The second collision between a cyclist and heavy traffic in the space of a week in Dunedin once again brings into focus the potential danger of the two-wheeled mode of transport, while highlighting the various difficulties of providing safer roads and cycleways for the city.
Tuesday's accident, in which a man narrowly escaped serious injury when his cycle was in collision with a truck in Strathallan St, was at the lower end of the scale in terms of injuries incurred, although the cycle, dragged several metres beneath the vehicle, was far from unscathed.
Last week a 54-year-old man was tragically killed when his bike was dragged under a truck on State Highway 1 near Anzac Ave.
While it is true the volume of heavy traffic on city streets has increased during the past several years, so too has the number of cyclists on the road. Each incident will have its own particulars, so there is little to be gained in playing the blame game.
That can be left to the police and, where necessary, the coroner. They will make public findings as they see fit should they identify shortcomings in driving practice or care on the roads.
The larger question is how to prevent, or at least minimise, the potential danger for cyclists on Dunedin streets - if, indeed, it is considered appropriate that cyclists should be on the streets at all.
The personal benefits of cycling have been well circulated. Disregarding risk, while not denying nor minimising it, the activity of cycling is regarded as beneficial to physical health and fitness.
The exercise is reckoned to be useful particularly for those with sedentary jobs and as a desirable bulwark against obesity and its related debilitating conditions.
The wider benefits - which rise, of course, with increasing numbers - include a decreased reliance on petrol or diesel, and less wear and tear on the roads. A very good fiscal case can be made balancing the savings in consolidated healthcare, road maintenance and fuel costs against the costs of providing safe cycleways in Dunedin and elsewhere. However, this requires shared vision between central and local governments and concerted action plans.
The Dunedin City Council has made some progress in this arena, prompted by public demand, but for many it will be too long in the making; for others simply too costly.
In June this year a report on a strategic cycling network for the city went before the planning and environment committee before being put out for public consultation.
Abley Transportation Consultants had been commissioned to develop the network, the purpose of which was to identify key cycling corridors, allowing improvements to be completed in a focused rather than piecemeal way.
Abley's suggestions for roads included cycle lanes, separated cycle lanes, shared and exclusive cycle paths, tunnels and overpass bridges. All this amounted to a 20-to-30 year vision costing up to $30 million.
Some of that funding might come from central government, it was envisaged.
Whether any of this is the answer in the short term is questionable.
Achieving synergies by marrying improvements to cycleways or lanes with scheduled roading upgrades doubtless makes good sense but rather lacks the impact of a more definitive vision or action plan.
Cost of course has to be a factor: there are not great reserves of ratepayer funds available for bolder statements and plans, although it might be thought the opportunity exists for a New Zealand city to make a name for itself by implementing the kinds of cycle-friendly initiatives that characterise many European cities.
At the very least the possibility of shared footpath/cycleways needs urgent consideration. Legislating for "under-run protectors" on the side of trucks, compulsory in parts of Europe but rejected in Canada, has mixed support.
But there is definitely scope for relatively inexpensive safety awareness programmes for drivers and cyclists.
Some cyclists unfortunately display a self-endangering arrogance in riding two-abreast or more on well-travelled and sometimes winding roads; some drivers have evidently never taken a bicycle on to a main road and tend to regard themselves as sole proprietors of the tarmac.
A joint council and trucking industry programme designed to allow a simple, brief, exchange of places could also do wonders for road safety around the city.
