I used to live in that part of Mawson Lakes, and that used to be me.“If you have ever seen people trying to climb up that mound of dirt, trying to get up to the footpath ... it’s so inconvenient for people at the moment if they are walking or riding a bike.
That's good news I reckon - their work to date has generally been of a high quality. Kintore Avenue looks really good, Hindley Street is shaping up nicely too.
I live near Dry Creek. Having recently drilled holes for a retaining wall, I know that the water table is about 2 metres below ground level. However, I wouldn't have thought that this was a straightforward engineering problem and not insurmountable. After all, they have a pedestrian underpass at the nearby Greenfields station.
From: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 9b1deffc30Chinese bike-share company ofo launches in Adelaide
IT’S the yellow bicycle-share sensation hoping it can take Adelaide by storm.
Booming Chinese start-up ofo has made every post a winner since it launched in Beijing in 2014, and is now valued at $1 billion.
The distinctive yellow bikes will become familiar sights in Adelaide from Tuesday as part of a pilot program that will go a long way towards determining ofo’s potential national success.
Fifty bikes — all equipped with smart locks and “unpoppable” solid rubber tyres — can be rented through ofo’s smartphone app and ideally returned to a number of preferred parking zones throughout the city and North Adelaide.
Riders pay $1 a half-hour, with the maximum cost capped at $5 a trip.
Head of strategy Scott Walker said a local operations team would ensure bikes remained well maintained, equipped with helmets and inside the CBD area.
“It’s very resource intensive to get right in Australia, and it’s something we’ve set up to make sure we can do it right from the beginning,” he said on Monday.
Mr Walker said the company was still working out its plans to launch in Australia, but was confident the paid bike-share concept could work in the city of churches.
“We chose Adelaide because we have strong government relations there, both with the State Government and the Adelaide City Council, but also because it has a strong environmental and social focus,” he said.
“The city is also really flat and there isn’t a dockless scheme there.”
Bike-share programs traditionally haven’t been as popular in Australia as they are in Europe, but Mr Walker insisted there was a market due to the country’s “significant transport gaps and a clear need for better short distance point-to-point transport solutions”.
Lord Mayor Martin Haese said ofo would “add to the options available for people to get around and enjoy our city”, and confirmed its free bike hire scheme would continue at least until next June.
“Recognising the enormous social, health and environmental benefits, the City of Adelaide is keen to make our city as bicycle-friendly as possible and encourage more residents and visitors to consider using bikes as part of their everyday lifestyle,” Mr Haese said.
Under the current scheme — run jointly by BikeSA and the council — riders can hire bikes from the city, North Adelaide and seven suburban locations.
Since its launch three years ago, ofo has provided four billion rides to more than 200 million users across the globe.
It operates in 13 countries, but plans to expand to another 20 countries inside the next year.
Ofo will be hoping its bikes are better looked after than in Melbourne, where more than 40 dumped bikes were fished out of the Yarra river.
Huge stacks of misused bikes have also piled up at ofo’s Beijing repair centres.
The company will initially strip Australian users who fail to comply with ofo’s terms of service of “credit points”, rather than fining them for misuse.
China’s largest cities have long had bike-sharing schemes to ease crowding on roads.
I saw these last night walking around town, wondered whose they were.
Do they have helmets available with the bikes? That's the biggest problem with any bike sharing scheme in Adelaide currently.
I'd say the biggest problem with any bike sharing scheme anywhere in Australia is not availability of helmets, but requiring them at all. Mandatory helmet laws need to go.
All of the ones I can see from my window have helmets attached.Nort wrote:Do they have helmets available with the bikes? That's the biggest problem with any bike sharing scheme in Adelaide currently.
So much this. Crazy to think that pedalling one of these junkers across town is such an inherently dangerous activity that it requires the State to threaten you into wearing a helmet.
From: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-04/a ... atenews_saAdelaide City Council wary of companies peddling station-free bike sharing
City of Adelaide councillors have voiced their concern and outrage after yesterday's launch of bikeshare company ofo.
Ofo is the world's largest station-free bike-sharing scheme, with more than 10 million bikes operating in 180 cities across the world.
Adelaide is its first move into the Australian market. Similar companies are said to be looking to launch in Adelaide in coming months.
Lord Mayor Martin Haese said council had only been advised last Friday of ofo's introduction.
"We are generally supportive but we are genuinely nervous [too]," he told ABC Radio Adelaide's Breakfast program.
"I don't think the Melbourne experience has been good and we don't want that replicated in Adelaide."
Melbourne's introduction of similar schemes saw an almost competitive race to the bottom as users disposed of the bicycles in so-called creative ways.
oBike bicycles were thrown onto roofs, into creeks and hung in trees.
Mr Haese said he was concerned there would be similar problems with ofo bicycles.
"We want to see that this is not going to end up in a bit of a disaster," he said.
Councillor Anne Moran was firmer in her criticism, calling the introduction of the new business "absolute madness".
"There is no way to get rid of this scheme," she said.
"The [administration] staff puzzlingly told us that these people can operate without permission."
Ofo management, however, said its permits had been cleared by council administration under normal procedures.
Adelaide council has been running its own free bike scheme for many years.
Councillor Moran said her problem with ofo was bicycles could be left anywhere, and Melbourne's experience proved such schemes could become problematic.
"Surely Adelaide should be looking at Melbourne ... and saying, 'No, we are not ready for this one yet, let's wait till they perfect it'," she said.
"Our closest sister capital city is tearing its hair out saying, 'How do we fix this', and we gayly go along and bring the same thing in."
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