Promenade cycling

I applaud the council’s intention to overhaul the Yarra River Promenade. These big infrastructure projects take time, we all understand that.  The council’s own speed study has proven conclusively that 95 per cent of cyclists are traveling at speeds in excess of the 10km/h limit.  This is of no surprise to residents of the area, as we have to dodge a bullet every time we transit the promenade at peak hour. I’d suggest from my own observations that a large percentage of that number are doing so in a totally reckless (and often times abusive) manner at speeds two to three times the limit.  A fatality before the coroner last month highlighted the real-world consequences of high-speed collisions between cyclists and pedestrians. As such I am surprised and disappointed that the law is being breeched so blatantly and so dangerously, that there is no mention of enforcement. Especially as it is acknowledged by all that the changes mooted will take years to be fully implemented. We simply cannot wait that long for a solution to what is a critical safety issue.  The council and the police don’t need to wait for any more studies or master plans to be modelled or implemented. The laws exist. What is missing is enforcement.  James Hardy  Freshwater Place   Support for cycling barriers As an elderly Southbank resident, I was very happy to see the yellow barriers installed on the Hamer Hall ramp. I have approached this ramp with trepidation due to cyclists speeding up and down the ramp and have been abused and sworn at for suggesting the cyclist should dismount. Please keep the barriers. And install barriers on the Evan Walker Bridge where speeding cyclists remain a problem. Thanks, Roderick   New tram to Fishermans I read this article [“New tram push for Fishermans Bend” – edition 89] with interest. As a long-term resident of Ingles St, I am intrigued as to whether the group that thought up this tram upgrade had any idea that Ingles St is one of the major OD (over dimensional) routes for oversized transport, part of a series of specialised routes across Melbourne. I have enjoyed watching items such as the roof sections for Marvel Stadium and some of the largest loads ever moved by road in Australia travel slowly past my house in the dead of night. As it is, the existing Ingles St tram crossing has to be managed carefully to get these loads through safely. The crossing has been remade several times to lower the height of the tram crossing to make transit of such massive loads easier. Most of the trees on Ingles St are “pruned” as the high loads come through. This would surely mean no tram could possibly be routed along any section of Ingles St without a major re-organisation of Victoria’s transport routes.   Andrea Ellis  Ingles St, Port Melbourne   A fine publication! Greetings - first I’d like to acknowledge how we appreciate the Southbank Local News.  It’s a mine of information regarding local happenings, and we appreciate the work that’s gone into it. My query concerns your publication date. I constantly find that, by the time I see a copy, many of the events have passed. I live at Southgate Avenue, Southbank, but usually come across the new edition at Southgate Medical Centre, or La Camera, or another spot along Southbank Promenade. If you could tell me when the publication is routinely delivered to this area, I’ll look out for it at the earliest opportunity. Congratulations on the publication you produce!  Mel Sutherland