Earlier this year, the Amy Gillett Foundation (AGF) partnered with interactive map-based platform, CrowdSpot, for a crowdsourcing project aimed at improving safety and stress levels for cyclists across Victoria by using their own experiences and insights to draw attention to notable ‘spots’ in a custom-built map. 

Nearly 6,000 cyclists and drivers participated through the BikeSpot 2020 map by adding ‘pins’ to highlight more than 7000 ‘Safe’ and ‘Unsafe’ locations in the state, including comments and votes on other users’ submissions. Overwhelmingly, results point towards trending fears which include a lack of dedicated space to cycle, poor driver behaviour and traffic speed. 

 

After tallying more than 30,000 unique submissions, the newly-released BikeSpot 2020 final report offers a snapshot of Victorian road user’s main concerns through their day-to-day interactions on the road.

The most notable findings show that ‘Poor driver behaviour’ – more specifically ‘Traffic speed‘ and ‘Car dooring‘ – top the list of safety fears that people riding bikes experience multiple times per week. Meanwhile, 65% of drivers wanted more space from cyclists when on the road.

Anthony Aisenberg, CrowdSpot Director said, “It’s clear from the results that the vast majority of people (cyclists and drivers alike) want a physically separated and connected cycling network. It is the best method to increase safety and importantly everyone’s willingness to ride more often. It is even better if these infrastructure improvements are used in combination with slower moving vehicle traffic and outside car dooring zones as these issues are the cause for most stress.

The data and results have been delivered to our Government project partners. We’ll be following up with them at different stages to understand how these insights and the community’s cycling safety priorities have informed planning decisions and action on the ground”.

Lists of the Top 10 Metro ‘Safe’ and ‘Unsafe’ Spots are shown below – Find out more by viewing the full report here.

The results consistently lead to a lack of dedicated infrastructure to help drivers and cyclists feel safe while cohabitating our roads. With 76% of ‘Safe’ spots related to cycling away from motor vehicles and 75% of ‘Unsafe’ spots mentioning a lack of dedicated space to ride, it’s obvious that a connected cycling network is the key to helping all road users feel more confident.

Dan Kneipp, CEO Amy Gillett Foundation said, “We’ve known for decades that safety is a key barrier to cycling participation. BikeSpot 2020 has gone one step further and identified exactly where and why people don’t feel safe, both when they ride and when they drive.

It’s clear that separated cycling infrastructure is the preference for all road users. This infrastructure can be quickly and cheaply rolled out to help provide a safe transport option during COVID-19 restrictions. 

We’ve seen wonderful developments in the inner areas Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and other parts of the country, but we need comprehensive investment to ensure all Australians have access to safe cycling“. 

Victoria is striving to become a world-class cyclist location, however, concern about safety is widely recognised as the major barrier to people getting on their bikes. Thanks to our recent #TempBikesLanes campaign, we know that 9 out of 10 Australians support the installation of temporary lanes in their area to enable the use of safe active transport during the current Coronavirus restrictions. 

In the future, AGF looks forward to bringing this essential crowd-mapping project to every State and Territory in Australia, to help prioritise and improve safety for cyclists across Australia. 

You can find more information on the BikeSpot 2020 results by visiting this report summary Medium post or the full report – Or interact with the results via the BikeSpot 2020 map here.

You can also find BikeSpot 2020 on Facebook @BikeSpotProject, Instagram @BikeSpot_Project and Twitter @BikeSpotProject

Contact Amy Gillett Foundation Sarah Dalton sdalton@amygillett.org.au