War on cars

[Thoglette]

So I reported it. Council got back to me.. they try and find the owner and give them a month to move it. If they can't or won't move it then I can request again it be removed and sometime council will remove it.

I mean.. so why not leave your private property on the road. The council has your back.

Round hereabouts the vehicle will get a rather large orange sticker stating that has been deemed "abandoned". And shortly thereafter it will be loaded up on a truck and taken away, never to be seen again.

[mikesbytes]

Pretty much sums up the Rozelle interchange. You don't need to be a traffic management expert to see the flaws

[Cyclophiliac]

Perhaps I'm just imagining it, but the number of anti-SUV articles in the media seems to be increasing.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... cant-go-on

You never know: in 50 or so years, Australia might actually do something to fix the problem...

[mikesbytes]

Perhaps I'm just imagining it, but the number of anti-SUV articles in the media seems to be increasing.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... cant-go-on

You never know: in 50 or so years, Australia might actually do something to fix the problem...

Rather than picking on a particular body shape bring in fuel efficiency regulations, which they are and safety standards targeting greater safety for those that are hit by a motorist

[antigee]

So I reported it. Council got back to me.. they try and find the owner and give them a month to move it. If they can't or won't move it then I can request again it be removed and sometime council will remove it.

I mean.. so why not leave your private property on the road. The council has your back.

Round hereabouts the vehicle will get a rather large orange sticker stating that has been deemed "abandoned". And shortly thereafter it will be loaded up on a truck and taken away, never to be seen again.

Guess must depend on local council laws - leafy SE Melbourne and usually a couple of months after sticker appears before vehicle disappears - some look like the aftermath of a crime spree, some collision damage presumably towed to owners street and left, others with a garage and drive full of "projects"....recall this truck occupying one of the busiest cycle lanes in Melbourne:


paywalled story here: (hence screen grab)
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/subscribe/ ... nt-1-SCORE

[g-boaf]

Clover Moore attacking cars again:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/gre ... 5fbr7.html

It's a good thing but the usual suspects will be furious about it. We can expect calls to give businesses more votes in elections so Clover is voted out and I would fully expect cyclists among us here to also support her removal.

[CmdrBiggles]

Clover Moore attacking cars again:

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/gre ... 5fbr7.html

It's a good thing but the usual suspects will be furious about it. We can expect calls to give businesses more votes in elections so Clover is voted out and I would fully expect cyclists among us here to also support her removal.

A regular cyclist and motorcycle rider, Gannon said he backed the slowing down of traffic.
“I really do want to see streets slowed down. Drivers in Sydney, particularly the high-testosterone 28-year-old male road kings in Ford Raptors, really need to relax,” he said.



I believe down south in Melbourne City Council, Nicholas Reece said something very similar to this statement while the council was debating the removal of all cars from the "Little" streets in Melbourne CBD to turn them over to pedestrians, cyclists and essential delivery vehicles only.

Many months on, this plan has faced stiff opposition, the Melbourne CBD's Little Bourke Street remains a quagmire of gridlocked traffic moving from one bottleneck to the next rather than benefiting any local economic footprint.

[g-boaf]

The Ute tax is not going down well:

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 5ff66.html

[redsonic]

In Brisbane, the Government is considering converting a major arterial road to cater better for

local transport, public transport and active transport.

.
A toll tunnel would be built to cater for longer distance traffic.

Article is in the Brisbane Times, behind a paywall.

Mellish said Gympie Road could also benefit from better tree and shade cover, which would boost businesses and improve amenity.

“In the middle of summer it’s not the most pleasant place to be with the traffic and the heat, and we would want to make it more accessible for everyone,” he said.

Mellish said Gympie Road could be reconfigured with e-scooters in mind, given their increasing popularity, and the government would also want to factor in an upgrade of the Chermside bus station.

At least someone is thinking ahead.

[jasonc]

so escooters are ok, but bikes are not

[Thoglette]

The Ute tax

Stop doing Murdoch’s work for him. It’s a (rather overdue ) update to our existing vehicle tailpipe emissions standards.

Not that this means much if you’re the sort to bypass that expensive and annoying particulate filter

[CmdrBiggles]

so escooters are ok, but bikes are not

Not the full picture.

[mikesbytes]

A summary of the problems with cars

[hunch]

The Ute tax is not going down well:

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 5ff66.html

Assume this is what that was about? https://theconversation.com/australia-m ... bit-226724

Interesting stat in there about the percentage of the workforce that could reasonable be expected to need a ute now - and 40 years ago....which brought up this quip, "over time, this has been replaced by various forms of cosplay."

[Thoglette]

…which brought up this quip, "over time, this has been replaced by various forms of cosplay."

Love it!
I’m sitting here watching some lads failing to get their chook chaser into the ute (a Raptor).
Tray is too small, too high and access is hindered by the “roll bar”.
They’ve had to leave the tailgate down to tie it on.
Wouldn’t have that problem with a 1-tonner

[mikesbytes]

Yet another video on Traffic Inducement

[Cyclophiliac]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... r-the-ride

Apparently it takes a 3.5kg dog to make Australians treat this cyclist decently. A sad reflection of how cyclists are treated here.

