Gold Coast Mayor to urge State Government to relax helmet laws to help proposed bike hire scheme
CALLS by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate to allow users of a proposed bike hire scheme to be helmet free have been backed by the state’s peak cycling body.
Council
Don't miss out on the headlines from Council. Followed categories will be added to My News.
TOM Tate will lobby the state government for riders on his proposed bike hike scheme to be exempt from wearing helmets to make the project viable.
The Gold Coast Mayor has the backing of the state’s peak cycling body, Bicycling Queensland, which would welcome a relaxation of helmet laws.
However, the Department of Transport and Main Roads said it was concerned about safety.
Cr Tate has been pushing for a bike hire scheme on the Gold Coast to help get people out of cars to ease traffic and improve wellbeing.
He said he would approach the state government to change laws about the compulsory use of helmets.
“I know it’s radical but if a person is going less than X number of kilometres per hour they
won’t need the helmet,” Cr Tate said.
“We have to work with the State Government if we are going to lobby for it and remove the helmet part.”
Cr Tate said the bike hire proposal would be hampered without an helmet law exemption as many tourists and commuters did not carry stack hats.
The council is investigating implementing a bike hire scheme in the Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach and Southport areas.
Cr Tate said the plan would not go ahead if there were safety concerns.
“I wouldn’t implement anything that I wouldn’t want my kids to (do),” he said.
Other plans to comply with helmet laws include providing disposable helmets or free helmets as a part of the hire scheme. The fine for riding a bike without a helmet is $121.
Bicycling Queensland CEO Ben Wilson said cyclists were supportive of some relaxation of helmet laws.
“If we are going to roll them back, hire schemes make sense because we are dealing with people who are travelling slower,” he said.
Mr Wilson said the Brisbane City Council hire scheme had a good safety record because most riders travelled at low speeds.
He said most crashes occurred when riders were travelling fast.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads said it was not considering changes to the bike helmet laws because cyclists would have “little to no protection in the event of a crash”.
“Wearing a bicycle helmet may significantly reduce the severity of a person’s injuries in the event of a crash,” the spokesman said.
The bike hire scheme would operate like “Uber” with users able to use an app to see if bikes were at “bike stations” near them.
Council is yet to determine how many bikes, the costs or where the bike stations would be located, but it hoped to work in with the light rail.
Community consultation on council’s active travel plan, including the bike hire scheme, is to start on Tuesday.
How Southport’s ‘grunge’ could attract tourists back to CBD
A leading urban planner has urged the Gold Coast City Council to dump the Chinatown name when it revamps Southport and lean into its ‘grunge’. ALL THE DETAILS
Shock rate spike: How much bills could rise without tip fees
Officials have warned that all ratepayers would see a jump in their rates bills if fees are not introduced at rubbish tips, as councillors split on the controversial measure. Here’s how much bills could go up.