People Are Dying And Most Of Us Aren't Doing Enough

We see it on the news. On our social news feeds. Cyclists are injured and killed on roads every single day. Mothers, daughters, sisters, fathers, sons, brothers… friends. We are shocked, saddened, angry.

We agonise over what if’s. We fill cards and notes with messages of grief. It’s awful. And you know what?

Most of us don’t do nearly enough to help fix the problem.

Before I started cycling I had no real idea about (or interest in) the politics of transport planning and infrastructure. I didn’t much know or care how decision were made or who made them. I just went about my day using what was available to me and not much thinking about it.

To be blunt – as a non-cyclist, I had little reason to care about how decisions were made about the infrastructure I would soon depend on as a primary mode of transportation and key element of my leisure time. 

 

The Extra Step

It really wasn’t until I started Chicks Who Ride Bikes that I became aware of the plight of those who campaign on everyone else’s behalf.

These are every day people - not equipped with political capital or specific skillsets - but who are committed to making a difference.

They are the people in your community who take time out of their own day to day lives to campaign for that new bike path you enjoy, or the safety barrier on that intersection you hate.

They are the ones who turn up to town hall meetings, stop by their local member's office and actually SPEAK to the politicians we see street-side with their sandwich boards and balloons prior to elections.

They are the ones who, after reading an article about the death of a cyclist, don’t just comment on what a tragic loss it is and how their thoughts are with the family. They don’t just hug their own relatives a little tighter the next time they see a story on the news about a cyclist paralysed from the neck down after being hit by a car. They are the ones who get off their butts and they campaign to fix the problem.

And, sadly, that’s an extra step too few of us actually take.

Research supports that safety is a huge concern specifically for women

In the past, women's cycling and the barriers we experience didn't get a lot of air time. For anyone who had been to countries like The Netherlands it's difficult NOT to notice, not only the gender parity of people on bikes, but the general attitude of cars towards bikes.

Just last week at the Tour de Brisbane, Kate Bates and The Wheelhouse podcast spoke to Dr Lauren Pearson from Monash University, a Research Fellow in Sustainable Mobility and Safety Research, who shares the findings from a recent study she co-authored:

What a girl wants: A Mixed methods study of gender differences in the barriers to and enablers of riding a bike in Australia.

The results of the study of 912 surveys collected show that more women reported concerns regarding riding on the road, and in addition to a lack of confidence have a higher concern about their safety in traffic compared to men.

You can catch the 10 minute Wheelhouse interview below with Dr Lauren Pearson summarising her findings.

If you're more of a reader, you can check out The Conversation article here.

In either case, what's the conclusion? "It is imperative that women’s perspectives and needs are considered in the planning and promotion of bike riding globally to prevent and tackle gendered inequities."

But who will make sure that things change?

Enter: Invisible Heroes

There are people in your neighborhood right now that spend their spare time thinking of ways to make your street, your suburb and your town a better place to live.

I call them the invisible heroes because they are the ones actually DOING the work it takes to get the things we all take for granted. 

Sometimes they work for larger bicycle advocacy groups such as Bicycle Queensland. Sometimes they start their own Bicycle User Groups to target a particular area. But what they all have in common is the passion for making YOUR city bike friendly.

And it’s time we all take the time to find these people, and thank them for the work they do behind the scenes - because we all benefit from the hard work they do.

By way of thrusting a few into the spotlight, we asked our local cycling activists from Bicycle Queensland and Bicycle User Groups 5 questions to find out how they got involved and how we (and you) can too…

1) How was it you came to be involved in bicycle campaigning?

Andrew D: I used to volunteer for BQ events like Bike Week in the past and I had opportunity, which arose in 2005, as BQ was expanding its events - I was the first event director for the Brisbane to Gold Coast ride. But also, as a commuter since the age of 18, I had a long experience as what its like to be a bike commuter so I had a natural interest in advocacy after starting to work for BQ.

Belinda: I was riding to work regularly because traffic congestion was terrible on my cross-town commute, but I had to take some crazy round-about routes to avoid the main roads, and even then, there was a short section of Moggill Rd which was unavoidable but seriously threatening even to a fit and confident rider.

Then Richard Pollet was run over by a truck not far away, which made me really angry about the poor conditions I had to deal with to be able to ride my bike to work, and that got me thinking about what I could do to change things.
When Council first started talking about the Wynnum Road widening project, I went along to a public consultation and discovered that they had no plans to include a bikeway, even though they were resuming people’s homes to have more room for the road corridor.

That’s when I started writing letters.