[g-boaf]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... r-the-ride

Apparently it takes a 3.5kg dog to make Australians treat this cyclist decently. A sad reflection of how cyclists are treated here.

Yes, had a motorist shout out something nasty yesterday, typical tradie ute. I didn't take notice as going opposite way and in a big hurry.

That said I often get people wanting to have a look at my bike if I'm stopped, it always gets a lot of attention. I'm happy to explain some of the tech on the bike to people.

[Cyclophiliac]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... r-the-ride

Apparently it takes a 3.5kg dog to make Australians treat this cyclist decently. A sad reflection of how cyclists are treated here.

Yes, had a motorist shout out something nasty yesterday, typical tradie ute. I didn't take notice as going opposite way and in a big hurry.

That said I often get people wanting to have a look at my bike if I'm stopped, it always gets a lot of attention. I'm happy to explain some of the tech on the bike to people.

The Guardian opened the article to comments, and the very first comment is something like "I'm not anti-cyclist, BUT ...". It's so bloody depressing

[elantra]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... r-the-ride

Apparently it takes a 3.5kg dog to make Australians treat this cyclist decently. A sad reflection of how cyclists are treated here.

Yes, that is a great article, says a lot about how prejudiced people can be but some things (like a happy canine) can break down those barriers.

On the local Railtrail (Murwillumbah to Byron Shire boundary, 24 km) it is quite common to see dogs riding in bicycles, on the trail.
The smaller ones often in backpack or chest carrier, but more moderate sized ones in a rear or front carrier basket.
Sometimes you see dogs getting chauffeured along in trailers.
And often of course there are dogs on leads being walked on the trail, which is almost never a problem.
Just occasionally, you see an unaccompanied dog on the Trail.
This is rarely an issue for cyclists, but does sometimes lead to complications when another dog (restrained in a lead or on a bicycle) approaches or passes !

[uart]

Just a silly meme, but I thought it was funny. I think it's from the US or Canada, but it still really catches the arse about attitude that many people have to cycling in Australia.

[redsonic]

Very good! Thanks for sharing

[g-boaf]

Just a silly meme, but I thought it was funny. I think it's from the US or Canada, but it still really catches the arse about attitude that many people have to cycling in Australia.

Wrong model type, but a cyclist I know (a very good one) has an enormous lifted Nissan Titan V8.

[opik_bidin]

As climate disasters continue to hit Australia, with more and more drivers on the road, insurace premium skyrockets.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/who-d-p ... 5fo8j.html

Meanwhile, The cost of owning a car in Australia has risen three times more than the national rate of inflation
https://www.9news.com.au/national/victo ... 8d270f3aaa

and fuel price, "From prices going up at more than twice the rate as they fall, to higher gross margins and prices not falling as far as they should at the bottom of the price cycles in our most populated cities, ironically in a research led by NRMA, who destroyed trams and made Sydney the most tolled city
https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel- ... 7497e98d94


as it stands, costs of carcentric planning and use will be more and more expensive, yet the presence of auto lobbies, the road, car and truck makes railways, walking and cycling an afterthought.

[brumby33]

I've also noticed the cost of car ownership from the pre-covid times and now living in Albury NSW, the only thing that is cheaper is Insurance as it's in a regional/rural area.
Petrol wise my little 1.8 ltre Corolla is now costing close to $75 per fill up but the car doesn't go far most the time only averaged over the past 10 years of 7,000kms per year. Unless I'm going away somewhere, I'd normaly fill up every 3 weeks. But I've also got the motorcycle which I sometimes take to work and back, especially during Summer as I can park it in the shade. Way too hot mid Summer to ride the pushy at 38C day in and day out. My car only does 3,500kms between 2 x 6 Month services so oil is always clean so I might stretch that out now for every 12 Months. I bought the car cash when new so payments and interest not an issue but with the average new car now floating around $50-60K plus, I'd hate to be paying off a car now so I can fully understand those in Mortgage stress in the outer areas of big Cities having at least an hour each way drive.

But.....

my time living in Albury could be coming to an end next year as recent medical issues have bugged both myself and especially my wife and we may have to sell up and move back to Sydney where the Medical specialists are.
So moving back to a big City has some disadvantages (crowding), it also has many pluses.

Public transport is plentiful and relatively cheap especially for us having Former Employee Transport Gold cards (opal) that allows us to travel free all over Sydney except some outer suburban bus services that we'd rarely use.
We could buy a nice 2brm apt for the same cost or a bit more than our house here and I'm thinking around Parramatta area and I believe the Cycling isn't too bad there either. So as we age, being close to public transport, medical facilities and shops is more important to us than owning a car and we may end up selling it a bit later on....I just don't think updating cars these days is worth it, just a money pit, even when new. I'll end up selling the Motorcycle too in the next Couple of years. Anytime I need a car I'll either rent one, Uber or Taxi or one of those car share ones.

I've enjoyed it down here on the Murray but the writings on the wall.....it's time to think of the future and one without relying on a car so much. Perhaps I can see an E-Cargo bike in my future

Cheers

brumby33