IT is with real delight that I visit Lake Weeroona most weekends, and see the happy way in which this beautiful recreational facility in our city is used . . . children in the playground laughing and calling out to one another, while nearby family groups barbecue, or set out picnic rugs, mothers with strollers (toddlers in tow), meandering round the lake while chatting with friends, together with dog walkers, and children cycling along the pathway, often accompanied by an adult, also on a bicycle, to keep an eye on them.
Do I paint an idyllic scene? Good, as this is (almost) what it is, except for the few words “accompanied by adults on bicycles’’.
Please do not misunderstand me. Children should certainly be cared for while learning to ride, and it is wonderful when fathers are involved, and also many are thoughtful enough to call out “coming through’’, or some other way of alerting those walking that a bicycle is about to overtake them.
My problem is purely the amount of footpath space shared by all these people and varied activities.
Put simply, we need more room to enable cyclists to safely pass all other traffic using the park.
Is it possible that the council could undertake a feasibility study as to the practicability, and cost, of widening the path round the lake, to enable adult riders, and older children, to use a designated cycle lane and so safely pass those walking?
Just a thought.
JOYCE ACKERMAN,
Strathdale
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