Article: South Sydney cycleway challenge back in court

[colinw]

The Australian: South Sydney cycleway challenge back in court -> click here

PART of Sydney's controversial Bourke Street cycleway would have to be ripped up and relocated if a court case succeeds.

The case, brought by South Sydney Corporate Park manager David Hannan, was reported to have collapsed in August, but was in fact alive and well, lawyers for the plaintiff said yesterday.

The case concerns the section of cycleway running alongside Bourke Road and Bowden and Mandible streets in the Sydney suburb of Alexandria.

It could set a precedent for further legal challenges to the city's planned 200km network of metropolitan bike paths, set to cost more than $70 million.

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[colinw]

Surprise, surprise, The Australian comes down on the side of the motorist, and furthermore publishes an editorial about a matter currently before the courts.  

Editorial in The Australian: Run the ruler over bike paths -> click here

WE are losing count of the good ideas that have been turned into lost causes by the proselytising zeal of the nation's do-gooders.

Until Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore embarked on her romantic mission to turn the narrow streets of Australia's busiest city into an Arcadian paradise, there seemed to be a perfectly sound case for encouraging commuters back on to bicycles. Bicycles are healthier, less polluting and take up less space on the roads, which means fewer have to be built, thus saving taxpayers' money. It ought to be a win-win, but when a bike path goes wrong, it can go horribly wrong.

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My opinion: this is a very shoddy piece of editorialising.  They disingenuously try to package it as concern for public safety, but what it is really about is taking space away from cars.

[beauyboy]

This case is not the most water tight. It was reported by the lawyer that his 100 and something clients included fitness First and Fairfax.

:-rexcept both have been supporters of the cycleway projects.

Donald