Cyclist reveals he warned authorities in June 2022 about a potential death trap

As a cyclist fights for his life after crashing on the bike path at Darlington, a frequent user says he warned the Transport Department about the “death trap” months ago.

The Transport Department will probe the cycling-safety of the upgraded bike path on Flagstaff Rd at Darlington following a serious accident on Wednesday.

A cyclist is now fighting for his life after crashing on Wednesday morning, at a portion of the track described as a death trap by one frequent user.

Cyclist Paul Eustace revealed he had written to the department in June warning of the dangers.

“I also have serious safety concerns as a cyclist about the downhill section where we’re expected to navigate from the bike lane to the cycle path section approaching the creek crossing,” cyclist Paul Eustace wrote to the Flagstaff Road Upgrade Project Team on June 24, 2022.

“If you miss the (what appears to be) narrowed ramp you hit a square kerb, at what will be 55-80kmh! It also has pedestrians who may be leaving or about to use the bus stop crossing the bike path, this is a recipe for disaster.”

River Torrens to Darlington upgrade.

Despite responding at the time that the track design had been designed to meet “Australian standards” a department spokesman said on Wednesday: “The Department will seek more information about the circumstances of today’s accident”.

The spokesman would not say if other cyclists had backed the concerns.

On Wednesday Mr Eustace said he drove past the accident site after a 57-year-old man crashed his bike and was rushed to the Flinders Medical Centre in a critical condition.

Police at the scene of a cyclist accident on Flagstaff Rd near Hyland Ave in Darlington, March 22, 2023. Picture: Brenton Edwards

“Where the cyclist crashed, that’s the danger spot I was concerned about,” he said.

“If you miss the ramp you hit a concrete kerb.

“My email to the project team prior to them completing the project was that someone would be killed if left the way it is.

“The upgrade has introduced several danger points that were not there before.

“I believe that this section of Flagstaff Hill Rd is now more dangerous than it was prior to the upgrade.

“I don’t use that track anymore – partially because of the danger it poses.”