News bot Posted March 11, 2015 Posted March 11, 2015 The Pedal Power Association is committed to promote cycling and the interests of cyclists in South Africa. Through the Safe Cycling campaign, PPA aims to create an environment conducive to the safety of all cyclists on the road. Click here to view the article Blackbeard 1
flymango Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Fantastic news. Spare a thought though for the "coffee economy" in Noordhoek (e.g. Cafe Roux). Those establishments are going to lose a lot of patrons for a long time!!
eddy Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Fantastic news. !!Nope, in my opinion bad news. The fire damage has either made it dangerous for all road users or not. My cynical nature suspects that "vulnerable" cyclists are not being protected from "rockfalls" but rather that motorists are being protected from irritating cyclists. Once we accept that cyclists are so "vulnerable" that they need prohibition to protect them, we are halfway down the slippery slope that leads to banning. Cyclists will always be vulnerable on the Southern side of Chapmans because the narrow road and tight corners mean that cyclist and long busses cannot share the road without any risk. The fact that cyclists have been banned from only one side, rather than both is being sold as good news rather than what it really is. A road used by cyclists has been closed to them. velomonatiCT and bikebefok 2
Cog Masher Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Does this apply to runners and pedestrians too...
DJR Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) When I went up there yesterday, the guard at the look-out point told me that a cyclist was injured earlier in the day by a rock falling on him and that he was taken to hospital. Not sure about the accuracy of this. Can anyone confirm? If I look at the total devastation on the Hout Bay side, I can well imagine that there will be many loos bits ready to come down that will either have to be cleaned up manually, like they did before, or else washed down in the first heavy rains. There is absolutely NO vegetation left to hold the earth together. It is burnt from within metres of the Hout Bay houses, right into the houses on the Noordhoek side and right rom the beach all the way to the summit. The place look like Mordor (so the youngsters can understand) or Delville Wood (so the oldies can understand) after the battle of the Somme. A raw wound in the earth if ever I saw one. Edited March 12, 2015 by DJR
DJR Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Does this apply to runners and pedestrians too...Yes!
carbon29er Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Does this apply to runners and pedestrians too...Yes, no walking/running on the south side.
Reg Lizard Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 From what I understand an indeminity sign will be going up at Chapman's Peak While officials where out there inspecting the route the other day, they cautioned cyclist going up there that the road was closed...gues what Mr Cyclist continued and gave them the "up yours sign"...that is very dissapointing
carbon29er Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Nope, in my opinion bad news. The fire damage has either made it dangerous for all road users or not. My cynical nature suspects that "vulnerable" cyclists are not being protected from "rockfalls" but rather that motorists are being protected from irritating cyclists. Once we accept that cyclists are so "vulnerable" that they need prohibition to protect them, we are halfway down the slippery slope that leads to banning. Cyclists will always be vulnerable on the Southern side of Chapmans because the narrow road and tight corners mean that cyclist and long busses cannot share the road without any risk. The fact that cyclists have been banned from only one side, rather than both is being sold as good news rather than what it really is. A road used by cyclists has been closed to them.I cannot agree with you. What is good news is that, through consultation and compromise, we were able to keep the most used side of Chappies open. Not an ideal situation but at least riders can still get close to a 50 km ride from Beach Road. But it affects those wanting to do a loop. My self included and Constantia Nek from Hout Bay is probably the least attractive ride I can imagine. The damage on the south side is a lot worse than on the north side and the safety issue is compounded by the difference in the engineering on the 2 sides. The area before and after the half tunnel is very difficult to retain and has lost all vegetation. There is nothing to stop rocks reaching the road once they start moving. As you say it's not good news that we can use the north side, what would you rather have? The complete closure of Chappies to cyclists, walkers and runners as recommended by the engineers? As has happened at Tokai and will soon be followed at Jonkershoek and other fire ravaged areas. eddy 1
DJR Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 It's a classic glass half full: glass half empty situation! Just remember to drink what you can get. DPG, Wannabe and Bankie99 3
carbon29er Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 From what I understand an indeminity sign will be going up at Chapman's Peak While officials where out there inspecting the route the other day, they cautioned cyclist going up there that the road was closed...gues what Mr Cyclist continued and gave them the "up yours sign"...that is very dissapointing That was mentioned by the authorities as a reason not to have cyclists on Chappies at all. As a cycling community we need to take the lead and eradicate riders who hold us back by flouting the rules and respect for access. Chappies and Tokai, until reopened, will be added to the Rouge Rider programme http://www.amarider.co.za/Amarider/siteContent.php?cid=194. Only the saddest and loneliest of riders are not known by someone who rides, as a community we can police ourselves to discourage those who give the "up yours" and threaten all our access.
DJR Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Think I'll post this half toasted sign at the Hout Bay side of Chappies, just to clear up some of those rules......
Pure Savage Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 What if your only transport to work is on a bike? You must now climb constania nek and ou Kaapse weg? When we train there in the morning we see a lot of people that can not afford to jump in a car and go through chappies. PPA has thought about recreational cyclists and not those that rely on it for actual bike transport. How about motorists start obeying the traffic laws and not exceeding the 40km/h speed limit? velomonatiCT, Velouria, Cog Masher and 2 others 5
DJR Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 .....How about motorists start obeying the traffic laws and not exceeding the 40km/h speed limit?....20 km/h in parts
Cog Masher Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 What happens to commuter cyclists who use that route? There should be some sort of shuttle service then if you want them to abide by the rules. Is a cyclist not classed as a "vehicle" on the road?? Runners and walkers are classed as "Pedestrians". Why are we now treated as vulnerable road users due to restricted road width? Clovelly road works is a classic case of restricted road width and cyclists still have access. We dont want to go down that road (excuse the pun) because the precedence will be set for many other situations to exclude cyclists from deemed "unsafe areas". If it is unsafe then it is unsafe and should be closed to all road users!! Pure Savage 1
porqui Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 This is nonsense it is either safe for all or safe for none. If a rock comes down it matters not if you are a cyclist or motorist - you are stuffed!! I lost my neighbour on Chapmans Peak many years ago - rock fell on his car - he was killed instantly and his wife next to him was not even scratched. You do not determine the size, height above road or vicinity of where a rock is going to fall. Open the pass for all or none. ZeroPlay, velomonatiCT and bikebefok 3
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