiting its ‘‘feebate’’ scheme which will lower the cost of electric vehicles, hybrids and lower emission cars, from 2021. Electric cars will remain out of reach for many and lack the health benefits of cycling.
As more people take up cycling, it will be essential the development of sensible and safe cycleways keeps up and that consideration is given to such facilities as safe covered parking places. In the meantime, encouraging more considerate behaviour by all road users, rather than promoting petty fines for cyclists would seem sensible.
