| Alex Mitchell article | Letter to Sun Herald editor | Letter to Member for Bligh |
| Email Alex Mitchell | Email editor Phil McLean | Email Clover Moore |
Text of Alex Mitchell's biased article published in the Sun Herald on August 3, 2003.
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Tensions split Centennial Park patrons By ALEX MITCHELL
HOSTILITIES have broken out in Centennial Pam between the walkers and the cyclists. The walkers are enraged by "bunch cycling", which involves up to 60 cyclists flying around the park's sweeping roadways at high speeds. Walkers, many of them retirees, regard "bunch cycling" as intimidating and say it takes away the peace and quiet of their recreational strolling.
Clover Moore, MP for inner-city Bligh, said cyclists "seemed to think they can dominate the park". “I don't believe they have been prepared to co-operate with other park users,” she said. “They swarm around the park in quite a frightening way. I believe the park is for the use of everyone and no one group should be allowed to dictate to others.” The park's governing authority, Centennial PaIklands, is working with a number of cycling groups to create a truce between the warring parties by developing a code of conduct. Central to the code is a limit of 15 cyclists in a bunch, strict observance of the 30 kmh speed limit and enforcement of the Australian Road Rules provision that cyclists must ride at no more than two abreast Centennial Parklands acting director Marlene Krasovitsky said: “We are consulting with cycling groups in order to better manage the diverse use and public safety of the Parklands for the enjoyment of everyone. The Parklands has more than 5 million visits a year and is among the world's most highly used urban spaces. It is there for everyone to share and no single group has priority. We have had numerous complaints about 'bunch cycling' from park visitors and we are concerned about their safety as well as that of the ‘bunch cyclists’.” Ms Krasovitsky said “Parklands' officers have presented the draft code of conduct to representatives of Cycling Centennial, Waratah Veterans and the Randwick Botany Cycling Club. We look forward to further discussions with cyclist groups on the draft code of conduct,” Ms Krasovitsky said.
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The Editor of the Sun Herald Mr Phil Maclean.
Dear Mr Maclean, The Sun Herald has had a go at the Centennial Park story in quite a disgraceful way. Your reporter Alex Mitchell has made no attempt to balance his article and has not quoted any cyclists. It really is a very biased piece. I suggest that you have Mr Mitchell review The Sydney Morning Herald code of ethics: http://www.smh.com.au/ethicscode/
Alex Mitchell talks about walkers, apparent senior citizens, who are intimidated by large bunches of cyclists "flying" around the park's sweeping roadways at high speeds. Well this is incorrect as the cyclists restrict themselves to the bicycle lane wherever possible which is located on the outer perimeter of the Grand Drive. They restrict themselves to the main roadway (singular). They hardly fly around the park's sweeping roadways (plural).
Why they would pose a threat to walkers is beyond me as the park provides a walking track on the inside perimeter of the grand Drive which is quite a distance away the Cycling lane. I f they are supposed to pose a threat to persons crossing the road, I find that hard to believe as well as they pass any point on the Grand Drive in a matter of seconds and don't appear again for an entire lap which takes anything up to 8 minutes. The only way any walker could be in danger of a collision is if they were walking illegally within the bicycle lane. The other question which comes to mind is this: "Wouldn't retirees by enjoying the park in the middle of the day when the sunshine and weather is at its best? Surely they are not walking around at dusk and dawn on cold winter evenings and mornings which is of course the time when the bunches are training in Centennial Park.
I assume that in suggesting that this bunch poses a threat to "retirees", Alex Mitchell is suggesting that the threat is posed to senior citizens. I am a retiree however I certainly do not regard myself as a senior citizen. Neither do I feel threatened by a bunch of dedicated athletes who train together a few times per week. I might point out that many of the bunch captured by your photographer, are in fact senior citizens themselves trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle in their later years. I can indicate that the rider in the middle of the bunch in the red shorts and yellow helmet is a gentleman in his sixties. The gentleman immediately to his left and a little to the rear in the red & white striped top, black shorts and white helmet is a sixty two year old Catholic priest who is a member of the Randwick Botany Cycling club. This bunch that Andrew Taylor has captured is hardly the bunch of intimidating louts that Alex Mitchell infers them to be.
As for Clover Moore's statement that cyclists think that they can dominate the park, let me supply you with the results of a survey: This research was presented to CP at our first workshop in Sept 2001. It showed that cycling accounted for around 25% of Grand Drive activity. But most of that was 'training' cyclists (small groups) or 'recreational' cyclists (generally alone or in pairs). Actual bunch training occurred during only 7% of available daylight hours (less if you discount 5:45 to 6:30 through the winter!). Our research also shows that the 'frightener' put out by the park that bunches constitute 60 cyclists on a permanent basis is just plain wrong. The true pattern is one whereby several small groups start up between 4:00 and 4:30pm. These groups and individuals come together like blobs of mercury. The bunch generally peaks as a single entity sometime between 5:00 and 5:30pm with between 40 and 50 cyclists for a brief period. The bunch then breaks up into smaller groups, which then disperse and leave the Park.
