Adelaide cycling group has urged Unley Council to keep bike lanes on Unley Rd for riders and businesses

A cycling advocacy group has lashed a proposal to remove bike lanes from the major traffic corridor, saying it will hurt more than just riders.

An Adelaide cycling group has urged Unley Council to reconsider their proposed plans to scrap bike lanes from busy Unley Rd.

Bike Adelaide chair David Elliott says the Unley Council proposal put to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport to remove the lanes will inconvenience riders and negatively affect local businesses.

“(Unley Rd) might be an uncomfortable place to ride but a lot of confident cyclists do use that corridor to get into the city,” he said on ABC Adelaide Radio.

“You still need to actually be able to ride on Unley Rd to reach businesses that you’re trying to visit – so this is a bad thing for people trying to cycle on the road and it’s a bad thing for businesses.”

Bike Adelaide chair David Elliott has hit out at a proposal to remove bike lanes on Unley Rd. Picture: Supplied

Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson argued removing the bike ways would ensure cyclist safety. Picture: AAP/Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Elliott pointed to other critical cycling routes which are being kept in place despite also suffering from poor cycling infrastructure.

“If we consider other main roads in Unley like Goodwood Rd or Fullarton Rd – they’re cycling corridors as well, they have no cycling facilities as well – but there’s no move to try and removes cyclist from those places.

“This is because cyclists use those businesses, they go to those places, they go to the schools.”

Unley Mayor Michael Hewitson said that the current traffic rules on Unley Rd rarely allowed for cyclists to use the bike laneway.

“They (the bike lane) are already removed for about 22 hours a day because they’re only open without cars parked on them during the very peak hours – when it’s a clearway,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“And even then, it’s not much of a bike lane because when you need it most … the bikeway disappears and it becomes a bus lane.”

Similarly, Mr Hewitson believes removing the bike land would be most prudent for the safety of cyclists.

“Fortunately, the last death on Unley Rd for a cyclist was 2011,” he said.

“But in the last ten years, there have been 54 reported cycling accidents and there would be many more but not all accidents get reported.”

The plan to remove bike lanes is yet to be fully investigated by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

Originally published as Adelaide cycling group has urged Unley Council to keep bike lanes on Unley Rd for riders and businesses