Cycling Discussion - Wyong Shire

[Andy H]

At the last meeting Stephen Prince from Wyong Council was present and has requested our assistance in the form of a discussion on the forum about what is and isn't working for cyclists, particularly in the Wyong Shire.

Any and all of your comments would be greatly appreciated.

The message from Stephen is as follows:

Thanks for your time last Tuesday. I found the suggestions really valuable.
 
To start the discussion, I was thinking that we could focus on competitive cycling (i.e CCCC and the activities that you run) and try to get some feedback on;
what is currently working well
what is not working and how could it be improved / overcome
what is it that your club needs in order to operate

[mick curran]

Newcastle CC have a street sweep that cleans the course about 3-4 times a year (they try do it before bigger races i.e. club champs)

i think the council could help us out with that on Lucca Rd. (im thinking for next season)

WSC if your reading this, it will be the easiest/cheepest thing you will see on this soon to come list.

[Andy H]

Potholes and rough patches maintained on the Lucca Rd circuit during the crit season would be great.

[jock]

This is an entirely self-centred thing, but changing that stop sign on the corner of Pavitt Cres and Lucca Rd to face Lucca Rd westbound traffic would be far safer than the current configuration.  The only saving grace is that traffic is very light along that section of Lucca Rd.

[jock]

For general road riding it would be nice to have fewer cul-de-sacs and more through roads.   Much of the Central Coast is dominated by the cul-de-sac mentality which forces riders onto arterial roads to get any decent mileage in.  Not at all good for juniors, older riders and riders who can't get comfortable amongst heavy traffic. 

[Darryl]

All good ideas so far for sure. I wasn't at the meeting so I may have missed something so if it has already been covered than thats the reason I guess. I was thinking though that if we can come with suggestions that benefit cyclists and others in the community they will have a better chance of flying (win/win).

Potholes and rough patches maintained on the Lucca Rd circuit during the crit season would be great.

The main rough area is outside the former waste contractor depot and now that it is not subject to frequent heavy vehicle movements into / out of the site, once fixed it should stay that way. Surely a benefit to all road users, motorised or not, 2 wheels, 4 wheels or 22 wheels etc.

This is an entirely self-centred thing, but changing that stop sign on the corner of Pavitt Cres and Lucca Rd to face Lucca Rd westbound traffic would be far safer than the current configuration.  The only saving grace is that traffic is very light along that section of Lucca Rd.

We could possibly manage this through a slightly different traffic management plan that allowed us to stop traffic at that intersection with no cost to Council - cheaper still than a street sweeper.

For general road riding it would be nice to have fewer cul-de-sacs and more through roads.   Much of the Central Coast is dominated by the cul-de-sac mentality which forces riders onto arterial roads to get any decent mileage in.  Not at all good for juniors, older riders and riders who can't get comfortable amongst heavy traffic.

More people on bikes (competitive or otherwise) is better all round - lower carbon emissions, cheaper (the global economic crisis is here and we all need to be $ concious) and healthier too.

No doubt traffic engineers will have a scientific answer but no through roads also mean no through traffic and an improved amenity and safety for the residents in those streets, including kids and the elderly.

Providing wide safe on road cycle paths that don't disappear and force riders to merge with traffic at roundabouts etc may be worthy of some thought - although broken glass and other rubbish tends to gather on these 

[rosko]

Is there any reason Wyong Shire can't lean on Ourimbah University to provide the club with possibly the best crit course 'ever'? Lucca Rd doesn't even compare with the Uni!

[cookie]

Is there any reason Wyong Shire can't lean on Ourimbah University to provide the club with possibly the best crit course 'ever'? Lucca Rd doesn't even compare with the Uni!

makes alot of sense however I dont think anyone could lean on the uni . Sorry for taking this a bit off topic , I dont know the history behind the loss of the uni as a circuit but its something a few of us have wondered about. Given they have a pretty active sport & rec profile plus sports physiology degree's running on the campus it might be worth looking into? The north sydney health promotion unit is also located on the campus and they would be keen to support activity like this.

On a seperate note, one thing I find amazing is the pathetic piece of road heading north on enterprise drive from the Uni.. Its gotta be one of the most dangerous stretches for bikes heading north or south. Its great a few km's up the road on the nice wide section in the 90km zone!

[Pete Smits]

What about the whole roadworks thing at Ourimbah, seems to get narrower each week, how long have these roadworks being going on for ?.

[sprince]

Hi Mick

Re the street sweep idea.

What does your club do at the moment at lucca Rd? Do you have to manually sweep the road before each race night or only before the bigger races or not at all?

If a street sweeper was available, how often would the road need to be swept? On friday afternoons,  just proir to competions ?

Steve

[RUBICON]

The end of the main straight gets quite dirty with rocks and stuff. It was Sunday. Im not sure, but whats the business opposite the first corner, I recall some pretty big trucks coming in and out of there.

I know in the past, I've seen club members with a blower trying to remove the debris.

[mick curran]

Hi Mick

Re the street sweep idea.

What does your club do at the moment at lucca Rd? Do you have to manually sweep the road before each race night or only before the bigger races or not at all?

If a street sweeper was available, how often would the road need to be swept? On friday afternoons,  just proir to competions ?

Steve

currently we have a broome and tied arms, its takes a while so we stick to the corners and do it about every 2nd week 30mins prior to the race.

the back staight has a nice shoulder but is full of glass and rocks so forces us into the lane. this area is far to big to sweep by hand.

[rosko]

Is it possible to use a blower rather than brooms?

[Stu Eddy]

Mick
No wonder it takes a while, trying to sweep with a major city and your arms tied

[Stu Eddy]

How good would an opens criterium race be around the entrance, possibly the same morning they run the half marathon... pity about the speed humps though. It would certainly help raise the profile of the sport locally.

On a more practical note, all I can say is.... on road cycle lanes, more on road cycle lanes, street sweepers and more street sweepers.
You really can't appreciate the amount of glass and tyre piercing debris on the side of the road until you get out of the car and have a good look.
The logic here is the less debris on the side of the road, the further onto the shoulder you can ride without having to swerve to miss glass etc.
This means you are further from the traffic, using the bike lanes and shoulders, keeping everyone much happier and preventing those nasty bruises from rear vision mirrors.