Have your say on Oxford Street East here!

https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/oxford-street-east
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Check out my Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/christopherurbanism
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Bibliography
1. Koziol, M. (2024, June 17). Residents lodge human rights complaint over Oxford Street cycleway. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/residents-lodge-human-rights-complaint-over-oxford-street-cycleway-20240614-p5jlt5.html
2. Australian Government Centre for Population. (2021). Population in local government areas. https://population.gov.au/data-and-forecasts/dashboards/population-local-government-areas
3. Transport for NSW. (2024). Licences and sanctions snapshot report. https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/data-and-research/drives-reporting-portal/licences-and-sanctions-snap 11111113shot-report
4. Transport for NSW. (2024). Road users by local government area of crash. https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/statistics/interactive-crash-statistics/road-users-by-crash-lga
5. Bicycle Network. (2018, December 6). Bike vs pedestrian crash myth exposed. Bicycle Network. https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/newsroom/2018/12/06/bike-vs-pedestrian-crash-myth-exposed/
6. National Federation for the Blind UK. [@NFBUK]. (2023, April 3). This is what our President who is blind said about the bus stop design where you step off the bus onto a narrow bus boarder next to a cycle lane on Lea Bridge Road, Waltham Forest. ‘Not fit for purpose. It really is totally inaccessible. These sorts of designs should be scrapped’. [Post]. X. https://x.com/NFBUK/status/1642783101381222400
7. National Federation for the Blind UK. [@NFBUK]. (2024, May 6). WARNING We’ve been filming the chaotic & downright dangerous situation at the Westminster Bridge floating bus stop at St Thomas’ hospital. Clip includes a speeding cyclist crashing into an elderly person. These designs are not safe & they need to be urgently halted. [Post]. X. https://x.com/NFBUK/status/1787211980027101194
8. r/CasualUK. (2022). Do people just…not understand zebra crossings?. [Post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/z5etvo/do_people_justnot_understand_zebra_crossings/
9. Team Clover. (2022). Oxford Street revitalising. Team Clover. https://www.teamclover.com.au/oxford_street_revitalising

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00:00 The article
00:51 Intro
01:00 Are cycleways ableist and ageist?
03:48 What’s so bad about the Oxford St cycleway?
04:24 Are island bus stops dangerous?
04:59 How often DO cyclists injure pedestrians?
06:00 The BIZARRE reason for the complaint
07:22 The UK’s island bus stops VS Sydney’s
09:32 Is this complaint even in good faith?
11:16 Why we need the cycleway
12:56 Have your say on Oxford St East!
13:41 Ko-Fi thanks

20 Comments

  1. Chris, have you ever ridden a tricycle? They are far from stable, particularly in turns, they’re very easy to roll. Since they don’t lean in turns, they want to lift the inside rear wheel. Ones with two front wheels instead tend to be a lot more stable but don’t seem to be as common. Not disputing the rest of this, but this stuck out to me as something ai would not be encouraging aging people to take up.

  2. When you were mentioning the bus Islands, I’m not sure what you’re talking about, so photo of one would help. And mentioning particular stops where you checked the crash data I would like to have seen photos of those as well just out of curiosity.

  3. So a bike lane that mobility scooters and such things can use, is discriminating against disabled and elderly people, but a road, where you need to be rather able bodied to drive, is not? Got it!

  4. Completely agree especially about the suspicions that complaints like this are disingenuous, but (you knew there would would be abut) the UK evidence shows that the issues around island busstops are not trivial, especially for disabled and need to be taken seriously. As you say design is very important and while Oxford St might have high standards, there is a real risk that some councils might do it on the cheap and TfNSW needs to ensure standards are set and adhered to. Education/expectations are always important; a key difference between the UK ( and Australia) and e.g. Netherlands is that people getting off a bus don't expect to encounter bikes.

  5. The first half of this video I was all ready to come down here and tell you all about the NFBUK and their bizarre crusade against floating bus stops, but it turns out I don't need to. Their bizarre crusade is inspiring bizarre crusades in Australia.

