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Martijn van der Merwe and partner Jacquie, their son Ferdi and dog Murray enjoy riding together most weekends.
And with their precious cargo onboard Martijn’s bike, the couple are very safety conscious when it comes to cycling around Adelaide.
That’s why they are also keen to take part in our latest Risky Rides survey, which opens today, to provide feedback on how to enhance safety for cyclists on our roads.
The couple from Brompton said they loved riding in Adelaide’s parklands as well as the bike trails in the famous wine regions of Clare and McLaren Vale.
Martijn said he was most confident riding along routes he had already found relatively safe from experience.
“There are roads where bike lanes suddenly disappear and that’s a worry,’’ the 37 year old said.
“So, it would be better to have more consistency of which roads have non-stop bike lanes, and more investment in dedicated cycling tracks would be welcome.’’
Jacquie said she didn’t think every road had to have a bike lane but there needed to be a network of roads which could cater for cyclists.
“The parklands are fantastic, for example, as they have extended bike lanes,’’ she said.
“There is a lot of goodwill from motorists who do the right thing and give cyclists space and Adelaide is such a great place to cycle because it’s a beautiful city and pretty flat.’’
RAA launched its first Risky Rides survey in 2020, and this year’s survey is asking cyclists to nominate up to five gaps on your regular rides which lack cycling infrastructure.
This includes on-road cycle lanes, road crossings, off-road paths, painted or protected space for cyclists, bike racks or lockers, and structures like bridges or tunnels.
We will use the results to advocate for safer infrastructure for RAA members and other South Australians who choose to cycle.
And we are happy to report some positive news for cyclists, with all seven roads identified in the top ten riskiest due to their poor condition in the 2020 survey subsequently received maintenance works.
To take the survey – which is open from today until 8pm October 17 visit – https://tinyurl.com/RiskyRides