New tool to track cyclists’ ‘near-misses’ in Melbourne’s west

Cyclists cop abuse or have near misses “at least once a day”, an advocacy group has said as they launch a new tool to identity the most dangerous routes. Have your say.

Road users are being urged to stay alert after a spate of cyclists being injured or killed along a busy thoroughfare in Melbourne’s west.

A new project is hoping to improve cyclist safety by tracking “near-misses” in Melbourne’s west.

Launched by advocacy group Bike West, the project began after the group realised authorities were only tracking deaths and hospitalisations.

While the “unacceptable” figures of injury and death are useful to track road trauma, Bike West president Dr John Symons says data around near misses and abuse received by cyclists can be used to identify dangerous routes and assist with advocacy.

“Cyclists within the west can expect to have a near miss almost on a daily basis,” he said.

“No one should be expected to die when just travelling from A to B.”

According to the Transport Accident Commission, one in five cyclist deaths in Melbourne over the past decade occurred in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Since 2012, there have been 11 cyclists killed and 370 hospitalised on roads throughout Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Brimbank, Moonee Valley, Wyndham and Melton.

According to Dr Symons, councils and state authorities have taken a “tokenistic” approach to cyclist safety in the past.

“Sharing road space with a five to 10 tonne truck travelling at 60km per hour is a recipe for disaster,” he said.

“In the west there’s isolated segments of good infrastructure, but without an interconnected network for cyclists, it‘s useless.”

The project comes after one cyclist was killed and two others were seriously injured riding along Whitehall Rd in Yarraville in July and August.

More than 8,000 heavy vehicles travel along the road each day, but cyclists say its the only available route for those wanting to travel between the city and Melbourne’s western suburbs.

The mixed-use nature of the road came to a head in July, when a Hungarian backpacker in her 20s was left with critical injuries and junior basketball coach Michael Johnston was killed.

Just a few weeks later another cyclist, a 22-year-old Yarraville man, was hit by a truck on the same stretch of road on August 5 – leaving him with serious injuries.

Last year, coroner Caitlin English made nine recommendations after 35-year-old cyclist cyclist Arzu Karakoc was killed by a truck on the same road in March 2017.

Yarraville bike crash victim Arzu Karakoc. Supplied Facebook

A Department of Transport spokeswoman said cyclist and pedestrian safety on Whitehall St had been improved following the “tragic crash”.

“Our thoughts remain with those impacted by both tragic fatalities involving cyclists on Whitehall St in Yarraville,” she said.

“Since 2017 we have delivered a number of upgrades at this location ... and as part of the West Gate Tunnel Project we’re building new connections and active transport routes to redirect cyclists away from the intersection of Somerville Road and Whitehall Street.”

The construction, a bridge over Whitehall St and improved cycling lanes along Hyde St, promises to remove the need for cyclists to use Whitehall St once completed.

The bridge was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2022, however this has been pushed back to 2024.

The data obtained from cyclists will be used for the group’s advocacy with councils and state government departments.
The Near Miss Project can be accessed here.