Remember also that this only happens on two afternoons a week: Tuesday and Thursday. The morning bunches on Tuesday and Thursday are much smaller. They are generally under the control of a coach and rarely get into double figures.
Ms Moore's assertion that cyclists are not prepared to work with other park users is absurd. We have formed a consultative body called Cycle Centennial which represents the interests of hundreds of riders from many of the Sydney cycling and triathlon clubs. We have been in constructive consultation with Centennial Parklands Administration for over 2 years during which time we have had several workshops and meetings with them.
It is obvious that Mr Mitchell does not let the truth get in the way of a good story. However if indeed your paper wants to present an accurate account of the facts, the history and all documentation detailing Cycle Centennial's consultation with Centennial Parkland's Administration can be viewed at: http://www.randwickbotanycc.com/Cycle%20Centennial.htm
Regards John Buckton Delegate of Cycle Centennial
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Box 154 Kensington NSW 1465 Email: cyclecentennial@hotmail.com Web page: http://www.randwickbotanycc.com/Cycle Centennial.htm
The Member for Bligh Ms Clover Moore. 58 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021
4 August 2003
Dear Ms Moore,
I am an appointed delegate of Cycle Centennial, a local organisation which represents the interests of many hundreds of bicycle riders from many of the Sydney cycling and triathlon clubs, many of whom live in the area and are in fact constituents of yours. I would like to make comment about an article which appeared in the Sun Herald on August 3, 2003, entitled "Scary cyclists rile walkers".
On behalf of Cycle Centennial, let me say that we are very disappointed with your comments as presented in the aforementioned article. Your comments that we "dominate" the park and that are not prepared to work with other park users goes well beyond inaccuracy to the point of being quite outrageously misleading. As for the suggestion that we are a danger to pedestrians let me point out that it is not cyclists but cars which are the real problem in Centennial Parklands.
Centennial Parklands own records of reported collisions (Sinclair Knight Merz) shows 43 incidents between October 1997 and March 2001. Of these 16 were between cyclist and vehicles. Only 3 were between cyclist and pedestrians. Three collisions in over 3 years between cyclists and pedestrians in a Park that, Centennial Parklands literature boasts, “has more than five million visits a year”. We have seen examples of Centennial Parklands “numerous complaints about bunch cycling” and we would have to point out these incident reports mostly involve “a speeding cyclist” or “individual cyclists” or “three cyclists”. Not bunches of cyclists. Classically there is one incident report which states “I was running with the flow of traffic, leading two dogs on short leads, on the far right hand side of Grand Drive”, and another complaining of abuse from cyclists when the complainant was actually walking on Grand Drive with a dog off its leash.
As for your statement that cyclists think that they can dominate the park, let me supply you with the results of a survey: This research was presented to CP at our first workshop in Sept 2001. It showed that cycling accounted for around 25% of Grand Drive activity. But most of that was 'training' cyclists (small groups) or 'recreational' cyclists (generally alone or in pairs). Actual bunch training occurred during only 7% of available daylight hours (less if you discount 5:45 to 6:30 through the winter!). Our research also shows that the 'frightener' put out by the park that bunches constitute 60 cyclists on a permanent basis is just plain wrong. The true pattern is one whereby several small groups start up between 4:00 and 4:30pm. These groups and individuals come together like blobs of mercury. The bunch generally peaks as a single entity sometime between 5:00 and 5:30pm with between 40 and 50 cyclists for a brief period. The bunch then breaks up into smaller groups, which then disperse and leave the Park.
Remember also that this only happens on two afternoons a week: Tuesday and Thursday. The morning bunches on Tuesday and Thursday are much smaller. They are generally under the control of a coach and rarely get into double figures.
Your comment that cyclists are not prepared to work with other park users is absolutely incorrect. Cycle Centennial is a consultative body which represents the interests of many hundreds of riders from many of the Sydney cycling and triathlon clubs. We have been in constructive consultation with Centennial Parklands Administration for over 2 years during which time we have had several workshops and meetings with them.
Please make some effort to be factual before making such inaccurate and misleading statements. On behalf of Cycle Centennial and it's many hundreds of members, I call on you to publicly retract these inaccurate, misleading and unfair statements immediately.
Yours faithfully John Buckton Cycle Centennial delegate
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From: Diana
Prowse
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