{"id":78460,"date":"2026-08-23T13:24:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/78460\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T13:24:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:24:45","slug":"frome-road-bike-lanes-should-adelaide-cyclists-pay-tolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/78460\/","title":{"rendered":"Frome Road bike lanes: Should Adelaide cyclists pay tolls?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parasites can take over the host body. Cyclists are parasites taking over our roads. <\/p>\n

Adelaide and suburbs are latticed with bike lanes which inhibit traffic and parking… and yet they are rarely used by cyclists. <\/p>\n

Bikes are unregistered and so cyclists are generally unaccountable. Cyclists often flout road rules and, parasitically, they contribute no direct funds to roads and road maintenance \u2013 yet they are spoiled with bike lanes everywhere. <\/p>\n

Part of our motor vehicle registration goes to roads and road maintenance. Motor vehicle owners are paying through the nose for the expensive, extensive establishment of bike lanes which retard traffic. And those bike lanes are rarely used.<\/p>\n

TELL US WHY IN THE COMMENTS<\/p>\n

Apart from the dreaded weekend MAMILs (middle-aged men in Lycra), I see very few cyclists on the Anzac Highway bike lanes. Indeed, one cyclist broke two traffic rules within 100m and another was pulled over by the police, which is astonishingly rare. Driving along Grange Rd last Monday I saw not one cyclist on that bike lane. I\u2019m often driving along Franklin St in the city where, again, I see no cyclists on that bike lane.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the long-running saga of the Frome Rd bike lanes (aka the North-South Bikeway). The Adelaide City Council built the dual bike lanes along Frome Rd between Carrington and Pirie streets at a cost of $1.6m. The bike lanes opened with a lot of hoopla in 2014 and cyclists who had demanded these bike lanes hated them. <\/p>\n

They were not alone as everyone else hated them, too. Cars had to park in the middle of the road between the bike lanes and the traffic lane. <\/p>\n

The day after these bike lanes opened I decided to investigate for this newspaper. I drove down and counted the number of cyclists using the new bike lanes every morning and afternoon for a week. <\/p>\n

One morning there was one cyclist a 9.05. Maybe they were lost? Then in 2017 those bike lanes were replaced at vast expense. <\/p>\n

Recently the Frome Rd bike lanes have been extended between Pirie St and the Albert Bridge by the zoo. A 2024 media release from Adelaide City Council said: \u201cThe latest work is part of a $12 million joint project between the City of Adelaide and South Australian Government to deliver more bikeways and cycling infrastructure throughout the city and Park Lands.\u201d <\/p>\n

Frome Rd is a crucial arterial road for traffic to and fro Adelaide and North Adelaide. Not anymore. <\/p>\n

Because of bike lanes on both sides of a narrow road, traffic now has just one lane each way. There is no longer a left turn lane (with care) on to Victoria Drive. Similarly at the intersection of North Tce there is only one lane which must take traffic going south and traffic turning left through a pedestrian crossing on to North Tce. <\/p>\n

Any progress along Frome Rd is now agonisingly slow. Friday week ago at 4pm it took me 22 minutes to traverse Frome Rd from Grenfell St to the Albert Bridge. Hundreds of students were disgorging from Botanic High and not one of them on a bike. At 5.30pm it took me 41 minutes to get from the Albert Bridge to Grenfell St. During both those trips I saw only two cyclists using the bike lanes. <\/p>\n

Thousands of motorists are held up in traffic everyday so that cyclists don\u2019t use bike lanes provided for them. It\u2019s nuts. If hundreds of cyclists were merrily riding along bike lanes we could all see the point of bike lanes. We could all rejoice. <\/p>\n

Cyclists are spoiled and self-righteous. They live to whinge. The Lycra set insist on not having bells or horns because they slow them down, thus breaking the law. <\/p>\n

Cyclists flagrantly abuse road rules and terrorise pedestrians. And they contribute nothing to the vast cost of bike lanes.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the answer \u2013 bike lane tolls. Cyclists can pay for bike lanes. Otherwise get rid of them and cyclists can share the roads and let the traffic flow.<\/p>\n

HOT\/NOT\/VALE<\/p>\n

HOT<\/p>\n

Robert Irwin as Logies host <\/a>\u2013 the toughest gig in show business.<\/p>\n

Pauline Hanson wants to lessen tobacco tax <\/a>\u2013 Australian tobacco is the most highly taxed product in the world. <\/p>\n

NOT<\/p>\n

The possibility of the O-Bahn being disrupted by the super duper vroom vroom motor bike races.<\/p>\n

OzAsia Festival axed by the Festival Centre.<\/a><\/p>\n

VALE<\/p>\n

Chris Soulidis \u2013 the most knowledgeable person on popular culture I\u2019ve ever known.<\/p>\n