I also got talking with Peter Berkeley, who was the president of EaST BUG, and he convinced me to get involved as the group needed a secretary. Less than a year later, he moved to the country, and the group was looking for a new president. EaST BUG had existed as a community organisation for 10 years, and had established a lot of credibility as a calm and reasonable, but persistent lobby group – so now I feel a real responsibility to keep that legacy going. And I really want to see some decent cycling infrastructure on the east side of Brisbane!

Aaron: After some minor health issues and putting on weight, I returned to my childhood passion – cycling – for mental and physical health. I then discovered how bad things were for people who cycle but didn’t know how to do anything about it.

A work colleague invited me along to the CBD BUG meeting where I met a lot of like-minded folk, and through them got in involved. The CBD BUG has a really successful strategy of focusing only on issues that members are personally prepared to advance, and being prepared to call out bad policy decisions within all levels of government at the risk of being invited to the consultation table.

Andrew: I had been thinking about it (activism) for a while. I went to a CBD BUG meeting and wanted to do something for where I lived and rode.

Mitch: I was minding my own business riding to work at the airport each day when the Brisbane Airport Corporation decided to ban bicycles from all airport roads. They can’t do that!

2) Do you think more people should get involved? If so, why and how?

Andrew D: I think the obvious answer is yes, but it's the "how" question that's imporant. There are multiple ways to get involved, the most traditional way is to be part of the Bicycle User Group which exist in many pockets - regional and metro - around Queensland. There's this group called 'Safe Streets for Fraser Coast' which aims to make it safer for kids to ride to school - and this is another way into the advocacy arena that's just as important. 

Belinda: Yes, the more people speak up, the more politicians will pay attention. It’s not the technical people we need to convince – it’s the people who decide where the money is allocated. They are very sensitive to public opinion.

Mitch: Yes, because I’m really terrible at it, so if its left up to me, were all screwed.

Aaron: As with anything, the more people involved the better. Activism isn’t necessary, sometimes just being vocal in your own social circles can change the status quo.

Paul: Yes – Brisbane is a target rich environment for cycling advocates because this city’s cycling infrastructure is still non-existent or a sad joke. As more people become involved this adds more ideas/skills/knowledge and spreads the workload, plus more voices are increasingly likely to make decision makers sit up and pay attention and realise we are not going to go away.

Andrew: Absolutely yes! More ideas, Greater resources and abilities to make things happen.  

3) What are your largest hurdles in getting ‘things’ done?

Andrew D: My advice would be to join their state based advocacy organisation - such as Bicycle Queensland to keep the agenda moving forward as well as a Bicycle User Group. There's always a gap between public statements by government and their actual work on the ground. Even though we have a committed Transport Minister, we still have to make sure everything they promised comes true.

We can't transition to a low carbon future by failing to deliver low carbon infrastructure.

Belinda: Talk to your local BUG. Join discussions on social media. Start conversations with your work colleagues, neighbours, local businesses, parents at your kids’ school, etc. Most importantly, find out who your local councillor and state and federal MPs are, and make an appointment or phone call to talk to them about your concerns.

Mitch: Call me! We need help handing out bike propaganda at a Space for Cycling BNE market stall.

Aaron: As above, a great place to start is to just have conversations with friends, work colleagues, and family. Get along to a local BUG, and if there isn’t one then start one! Focus on local, small wins in your area, like local routes that are missing, connect with your local politicians and talk to them about the problems positively and politely.

Andrew D: You start simply by thinking: 'what do we want our cities and streets to look like, and how can we get there?', and then partner up with people who have the same aims. Every place has different issues, but for me, almost every town has congestion issues outside schools and challenges with making things safer. Interestingly, the danger for kids riding bikes to school is created by the parents who drive. For those involved in local school communities, I also recommend raising the issues at committee meetings. 

Start with identifying what local trips are and how to make that safer, not just going from home to your job. Think about what it's like for everybody to ride in your town - at your local shops are there parks for bikes? Are there ways in and out of key areas like supermarkets for local bike riders?

Belinda: Perhaps start by focusing on a particular issue, and gather people with similar goals and interests.

Andrew: Gather a group and start talking and identify the problems and come up with some solutions. Reach out to other groups and work out ways to leverage of each other.

Mitch: Read ‘The Activist’s Handbook’ by Aiden Rickets: http://aidanricketts.com/the-activists-handbook/

Paul: Talk to other cyclists in your workplace or at the local cafe, ask them if they’re unhappy with their conditions, tell them your ideas/solutions, and call a meeting using social media, email, flyers etc.