A little while ago, I got up in the night to discover men at work in my street ... I was so excited because they looked like ...
they could be ...
bicycle-box fairies!
I was interested to see that the police took absolutely no notice ... which led me to think that pretty much anyone could create these things if they had a mind to ...
There are hoards of police in the city at night to try and keep the alcoholic masses and the resulting 'armageddon' under control ... they fail. They seemed to not notice the large van and be-fluoroed men painting the street
In the morning there were two a smart new green squares ...
It made a huge difference to the street ... not. Then weeks past and no bicycle icon appeared - I waited and waited and then ...
It happened!
It has, of course, made absolutely no difference to the street - I have not seen a single cyclist in the box as they generally sit near the curb instead. Every morning I eat my breakfast and watch out of my window - cars absolutely love sitting on top of the box but alas no cyclists.
It's a clear case of misdirected assistance - during the same breakfast period, many cyclists pop the wrong way down High Street (as I do myself) but none use the nicely painted boxes ...
Wouldn't it be great if someone from the council stood on the street corner and actually asked the passing cyclists what they would like before spending hundreds? thousands? of dollars on useless stuff?
Soooooo true.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking along similar lines - if Auckland Transport won't paint sharrows around the city, why not make a stencil and go paint them myself? Perhaps it'll be a summer task.
ReplyDeleteI think there's a lot to be said for people power! It would certainly be a good flash mob project.
ReplyDeleteI have to find a the link again, but a group of people in Arizona I think it was turned up in the middle of the night and spray painted pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes, and installed plant boxes to create sitting areas on the side of the road - made an amazing difference.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/street-makeovers-put-new-spin-on-the-block-38926/
ReplyDeleteThey can be useful. I use a bike-box over here in the burbs that prevents my certain death on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI think the issue is more that Victoria street needs to go on a serious diet - its size isn't justified by its role or location. There's plenty of space there for bigger footpaths, cycle lanes and one car lane each way.
ReplyDeleteSomeone beat me too it!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/05/street-hacker-officially-embraced/1921/