Design and engineering in the road related environment can make a big difference to bike riders.
Comparing guidelines, policies and law
A significant part of our work involves reviewing plans for bike paths and roads. To do this, Bicycle NSW compares what is proposed with the applicable guidelines, policies and laws.
We know how challenging it can be to distil and apply this, especially when the documents we need to review can be well over 100 pages. Across NSW members, Bicycle User Groups, Council staff and Local MP’s also ask for our advice, and we wanted to make life easier for everyone.
Design Principles For Bikes
Earlier this year we developed Ray’s Corner that includes a Summary of Design Principles for Good Bike Infrastructure. Riders often encounter problems and Bicycle NSW knows it can be hard to work out where to go to deal with an issue.
The Summary of Design Principles for Good Bike Infrastructure is indexed by problem or issue. This can help anyone work out whether what they’re riding on, or a proposal, is a problem, and which law, guideline or regulation it breaks.
Safety Standards
If what you’ve encountered doesn’t meet a safe standard, you can raise local issues with your Council, the person or organisation proposing the plan for new developments and projects, or with Transport for NSW for State roads and major transport projects. This is how Bicycle NSW advocates for change.
“We can’t guarantee success, but it’s a lot easier to call for change when you can identify support for safety improvements,” said Bicycle NSW General Manager of Public Affairs, Bastien Wallace.
“This summary is also being used by some Councils to help staff identify the correct standard for rider infrastructure,” said Bastien.
Bicycle NSW encourages you to take a look, share with friends, and use the summary to identify if what has been built, or is proposed, is safe enough. If not, you can then use the summary to ask for better standards wherever you ride.
Safety On Spokes
This article is a part of our 2 month Safety on Spokes Campaign where we cover a range of topics to make a better environment for bike riders in NSW.
