Foot Bridge Along South Western Highway - Going to Wungong

Dear Mr. Urban,

I am writing to express my concern about the lack of cycling paths in the Darling Ranges. As you would know, cycling has increased rapidly in Australia recently. Western Australia has had rapid increase especially South of Perth this generally means that there are more cyclists using the roads of Western Australia. This places the Western Australian cyclists under extreme risks of being hit by on coming and unaware traffic.

This issue needs to be addressed immediately as it is putting the lives of Australian Citizens under extreme risks and harm. With the recent 1-Metre-Law being addressed in Parliament it is lack of care to not to combat the issue almost immediately. There should be more patrolling Police on major roads and highways to provide safety and protection to cyclists and stop careless drivers from ruining their own life and an innocent cyclist.

To address this issue, I believe that cycling paths should be constructed immediately on major roads going through the Darling Ranges. In particular The South Western Highway and Thomas Road as these roads are used frequently by trucks and are major touring roads. In fact, on Thomas Road there has been many crashes due to driver not paying attention, if a cyclist was hit it is really due to the lack of enforcement with cycling paths in Western Australia by the Darling Range and Western Australian Government.

My family are keen cyclists and members of the shire, and compete and enjoy the sport immensely. I have two children 13 years 11, they are both members of the Midland Cycle Club and the Rock and Roll Mountain Bike Club in Kalamunda. We regularly ride to the Wungong Dam from Byford, via the South West Highway. Many people have been travelling there lately via car to enjoy the scenic retreat provided by the natural beauties of Wungong Dam. Unfortunately, when we reach the Wungong Bridge on the highway we have to literally dismount our bikes and wait for a break in the traffic to cross the bridge. You are very nearly putting your life at risk, trying to cross the bridge.

I believe that the track up to the dam from the highway could become a major tourist attraction and drawcard for the shire if it had better and safer access for cyclists and pedestrians. Every time we ride to the dam we pass dozens of like-minded cyclists and walkers. We are a very fast growing shire with our population growing rapidly. The shire needs to cater for cycling and walking minded people. The Wungong Gorge needs to be put forward and advertised to the general public and access made safe to cyclists and pedestrians.

In addition, with the all new peel mountain bike master plan being introduced and a large quantity of trail development occurring in the coming months, it would be insane to not construct a simple foot bridge for the growing Byford community to travel on to reach this new tourist hotspot.

These issues need to be addressed promptly to save lives of innocent pedestrians.

I look forward to your immediate reply.