I am training for a triathlon again and I need to cycle.  I claim to be a car-friendly cyclist and I avoid Sydney roads as much as I can, and therefore avoid the possibility that I might get involved in the altercations that inevitably occur between riders and drivers!

So that sees me going into Centennial Park on Sundays, in the station-wagon, bike in the boot, to train on the design-built cycle road (shared with cars) around that beautiful park.  Now there is a stretch of road where you sweep down a bit of a long slope and, if you are not careful, can easily exceed the 30kph speed limit that is supposed to be imposed.

To my surprise and chagrin (and I’m sure to the consternation of most cyclists who train there) they have whacked in a fancy new pedestrian crossing, with flashing lights and yellow paint, right in the middle of this long stretch of road that we cyclists enjoy so much.  The reason for this is that there have been a number of accidents where little children have been hit and injured, by cyclists, at this particular point of the road.

Now this very nearly happened to me last year. There I was enjoying the breeze on my face, down on my aero-bars and suddenly this little kid shoots out on his bike with trainer wheels, right in front of me. I slammed both brakes on and slid across the road, between two cars, and just avoided running this trembling little guy over. I had time to offer some free advice to his father on the supervision of little kids as I rode shakily on!

So what we have now is a pedestrian crossing that parents are supposed to use to get their little darlings safely across the road without fear of the nasty speeding cyclists.  Having been in the park on two occasions since this genius installation has been constructed I have twice witnessed little kids and their adult “supervisors” crossing the road 20 metres before, and 20 metres after the pedestrian crossing. So what’s the point?

The key here surely is what self-respecting, intelligent, responsible parent is going to let their children get away from their oversight near any road—especially one with packs of cyclists swishing around a road designed for them, and also a road with a lane for cars.

Yes, there is a responsibility for cyclists and cars to watch out and take care as they travel in Centennial Park—accepted. But if there is an accident, where a very young child darts out across the road, whose responsibility is it for what happens?

Increasingly we seem to be divesting people, at every point of life, from taking responsibility for themselves and for their own dependents. The first thing that happens when there is an accident or incident is to search for someone else to blame.

Come on Australia, let’s wake up to this ever decreasing sense of responsibility and have the courage to be alert, mature citizens of this fine country.  What’s the spiritual spin on this?  God created us with brains, and eyes and ears and hands and legs, and God hoped that we would make good choices with the wonder of human freedom that is His gift to us (Genesis 2: 15-17).

David N Williams
Chaplain