Alex Cossu

This morning, Alex Cossu, Labor’s candidate for Doboy Ward joined Belinda from East BUG for a ride around Cannon Hill. Alex hasn’t ridden for a while, and admitted that the family bikes were out of service—so that was a good opportunity to introduce him to the magic of electric bikes and the comfort of an upright riding style. (We should be on commission; we might have sold another e-bike or two!)

Well done to Alex for braving the busy morning traffic to ride sections of Barrack Rd, Junction Rd, and Wynnum Rd. We drew the line at Lytton Rd though, sticking to the shared path on the southern side where we discussed the lack of crossing points and the well-worn path through the dirt (and lately mud) on the opposite side. We watched a female commuter cyclist boldy ride on the road through the Colmslie roundabout, and discussed how “taking the lane” was a sensible strategy for people who are prepared to ride on the road, but fairly useless advice for a new rider or someone deciding whether their kids can ride to school. Belinda pointed out that a road environment which requires people to “share” space with heavy vehicles and fast-moving motor traffic is never going to enable more than one or two percent of people to make trips by bike.

Alex was keen to understand more about the Junction Road project, and why Council has decided not to proceed with building the bike lanes next to the kerb where riders would have protection from the motor traffic.

We rode “cross country” through the back of Bill Cash Memorial Park and again at the East Village site at Cannon Hill to illustrate how connections like those could make it much easier and more attractive for people to achieve local trips—such as to shops, school, and public transport—by walking and cycling. That in turn would reduce the need for some households to have multiple cars, and relieve the pressure for on-street parking in areas like Cannon Hill and Murarrie where apartment buildings are rapidly replacing single houses on mid-sized blocks.

Doboy Ward covers a large area, and we were only able to physically explore a small corner of it in a morning ride. However we did sit down over coffee and talk about a number of other big intersection projects that Brisbane City Council are progressing—including the Lindum crossing (Kianawah Rd, Lindum Rd, North Rd, and Sibley Rd) and Wynnum Rd / Hemmant Tingalpa Rd. A recurring theme is that Council are giving only the most meagre consideration to people walking or cycling, and then wondering why hundreds of millions of dollars doesn’t “fix” traffic congestion.

Thanks Alex for making the time to explore some of Doboy Ward by bike. Even on our short ride, you experienced the challenges of drivers failing to give way while turning across a pedestrian light, queuing in front of a mid-block crossing ramp, and trying to get through a busy roundabout by bike. But you reminded us of the joy of rediscovering cycling; it’s a great way to get around, and Council has a crucial role to play in making it accessible for almost everyone.