    The sensible part of their complaint is that for blind people, if even 1% of cyclists do not stop at those pedestrian crossings on to the bus stop island then it is nerve-wracking every time for them to cross. The fear of collision the greater problem than any actual collisions. The less sensible part of their complaint is that the only solution they have presented for this problem is abandoning bus stop bypasses altogether and throwing cyclists under the bus. (Not a metaphor)

    I can think of two ways to solve this problem off the top of my head, one is a campaign (education and enforcement) to improve cyclist behaviour, the other is a tiny boom gate like at rail level crossings that can be activated by anyone who needs it. We also have a couple of traffic lights on CS3 along the Embankment which could potentially work. The infrastructure ideas might feel a bit like over-engineering for what is a tiny problem but it's not like they need to be all that complicated or expensive and it will certainly make these groups feel like they are not being dismissed and ignored.

    There are also some bus stop / cycleway designs that should be abandoned, such as the "bus stop boarder" which is that one where the cycleway goes between the shelter and the bus. I think the intention is that cyclists should stop and wait whenever there is a bus at the stop, but I can't even confirm for sure that that is the intention so anyone cycling along the cycleway would have no idea at all. If cyclists are expected to stop for every bus it fails at the goal of making cycling convenient and attractive. Just stop building them and use one of the better designs.

  6. Oh boy Chris – I have been waiting the whole time since the article came out for your video about it! Oxford St is such a shithole at the moment just like Parramatta Road it needs a total rethink and cycling is one of if not the key element in that transformation alongside reducing car movements, more greenery and improving public transport in the corridor. I think Oxford St would be significantly improved if you just extended the T4 from Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach and then reduced the space for cars, but I also just hope both roads if they ever get light rail would get green grass track that would be such a massive upgrade.

    Just on the video itself, do these people complaining not know that cycling infrastructure is extremely useful for people with disabilities for goodness sake? Go to Copenhagen or Utrecht and you will see HUNDREDS of people with all types of disability issues riding all types of vehicles.

  7. Let's face it, the safety of the elderly & disabled is just an excuse. I'd put money this is either just a bunch of old NIMBYs or are a front for someone else who doesn't want the cycleway there; maybe retailers or developers. Was this a clearway previously or was there on street parking?

  8. My job is literally to advocate about disability rights and call out discrimination. This is NOT discrimination, and is by far one of the worst claims of discrimination ever! The Oxford Street Cycleway will help people with a disability. Improved pathways, improved access to public transport, less reliant upon cars. And even if you do need someone to drive you because of your disability, it will benefit you with less people using the road! I have seen the project and the work that they’ve been doing, and I don’t just have no concerns about it. I think it will make the whole community more accessible! Well done on talking about this, Chris!

  9. Thanks for the video, Chris – nice work. I'm a non-cycling, pro-cycleway Paddington resident (I provided feedback a couple of weeks ago). The anti-cycleway campaign manages to be simultaneously pathetically predictable, maddening and hilarious. In theory the campaign should be a stroad wedge – Paddington residents really should be behind the cycleway (make Oxford St less of a car sewer) with the transiting drivers from Bondi, Waverley, Bronte being against – but I don't see it breaking that way.

  10. Yes, it would actually be safer for blind people to cross traffic lanes after getting off the bus because they can hear the cars coming, bikes dont make noise which makes them dangerous.

  11. If you're interested in doing a story on what's happening with the Sydney Harbour Bridge ramp, feel free to reach out. It's even bigger than Oxford Street.

  12. Excellent video ChrisTopher, Sydney has come a long way since the dark days of Duncan Gay and the bicycle commute is so much easier and safer than ever. I was one of the Bus drivers that drove down Oxford Street and I'm also a cyclist, so I do keep the 1 M rule and Oxford street was atrocious, I've taken off a few car doors with the bus as well when they were swung in my path. I'm not doing that job anymore as I'm retired but am looking forward to when that bikeway is completed so I can bring my bike up and ride it. I'm not currently living in Sydney but i regard it as my City and thanks to you and Sheriff, I'm keeping up with what's happening there.

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