Slander for Miranda

Miranda Devine wrote this piece for the SMH last week - I took issue with a few things that she wrote, so I penned the following email to her:

Miranda

Regarding the last line in your recent article:

"She and her ilk should face facts. The road is not there to share. It is for cars. Footpaths are for pedestrians. And bike paths are for bikes, if there is any room left."

If only that was the case. I live in Drummoyne, and there is a wonderful path around The Bay that is split into a footpath and a bike path. Cyclists always get the rough end of the pineapple as pedestrians, particularly those with prams and dogs, usually decide that the bike path is there for them as well. One little old lady got confused last week and decided that the bike path was also somewhere to drive her car.

I'm all for separation. I don't want to cycle down Parramatta Road or William Street - I want to cycle on a quiet back street where the cars are few and far between, or on a separate bike path away from the fumigating cars and trucks and buses. Thankfully, I can cycle into the city like that from my place - Lilyfield Rd is pretty quiet now that traffic has been diverted by the City West Link, and the ANZAC Bridge has a nice wide cycle/foot path up one side. I used to cycle from Wollstonecraft and the story was the same there - bikes don't need to venture onto main roads that often if there is a good alternative up a side street.

As far as I am concerned, the slogan "The road is there to share" mainly refers to secondary roads and suburban streets. I should be able to cycle or rollerblade or scooter on a back street without worrying about being collected by some meathead in a souped up Japanese import with a rear spoiler, purple mags and a sound system that would put AC/DC to shame. I know that your paper likes to make the 4WD the whipping boy of the road, but I find the biggest menace is the young hoon going flat out in the quiet streets of suburbia.

The biggest users of bicycles are not lycra-clad commuters like me - they are kids. Children who are not old enough to drive, but still need to get around to play sport, go to school, visit friends or buy something at the local shops. I'm buggered if I am going to drive my kids everywhere - they can do what I did and either walk, catch a bus or cycle. If you want to alleviate some traffic congestion, get rid of all the parents who are driving their kids to this and that and something else - especially school. If you want to see motor mayhem, visit your local school around start or finish time. How much traffic would disappear if the kids walked or rode to school? That ain't going to happen though if you can't make people understand that the roads that kids use - the back streets, the secondary roads, the suburban byways - are there to share.

By the way, idiot pedestrians also step out in front of cyclists like me all the time. I've also seen some step out in front of buses. And yes, Sydney is hot and humid and hilly, but as far as I am concerned, it just makes cycling to work more of a challenge. If you want to be a wimp, feel free to drive. I had no idea that Australians had gone so soft, and that you endorsed that softness. I thought you hankered for a tougher, more resilient and self reliant nation. So there are hills to climb - boo hoo. If you want tea and sympathy, go see a shrink. Don't even think about crying on my shoulder. Big girls blouse.

I'm off for a ride now - maybe I'll run down a vegan, and then I can come home to a nice BBQ full of lamb chops.