We all like some greenery in our neighbourhoods. But as I noted in this rant blog post, one bane of pedestrians is bushes and trees overhanging footpaths. They’re not really obvious unless you’re walking, but bushes and trees like this are everywhere. I’m sick of having to duck out of their way. This is especially ... [More]
I described this on Twitter the other day, but I’ll expand on it here. I was heading out in the car on Saturday afternoon. Got in, beeped, looked behind me, slowly backed-out of my driveway. BANG! A cyclist riding along the footpath with his dog (roughly at running pace) collided with my car. I stopped, ... [More]
This is not the first time I’ve spotted something like this: real estate agent signs blocking bike lanes. I’m not sure why anybody who thought about it for more than a second would think it was a good idea to leave signs there. Cyclists would either be forced out into traffic, or if they didn’t ... [More]
It wasn’t planned this way, but this week’s posts seem to have been all about pedestrians/walking. Along with rules about not parking over footpaths (and vehicles needing to give way to pedestrians when crossing footpaths), some people seem to be unaware that there are rules about keeping vegetation clear of footpaths. Able-bodied people can duck ... [More]
Some years ago I wrote about issues with the City of Melbourne policy of allowing motorbikes and scooters to park on footpaths, except in a few locations where it’s specifically banned. The problem is, most of the guidelines seem to be ignored. The guidelines Here are the guidelines (see also: PDF version): DO dismount and ... [More]
In an ABS survey in 2009, 4.0 million people (18.5% of the population) reported having a disability. Of people with a disability, Mobility aids used by about 15% of them. So about 600,000 people nationwide use mobility aids of some kind: walking sticks, walking frames, wheelchairs. Additionally, the 2011 Census says there are 1,457,571 people ... [More]