Suck it Jones! Biking is back!

By Kieran Adair
Image courtesy of Sydney Cycle Chic

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon on Bourke Street.

Cyclists are out in force, up and down the road, testing out the first of the new cycle way.

Around the corner in Marys Place, Tokyo Bike is open for business, and prepping itself for the Cycle Chic event taking place later in the day.

A short trip down Anzac Parade, will take you to Centennial park, where young and old are learning to jump back on their bikes again at a course sponsored by Waverly council.

All over Sydney businesses are becoming more cycle friendly, with many offices now adding bike racks alongside traditional parking.

It would seem that Alan Jones’s war is over.

Biking is back, baby, and it’s bigger than ever.

“Part of it is convenience, people don’t want to look for a car park, or wait for public transport, they just want to go, and that one of the great things about riding a bike,” explains Eleana Gardener.

Eleana is a biking enthusiast, and President of Bike Sydney, a not-for-profit advocacy group that campaigns for a cycle friendly Sydney.

It was Eleana, alongside Vice-President David Borella, who organised a snap 300 strong counter protest when shock jock Alan Jones declared his intention to hold an anti-cycleway demonstration at Town Hall station.

“The cycleways are the prominent piece of infrastructure encouraging newbies… to get out and cycle” David says, while emphasising that “we’re at the first stages [of construction]… the network hasn’t really arrived yet.”

An engineer by trade, David is highly pragmatic, stressing that the cycleways will not function fully for at least another 2 years, when the independent stands begin to connect with each other.

He points to research conducted by the RTA showing an exponential increase in the amount of commuters using bikes across the City, and a recent City of Sydney report showing that the economic benefit of $1 invested in cycleways is almost double that of roadways.

Clover Moore has hit a home-run with her cycleway, as initial feedback is coming back overwhelmingly positive, and talks are underway to develop a broader cycle network throughout greater Sydney.

“[Sydney] is becoming a city built for cyclists… people want to make it part of their lives,” Clover told the City Hub. “You always know when you’re constructing a piece of infrastructure that there can be an outcry, but we always know that when we finish our projects people are supportive.”

She finished, “Bike culture is happening!”