Riders who throng the Beach Road route have encountered increasing numbers of tourist buses randomly stopped in Brighton, discharging passengers who sprint across the road oblivious to bunches of bike riders.
There is a real risk that someone is going to unthinkingly step right in to a group of riders.
The bathing boxes on Dendy Beach have are a must on the itinerary of tour groups and randomly parked buses are putting pedestrians in the path of thousands of bikes whizzing past Dendy Beach.
Bicycle Network approached the City of Bayside to discuss proposals to improve the situation.
There is good news and there is not-so-good news.
The good news is that the buses will ultimately have a dedicated drop-off spot away from Beach Road at Green Point.
Unfortunately, that is months away, so the buses are will be stopping on the road and disgorging passengers for some time yet.
However, the council is going to introduce a dedicated parking zone for the buses on beach side (northbound) of the road.
This will certainly reduce the risk of collisions with people crossing the road, but bike riders will still have to navigate around any stopped buses.
The council has undertaken to restrict the parking times so no buses should not be parked at Dendy Beach during the peak riding periods (7am-9am on weekdays and 6am-10am on weekends).
It says it will ask bus companies to use the zone to drop off and pick up passengers and not remain parked during visits.
Riders on Beach Road and on the Bay Trail will be aware that the Bay Trail is immediately adjacent to the road for large sections of the road and is not suitable for passenger unloading.
Temporary bus parking will be located a little further north, where the trail moves closer to the bay for a short distance. See image above. Bus passengers will still have to cross the trail, but not the road.
Riders should take care if they encounter buses parked in this area.
Overall, this compromise is better than the status quo, but it is regrettable that the council got so deep into planning Dendy Beach tourism without first discussing the safety implications with the bike riding community.
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