Ghost Bikes

You may or may not know that I have become an avid cycling commuter over the last 5 years or so. This is not just because I don't own a car - if I did have one, I probably wouldn't use it to get to work. It turns out that once I had invested in a half decent, comfortable bike, that I actually quite enjoyed cycling, and arrived at work feeling like I had already achieved something for the day. Cycling to work in Vancouver was fantastic and very rarely did I miss an opportunity, even in the snow.

However, since moving to Melbourne 2 years ago I have become sufficiently concerned by the attitude and arrogance of Melbourne drivers to cyclists, that I find myself cycling less often now. This is despite Melbourne's supposedly excellent cycling infrastructure - you can put a bike lane in, but cars will just use it for overtaking, and beep at any cyclists that get in their way (to make a glaring generalisation). What wouldn't I give for Copenhagen style bike lanes?

Cyclists are frequently injured or killed on the roads, too often due to motorists' lapse in concentration and judgement. Of great concern, recently there have been two incidents in Australia (that I know of) of motorists purposefully ploughing into a pack of cyclists. And while it is well known that the 'safety in numbers' approach to cycling does help to reduce the risk of injury on the road, it is very difficult to convince people to cycle when they are understandably concerned about safety.

But what attempts are being made to change perceptions of cycling and cyclists?

The Victoria Police recently released a Google maps application that pinpoints the locations of all Victorian road fatalities, including an alarming number of cyclists. However, I am not clear how this will help, other than to highlight cycling black spots to those who choose to look at the application.

Advocacy group Bicycle Victoria provides a variety of services for members and non-members, including organising cycling events for all ages and abilities, lobbying local and state governments to improve cycling infrastructure, providing advice on safe cycling routes, the rights and responsibilities of road users, how to deal with aggressive drivers, etc. I am a member of BV.

Another approach, that I first heard about only yesterday, is Ghost bikes. Ghost bikes are art installations of sorts serving as memorials to cyclists killed on the road. They are typically old disused bikes, stripped of parts, painted white with a plaque bearing the cyclist's name, and locked to a fixed point at or near the site of the crash site. Ghost bikes have appeared in at least 68 cities around the world, and yesterday a ghost bike 'appeared' in Melbourne. So I went to see it:


This ghost bike was placed in honour of Carolyn Rawlins, a 32 year old solicitor who was cycling to work through the Melbourne CBD on October 14th 2008, before being struck and killed by a tour bus. Sadly, she was 12 weeks pregnant at the time. Sadder still, her husband only found out about her death when he read about it online.

Whether or not ghost bikes do any good is debatable. While they act as striking reminders of the dangers that cyclists face, they may also serve to scare off potential cyclists.

What is critical is that cycling conditions be improved so that cyclists will feel safe. This in turn will facilitate an attitude shift among all road users, to further improve conditions for everyone. For me the bottom line is, more cyclists on the road means less cars on the road. This should improve traffic conditions for everyone, not to mention the obvious environmental and health benefits.

Climate change is real!

I can not believe how hot it has been this week. For about the last 10 days, Melbourne has had temperatures hitting above 30 degrees every day. And it has stayed quite warm through the nights. Last night was ridiculous though. The temperature didn't drop below 28 degrees all night. Its March and I'm sleeping in an oven. Its all making me feel quite ill. Oh I wish I had air conditioning.

This is nothing compared to Adelaide's weather though. They have had 15 days straight of temperatures hitting above 35 degrees.

What am I doing to save the planet?

What I'm doing that's helping the planet

1. I don't own a car. If I were to buy a car tomorrow, it would be a hybrid.
   
2. I ride my bike or walk almost every where I go. I use transit the rest of the time.
3. I recycle as much as I can, although Melbourne's facilities for recycling aren't a patch on Vancouver's.
4. I try to buy only free-range or organic animal products.
5. I keep a bucket in the shower and then use the contents of the bucket to water the garden. This is the legal requirement for garden watering here in Victoria right now.
   
6. I take my own shopping bags with me when I buy groceries.
7. I air dry my laundry.
8. Most of my appliances are considered energy efficient for their type.
   
9. There's a lady at work who has a desk fan on most of the time, despite the fact that we have A/C. She leaves the fan on all day, even when she's not at her desk. I turn it off when I see it blowing air at an empty desk.
10. My boss leaves her computer and monitor on 24/7. I turn it off whenever I get the chance.
    
11. We don't have A/C at home.
    
12. I turn the water off when lathering with soap while hand washing. I do this at least 20 times a day because I have to wash my hands a lot.
13. If I'm running the tap waiting for the water to turn hot or cold, I use the water to fill the kettle or similar.
    

What I'm doing that's not helping the planet

1. My showers are too long. I've tried to cut down, but simply cannot figure out how to get wet, shampoo, condition, wash with soap and rinse off in under 10 mins.
   
2. I still use incandescent light globes, because they are cheaper and I have been reluctant to invest in expensive globes for a house that I don't own and will probably move out of soon. Although Australia is phasing out incandescent globes by the end of the year, so soon I will have no choice.
   
3. We don't have solar water heating, but then we don't own the house. If I bought a house tomorrow I would more than likely install solar heating.