\"Peter<\/a><\/p>\n

Peter Goers has been a mainstay of the South Australian arts and media scene for decades. The former ABC Radio Evenings host has been a Sunday Mail columnist since 1991.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Parasites can take over the host body. Cyclists are parasites taking over our roads. Adelaide and suburbs are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[119424,119416,119412,100630,42120,49389,49436,119415,119410,41751,119374,119413,119358,119393,54172,45453,119381,119429,38151,119359,43289,36956,38814,395,119386,119440,5639,119435,119417,119394,119371,17145,119439,3926,119385,45635,119423,28745,119367,2331,3929,72430,119357,42183,49115,119438,119363,9715,72165,119384,119389,53679,119391,46269,119441,64630,119427,119395,119360,119431,119421,119370,18324,119375,119428,102360,41258,119387,119403,46823,119368,86332,119408,119369,119392,47952,42930,79613,12515,3121,11711,22746,119397,119366,6983,48308,119362,119401,23264,119383,9757,41381,119396,119425,38793,119398,119422,119411,119390,36676,119364,119382,36756,119430,119414,119437,119373,119376,119409,40067,119380,34680,119418,119436,36924,119377,119399,119361,119404,79687,39151,119433,45812,37121,43131,42949,119407,119405,119400,119434,119365,37120,119419,119432,119379,119426,119378,17467,104439,9713,2223,119402,119406,119372,119388,119420,30570],"class_list":["post-78460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-adelaide","tag-goers-cycle-poll-tell-us","tag-s-12m-ride-frome-hell","tag-s-frome-road-bike-lane-chaos-peter-goers","tag-1-6m","tag-100m","tag-49389","tag-49436","tag-22-minutes","tag-41-minutes","tag-4pm","tag-5-30pm","tag-a-12-million-joint-project","tag-a-2024-media-release","tag-a-9-05","tag-a-bike","tag-a-cost","tag-a-crucial-arterial-road","tag-a-left-turn-lane","tag-a-lot","tag-a-narrow-road","tag-a-pedestrian","tag-a-week","tag-aa-subscriber-exclusives","tag-adelaide","tag-adelaide-and","tag-adelaide-and-north-adelaide","tag-adelaide-city-council","tag-annoying-upgrades","tag-australian-tobacco","tag-bells-or-horns","tag-bike-lane-tolls","tag-bike-lanes","tag-bike-lanes-here","tag-bikes","tag-botanic-high","tag-both-sides","tag-both-those-trips","tag-care","tag-carrington-and-pirie-streets","tag-cars","tag-cyclists","tag-each-way","tag-every-morning-and-afternoon","tag-everyday","tag-everyone-else","tag-extensive-establishment","tag-franklin-st","tag-friday","tag-frome-rd","tag-goers","tag-grange-rd","tag-grenfell-st","tag-hoopla","tag-hundreds","tag-just-one-lane","tag-last-monday","tag-logies-host","tag-lycra","tag-make-cyclists","tag-middle-aged-men","tag-more-bikeways-and-cycling-infrastructure","tag-motor-vehicle-owners","tag-motorists","tag-no-cyclists","tag-no-direct-funds","tag-north-tce","tag-not-one","tag-not-one-cyclist","tag-notthe-possibility","tag-nuts","tag-one-cyclist","tag-one-morning","tag-only-one-lane","tag-only-two-cyclists","tag-our-motor-vehicle-registration","tag-our-poll","tag-our-roads","tag-parasites","tag-park-lands","tag-part","tag-pedestrians","tag-peter-goers","tag-pirie-st","tag-popular-culture","tag-road-rules","tag-road-tolls","tag-roads-and-road-maintenance","tag-show-business-pauline-hanson","tag-south-australian-government","tag-storiesany-progress","tag-students","tag-suburbs","tag-that-bike-lane","tag-that-bike-lane-then","tag-the-adelaide-city-council","tag-the-albert-bridge","tag-the-answer-bike-lane-tolls","tag-the-anzac-highway-bike-lanes","tag-the-bike-lanes","tag-the-city","tag-the-commentsapart","tag-the-cyclists","tag-the-day","tag-the-dreaded-weekend-mamils","tag-the-dual-bike-lanes","tag-the-expensive","tag-the-festival-centre-valechris-soulidis","tag-the-frome-rd-bike-lanes","tag-the-host-body","tag-the-intersection","tag-the-latest-work","tag-the-law","tag-the-long-running-saga","tag-the-lycra-set","tag-the-middle","tag-the-most-highly-taxed-product","tag-the-most-knowledgeable-person","tag-the-new-bike-lanes","tag-the-north-south-bikeway","tag-the-nose","tag-the-number","tag-the-o-bahn","tag-the-point","tag-the-police","tag-the-road","tag-the-roads","tag-the-super-duper-vroom-vroom-motor-bike-races-ozasia-festival","tag-the-toughest-gig","tag-the-traffic-flow-hot-not-valehotrobert-irwin","tag-the-traffic-lane","tag-the-vast-cost","tag-the-world","tag-the-zoo","tag-these-bike-lanes","tag-this-much-money","tag-this-newspaper","tag-those-bike-lanes","tag-thousands","tag-tobacco-tax","tag-toll","tag-traffic","tag-traffic-and-parking","tag-two-traffic-rules","tag-vast-expense","tag-very-few-cyclists","tag-victoria-drive","tag-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/w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