Motorcycles are not mentioned once in the 128-page Brisbane City Council draft transport plan, yet bicycles are mentioned 25 times.
It is indicative of continued government ignorance of the advantages of motorcycles to traffic flow, air pollution levels, parking accessibility and less strain on existing infrastructure.
However, not all councils are as ignorant as Brisbane.
And the Motorcycle Council of NSW worked with the City of Sydney to develop a transport policy that addresses the needs and concerns of riders in the CBD.
Footpath parking in MelbourneCouncil contact
Motorbike Writer contacted several relevant Brisbane councillors and planning, transport and infrastructure committee chairs to ask why motorcycles are ignored in the plan while bicycles are targeted.
So far, the only reply is from Chairman for Infrastructure Cr Amanda Cooper who says submissions are accepted from all transport users, including riders.
She didn’t address why motorcycles were not mentioned in the draft plan.
MRAQ comment
Motorcycles Riders Association of Queensland president Chris Mearns says it is “extremely disappointing” that motorcycles and scooters are again ignored in another level of Government planning.
MRAQ president Chris Mearns“This lack of inclusion is happening at all levels of Government starting at Federal level which continually ignores two-wheel powered transport in the mix for transport plans with the lack of consideration then trickling down to all other levels,” he says.
He points out that the draft plan states: “Traffic congestion is a major cost to business and industry. Road management and travel demand strategies aim to free up road transport capacity for more efficient movement of commercial and freight transport.”
“It is hard to understand why two-wheeled powered transport is not included as it offers considerably reduced vehicle space on the road as well as better fuel efficiency with corresponding pollution reduction,” Chris says.
“As the plan is focussed on the CBD and other business areas and with the clear goal of achieving a reduction in personal vehicle mass the use of two-wheeled powered vehicles seems opportune.
“With other capital cities now including motorcycles and scooters into their forward planning it is the right time for the Brisbane City Council to review the current plan proposal and to include these realistic alternatives as part of the solution instead of completely ignoring them.”
Bicycle fixation
CityCyclesIt seems BCC has a fixation on bicycles with their 25 references to them in the draft transport plan.
That’s probably because BCC persist with their ill-conceived and little-patronised CityCycle bike hire scheme.
These yellow hire bikes clutter the footpaths and lose about $1m a year in ratepayer revenue despite having Lipton sponsorship.
There is actually one mention of “scooter” in the draft plan. However, it refers to children’s push scooters!
To their credit, BCC has been working on securing more free footpath parking for motorcycles.
Brisbane CBD motorcycle parkingCr Cooper points out that “Council has nearly doubled the number of new free motorcycle parks in the CBD and installed dedicated motorcycle parking bays and lockers in Council’s King George Square Car Park”.
However, BCC is still well behind its own targets for motorcycle and scooter spaces.
Draft plan
Brisbane is inviting the public to have their say on their draft transport plan.
We recommend all riders – whether they live in Brisbane or not – have their say.
If you live interstate, there is every possibility that at some time you will be up this way and be affected by Brisbane’s transport planning policies.
And let’s face it … everyone wants to move to Brisbane, anyway!
So if you have a few minutes, CLICK HERE and please have your say on how motorcycles can help Brisbane’s future.
It’s not a questionnaire with loaded questions, but simply an opportunity to have your say and you don’t even have to provide a real name or any postal address, just an email address.
Online submissions
Motorbike Writer filled out their online feedback. Rather than a long-winded submission, we provided the following which you may like to use as a guide.
Why is there no mention of motorcycles and scooters in your 128-page transport plan when they are considered so vital that Sydney and Melbourne councils have special two-wheel transport policies?
The transport advantages of motorcycles are manifold:
- They ease demand on parking spaces;
- Lane filtering rules improve traffic flow;
- Motorcycles and scooters reduce overall traffic emissions; and
- They ease pressure on existing infrastructure as they have a low impact on pavement and reduce the need to widen existing roads.