Wallies on two wheels.
OK. I know many (if not most) cyclists are responsible members of society. But unfortunately we also have the wheelie Wallies. Like the “gentleman” who is proud to announce on this website that he will defy the signs and put users of Unley’s winding, wooded Windsor Street linear park at risk.
It is that selfish, stupid stance that foments angst between both sides of the equation.
The encouraging aspect of all this public aggravation between walkers and wheelers is the news that some Councils are poised to take evasive action. It is to be hoped that Unley will join the debate on the side of pedestrians, despite the persistent efforts of a minority (of perhaps just one).
Meanwhile Grumpy will continue his efforts. possibly through legal action, to make all Unley footpaths user-friendly, especially for pram pushers and wheelchair/gopherists.
Talking to one of the latter last week during a visit to Goodwood Road, I was staggered to learn that she had noted well over 100 premises in the area that were not disabled friendly! Unley Road is little better, with my bank directing wheeled customers down a side alley and across a car park. Ditto a recent headline-making corner cafe on King William Road.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH by a country mile!
grumpyinunley.wordpress.com 
Cyclists now have a right to ride wherever, including footpaths and linear paths.
This particular linear path is nice and an easy ride.
I will keep riding it and as always with caution. I don’t exceed 20kph and I do ring my bell if I see a person.
I have a legal right to ride there!
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Wrong again, you Wally!!! The sort of selfish idiot who gives cyclists a bad name. Run into me and you’ll get a hefty shoulder. A promise, not a threat.
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Wally, as soon as my daughter was able to ride well enough, even she rode supervised on Windsor St asphalted area (aka The Road). She was 6 years old. She is now 9 and I have no concerns with her riding along that route unsupervised. Now, I can make allowances for children up to 8 years old on that section, but it really is only going to cause angst along there if you continue to ride there. Yes it is due to shortsightedness that the path is narrow. No it isn’t going to be rectified this side of 2050.
I’d suggest that you talk to Cr Hewitson and participate in UBUG if you have concerns about the safety and convenience of Windsor St. UBUG is always welcoming feedback on routes through Unley. UBUG is also happy to have people actively participate in what they do so the riding experience in Unley can improve.
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Oh, by the way Mike, ponder this; you only get the type of people and attitudes you design your infrastructure for. Design with a myopic view to the exclusion of viable and legitimate transport options and you only get the aggressive and brave of that transport type using it. By designing predominantly for the dominance of motor vehicles, you automatically exclude the gentile majority and are left with and aggressive, mainly male, mainly road bike riding few. Design to make bike riding feel and be safe so riders don’t want to ride on the footpath is a novel concept that might just catch on. Mind you, Windsor St is nowhere as bad as some roads in Unley (i.e. KW Rd) and the Culvert/Charles path is at the other end of the spectrum.
The other thing to ponder is that the last cyclist caused death in Australia was in 2006. When was the last person killed by a car? Oh, that’s right, it is more than one per day on Australian roads including around 50 cyclists per year, with over 80% of those where those infallible drivers are at fault.
There might be Wallies on 2 wheels, but there are murderers on 4.
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Give me a break and don’t make a pun on my name.
I’m just a bike rider on a nice safe path.
You might not like sharing the path, but I do watch out for people. 20kph top speed.
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