THE 'Review of Road Safety' released yesterday by the NSW government in response to the death of experienced cyclist Danny Egan confirms what was obvious as soon as the design drawings were made public: that the final section of "shared running" along Scott Street between Newcomen Street and the terminus at Pacific Street was an accident waiting to happen.
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A literal death trap.
The government was liberally forewarned of the dangers. Indeed, as the review makes clear, the risks to cyclists were repeatedly raised and acknowledged in a series of internal safety reports and risk assessments.
From the design stage onward, catching a wheel in the groove of a track was given a risk-rating of "high".
Here's the Herald's news report: Cyclists furious after government bans bikes on Scott Street
But still Transport for NSW proceeded, at least partly because of a belief that the "expected serious injury outcome" of a cyclist tangling with the tracks could be offset by "the expected low frequency of the event occurring".
Now, in the wake of Egan's death, a new set of experts have found, unsurprisingly, that "there was a higher chance of the risk being realised" than first thought, pushing the risk rating to "intolerable".
The review's answer to this mess is a series of eight recommendations, starting with the banning of cyclists from the full 340-metre shared-running section of Scott Street, as proposed in a submission by NSW Police.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance has responded by saying the government has immediately accepted all recommendations, with the cyclist ban to commence today.
While the government has little choice - liability wise - but to enforce a ban, it would have been better had the review included an agreed alternative route, such as that recommended by Newcastle Cycleways Movement.
Cycleways says Newcastle council has the regulatory power to quickly designate the footpath on the railway station side a shared zone, which would allow cyclists to ride off the road until a permanent solution is found. Safety-wise, this section of footpath certainly has fewer pedestrians than the existing shared path on the foreshore.
Unfortunately, however, a simple, sensible long-term solution will likely prove hard to find.
Despite the policy emphasis on bikes, and the pretty pictures of cyclists promoted during planning, Revitalising Newcastle has put a railway down Hunter Street - with a chicane in Scott Street - but not provided a safe riding place for pushbikes.
ISSUE: 39,433.
Further reading: Danny Egan's widow calls for improved safety measures
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