Rebecca Hack

In the 2023 AGF BikeSpot, Sylvan Road came in at number 1 as the most reported dangerous place to ride in Brisbane. It’s no surprise then that Sylvan Road is one of the top priorities the BUGs and Bicycle Queensland highlighted for the 2024-28 term of Brisbane City Council.

It was also no surprise to Rebecca Hack, Labor’s candidate for Walter Taylor, who lives near Land Street and sees it in action every day. Rebecca moved to St Lucia from Kyogle as a uni student and her main form of transport was a second hand bicycle and the bus. She continued riding while working in Longreach and Rockhampton, and when she returned to Brisbane her children rode and caught the bus to football and uni along Lambert Road.

Recovering from a knee injury, Rebecca wasn’t able to ride but she was only too happy to meet with Chris and Michael from Brisbane West BUG at the Regatta Hotel. Rebecca shared Labor’s plan to create an advisory stakeholder group for cycling, and Chris provided some feedback about how the Active Travel Advisory Committee worked (or didn’t…). Chris and Michael shared the frustration of consultation on Council road projects where engineers are working out of date, car centric manuals which so frequently result in poor outcomes for walking and cycling.

They also discussed the opportunity slower, safer local streets in the suburbs present to shift short local car trips to bike, easing congestion and providing an opportunity for more people to walk, ride or roll.

The sight of cargo bikes carrying kids on Sylvan Road was wonderful to see but only highlighted the need for proper separation.

Thanks for meeting with us Rebecca, and for a really well-informed discussion. We hope to ride with you around Walter Taylor Ward as soon as your knees are healed.