Stuff.co.nz: Cyclists and motorists warned as crashes soar

Crashes involving cyclists have soared. So Rodney police are pleading for patience from both motorists and cyclists as riders take to the district’s roads in practice for the the cycling season in October. The opening 100km Hamilton to Pukekohe event is closely followed by the Round Lake Taupo ride in November, which attracts thousands of cyclists from throughout the country and abroad, plus many other smaller events. Rodney’s Rabbit Ride is scheduled for February 3.

The number of crashes involving cyclists took a massive leap in 2006, Rodney road policing officer-in-charge sergeant Mark Fergus says.

“From calendar year 2002 to 2005 the average was around five a year. In 2006 that number leapt to 18,” he says.

Indications are the trend has not abated.

“We are seeing more cyclists on the roads following a national drive in recent years to encourage more people to use cycles instead of driving, and to cycle to stay healthy,” Mr Fergus says.

Cyclists are urged to wear high-visibility kit, ride in single file and carry and use good quality lights at dusk and dawn.

For motorists the key word is patience and an awareness that there will be increasing numbers of cyclists on the road.

“If you have to sit and wait for a better time to overtake - just do it,” Mr Fergus says.

There is no single cause that dominates in crashes involving cyclists, he says.

“It can be because of motorist inattention, sun strike, an instinct to duck back in when a car appears while you are overtaking - any number of things.”

A proposed safe loop cycleway from Silverdale through Wainui, Waitoki and Dairy Flat is before the Rodney District Council.

The proposal includes smoothing and widening road shoulders on one or both sides of Wainui Rd, Waitoki Rd and Kahikatea Flat Rd between State Highway 17 and Waitoki Rd to provide an on-road cycle way.

Transit’s chief executive Rick van Barneveld says that of 268 submissions on its 10-year state highway plan, the highest number showed a keen interest in Transit supporting safe walking and cycling activities.

“Over the next 10 years we plan to spend up to $54 million on walking and cycling facilities on state highways. This is an increase of 63 percent compared to our last year’s forecast of $34 million over a 10 year period,” Mr van Barneveld says.

Ray Smith, author of the proposal, says one of the main obstacles to cycle transport development as an alternative means of commuting is that many riders do not have the necessary confidence, skills and fitness to undertake journeys to and from work.

“Without an available safe road network for cyclists to practice open road skills and develop the fitness required to negotiate the sometimes steep and potentially dangerous routes in the district, it is no wonder that cycling as a means of transport is on the decline,” he says.

North Harbour Cycling Club president Dave Ostin says his organisation is concerned racing cyclists are being driven out of the district through urbanisation and roads becoming busier and less safe for cyclists.

Rodney councillor and cyclist Bill Smith, unrelated to Ray Smith, says the successful establishment of such a safe circuit for both cyclists and motorists could become a model for other districts in the Auckland region.

“The first stretch from Silverdale to the Wainui overbridge is due for upgrading as part of the Silverdale North development, and a cycle lane could easily be incorporated. I have already spoken to council planners and engineers about this,” Bill Smith says.