Pedal Pusher - Swampthing

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<strong>Swampthing</strong> recently published a review of roundabouts in the city. After the article went live we contacted all 15 of the city’s elected councillors for their comments. Reaction has been mixed. So far, we’ve heard back from about half of them (Note: we’ll be publishing their non/replies soon). But one councillor stood out amongst the crowd... literally if you catch him in his day-glo safety gear. Not only did he promptly reply to our questions... but he seems to be the *staunchest commuting cyclist in the city with a very clear view of what it’s like to use our roads to get around town on a bike. I’d never met Chris Teo-Sherrell before and when I suggested we meet for a coffee to discuss his experiences he went one better and suggested a tiki-tour of the city’s best and worst roundabouts. The couple of hours we spent together was both enlightening and a bit daunting. Until then I’d thought I was a dedicated cyclist... * If you think I’m wrong, hit the bulls-eye to get in touch - SwampThing would love to meet more like him. stm
ST: Do you use a car at all? CTS: 99.99..99..99 percent of the time no. There are some very rare occasions like when we went to dinner with friends over at Kelvin Grove the other week. We had several dishes for a potluck dinner and we decided we’d go with them. ST: Do you even own a car. CTS: We’ve never owned a car. I once owned a motorcycle for three or four years, but it was more trouble than it was worth. Although I did ride it to Auckland on one occasion (laughs). A 100cc Yamaha...absolute madness. ST: How many kilometres do you reckon you cycle a week? CTS: I’ve thought about that, but not enough to ever work it out. I do keep a record of distances I travel by bus, car or train, in an attempt to keep track of my carbon emissions. I cycle pretty much every day...even into town. It’s only a kilometre or so. It’s quicker than walking. ST: I’m sitting here looking at your bike, a Peugeot. Did you buy it for the brand? It seems to have quite good componentry... CTS: It was a fairly random buy. It was bought in the UK when my wife and I cycle-toured over there 30 years ago. It had a carrier on the back, panniers..it was all loaded up. The componentry is good...I’ve only had to replace a few things. Obviously it’s a lot heavier than a modern bike and I’m finding that as I age I will need to change the handle bars so I can sit upright. Upright cycling is an image I’d rather buy into than the racy look. ST: Do you think Palmy’s streets are generally cycle friendly? CTS: No. ST: That’s pretty categorical. CTS: It is. Because you said “generally” Some [roads] are very good. Many are modest and some are quite poor. Most of [my concern] relates to the use of them by the traffic that’s on them. Most of the safety issues are to do with the density of the traffic and the interaction between cyclists and the traffic...rather than the roads themselves. There are a few areas where the road surface is poor...motorists wouldn’t notice it at all, but on a bike you do...especially on narrow tyres. ST: So cyclists and car drivers aren’t that good at getting on? Do you think good design could help that relationship? CTS: Good design would help. Many of our roads are so wide cars are encouraged to go faster. Although we have all these cycle lanes, I’m a little bit in two minds about them. It leads drivers to think that that’s where cyclists MUST be and that’s often, especially when approaching intersections, not the best place to be. For example the new roundabouts. stm
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Pedal Pusher - Swampthing

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