Pedestrian calls for 10km speed limit on Jack Pesch Bridge
A man hit by a cyclist while recovering from open heart surgery is calling on authorities to make changes to a popular pedestrian and cycle bridge in Brisbane. HAVE YOUR SAY
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A man hit by a cyclist while recovering from open heart surgery is calling on authorities to establish a 10km speed limit on a popular pedestrian and cycle bridge in Brisbane’s west.
Indooroopilly retiree John DeVries, 67, was walking on Jack Pesch Bridge on Saturday morning when he was struck from behind by a cyclist.
Indooroopilly walkers urge cyclists to share space on Jack Pesch Bridge
“As part of recovering from open heart surgery we’re encouraged to go walking every day, so I left home say 6.20am to go for my morning walk and walked over the Indooroopilly pedestrian bridge which is a shared bridge with bikes,” he said.
SHOULD THERE BE A SPEED LIMIT? COMMENT BELOW
“I didn’t see the bike coming, I didn’t hear it, I just got hit from behind … there were a lot of bikes whizzing past me, but this one instead of whizzing past just ran straight into me.
“I remember being hit, I don’t remember hitting the ground.”
Mr DeVries was taken to the Wesley Hospital for several hours where he was treated for a number of superficial injuries on his face and hands.
Ligaments of his upper front teeth have come loose and he may have to have surgery on his teeth.
“The guy who hit me said he was doing 22km/h,” Mr DeVries.
“It really is very unsafe for pedestrians and bicycles to share it (the bridge), particularly at times when there is lots of bicycles.”
The Indooroopilly local is calling on authorities, including Brisbane City Council and the State Government to create a 10km limit on the bridge.
Wife Susan DeVries said cyclists on the bridge have been aggressive in the past.
“There’s no rules, it’s like you take your life into your hands on that bridge,” she said.
Brisbane West Bicycle User Group (BUG) organiser Chris Cox said the incident was very unfortunate but a speed limit was unlikely to make the bridge any safer.
“We’ve had these debates before … the problem with speed limits on shared paths and things like that is that they are very difficult to enforce,” Mr Cox said.
“Very often bicycle riders don’t have speedometers on their bikes so they don’t necessarily know how fast they are travelling.”
Mr Cox said a more effective measure to make the path safer would be to create separation on the path between cyclists and pedestrians.
“Particularly a bridge like the Jack Pesch Bridge that has a lot of cycling traffic, so where there is higher levels of cyclists maybe there is an argument for some separation but I probably wouldn’t be of the view that a 10km/h speed limit would really solve the problem.”
A Brisbane City Council spokesman said the State government was ultimately responsible for setting and enforcing speed limits on pedestrian-cyclist bridges.
“Pedestrian and cyclist safety is our absolute priority and we regularly consult with residents, cyclist groups, and all levels of government to make sure our roads are as safe as possible for all users,” he said.
“Ultimately, it is the State government who are responsible for setting rules around cyclist speed limits and, currently, bikes are not required to have a speedometer.
“Queensland Police Service are the only authority who can enforce cycling speed limits.”
