RAA concerned over Frome St backtrack
The state’s peak motoring body has expressed deep concerns about Adelaide City Council plans to alter Frome Street bikeway.
The RAA is warning that changes recommended by the council’s Economic and Community Development Committee last week would only inconvenience motorists and cyclists, and fail to yield benefits for traffic flow.
In a close vote, the committee – which includes all 12 elected councillors – recommended a redesign of the road to accommodate two peak-time driving lanes in each direction.
A full meeting of the council tonight will vote on the recommendation.
However, RAA senior manager of road safety Charles Mountain said these proposed changes would not benefit motorists or cyclists.
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“If the council were to reconstruct the southern section of the Frome Street Bikeway, it would only inconvenience both motorists and cyclists and may not ultimately bring any benefits to traffic flow,” he said.
“Rather than trying to reconstruct a perfectly good cycling route, it would be better for the Adelaide City Council to focus on completing the remaining section of the Frome Street bikeway, between Pirie Street and North Terrace.
“Once is has been completed it will provide an even safer route for cyclists.
“With the development of the new high school along Frome Road in the near future, the benefit of a complete cycling route along Frome Road and Frome Street would provide students with an alternative to public transport or being dropped off.”
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The council recommendation to return four peak-time driving lanes to Frome Street would likely require the removal of the concrete barriers separating the bike lane, to be replaced with flexible poles and audio-tactile line markings on the road, and a reduction in the width of the bike lane.
However, Mountain said a completed bicycle corridor along Frome Street had “the potential to provide a safe link for cyclists from the south and east Park Lands to North Adelaide, so really it needs to stay in its current format”.
“We understand that the four lane option offered limited additional traffic capacity, because it would only be available when all of the parking spaces were unoccupied.
“Part-time lanes, such as the Pulteney Street bus lane, have had limited success with vehicles often parked in the bus lane and we would expect the same challenges to occur on Frome Street.
“To allow four lanes of traffic, the layout would need to be reconstructed, landscaping would need to be removed and it could still result in just two lanes being available to motorists while potentially reducing the road’s effectiveness as a cycling corridor.”
The committee’s recommendation came after the release of an independent expert report, commissioned by the council, which advised against redesigning the road because of high estimated costs and “negligible” traffic impacts. Council administration estimated the proposed renovations to the road would cost around $520,000.
But Lord Mayor Martin Haese argued at the meeting that council would have to “get this right” to justify a further rollout of separated bike lanes in the city, and that the redesign was aimed at protecting the bike lane, rather than compromising it.
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