Opinion
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Thanks, Wollongong, for being so welcoming during the UCI Road World Championships of cycling a couple of weeks ago, we have been told.
By most accounts it went off well - and was great fun for we families of spectators who got into the spirit of things by the roadside.
Sure, there were some difficult times getting around the city, with road closures, clearways and bad traffic. Beyond inconvenience, many small businesses lost plenty of turnover during the week.
But we can handle that, to welcome a major event, for the economic boost for some sectors, for the international exposure which would boost tourism, and for international sporting goodwill, right? Right.
So here's the way city and state authorities can thank us: fix problems with roads, cycleways and footpaths as quickly and as intensively now, as you did in the lead-up to the race.
How did a "traffic hazard" signposted on Memorial Dr - gnarly potholes and road damage which wrecks tyres and windscreens - remain for several weeks with no repair?
No cyclist could safely navigate the pothole moguls which befoul Flinders St leading into the city, and it's not safe for cars either.
Visitors have decried the state of some of the city's cycleways.
I won't list them all here but I must admit each time I have to dodge a large pothole on two wheels or four I think about this.
We saw the works on Foley St, on Campbell, Smith and Gipps, around the TAFE and Botanic Garden. It was amazing how quickly things can happen when councils and governments are motivated.
Wollongong City Council claimed it was simply "bringing forward" road works that were already planned. OK. Does that mean we now pay for it with a period of no works, vacated by the stuff brought forward? Surely not.
Many of the worst spots are on NSW Government, not council, roads. The UCI Road World Championships was a state government Major Event - hence the clearway powers. So Transport for NSW needs to step up now. Works to fix the Memorial Dr hazard have started - this is a good sign. Let's keep it going.
Hey, it's not even hard to find problem spots. Before the bike race organisers raced the course spraying hazards with hot pink paint. I would like to think this was to indicate which spots needed to be fixed after the race.
Long live the bike race. If it were just the two elite road race days, I imagine many of us would be saying bring it back every year! Heck, throw in a Friday as well for a long weekend of colour and movement. A whole week, probably not, but two or three days of cycling festivities would be great!
We've heard all about the "legacy" of the bike race in Wollongong - organisers said it was the main thing that earned us the title of a "bike city".
This must mean more than some one-way streets with strange parking in the middle of them and a commitment to improve cycling in the future. Now's the time to show the people who live hear that their ongoing lives in the city matter as much as putting on a good show for the visitors.
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