TO celebrate Ride2Work day the third stage of the great Civic Cycle Loop was opened this morning.

Your correspondent intrepidly set off up and down the loop stage with video camera running to document the experience.

For the record I only did one pass each way, this isn’t cherry picked footage.

What it demonstrates is the ongoing problems with these cycle paths.

1. Pedestrians still want to stand on the curb of the road (understandably) to cross, which puts them on the cycle path, and often crossing it.

2. Cyclists are used to being able to head either way up foot paths, but these cycle paths are one way.

3. Cars are still crossing the paths.

I maintain that I felt safer on a wide shared road than I do on a constricted path with little room to manoeuvre and a great deal of crossing traffic.

UPDATE: Shane Rattenbury has expressed his satisfaction with the project and how much he’s looking forward to converting Bunda Street to a shareway completing the loop.

“New segregated cycle lanes have been installed on both sides of Allara Street, between Bunda Street and Constitution Avenue, and provide easy access to existing paths on the southern end of Allara Street that connect to Parkes Way and Lake Burley Griffin,” Shane said.

“Canberrans are already enjoying the benefits of the Loop on Rudd Street and Marcus Clarke Street which were both completed early 2013. I’m sure as the weather warms up and more Canberrans hop on their bikes, people will readily use the new Allara Street section to move around the south-eastern side of the city and down to the scenic paths that wind around the lake.”

With work on the first three sections of Civic Cycle Loop now open, Shane is looking forward to the fourth and final stage, and the “most unique” section, being completed over the coming months.

“Work is now underway to transform the Bunda Street section of the Loop into a shared space for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users,” Shane said. “Unlike other sections of the Loop, which feature segregated cycle lanes on one or both sides of the street, a unique design has been chosen for Bunda Street, known as the Bunda Street shareway.

“The shared space will remove conventional traffic control devices that regulate traffic by separating people from cars and bikes, such as line marking, kerbs and signage. Instead Bunda Street will fully integrate all road users and pedestrians to encourage negotiation of the space between the different road users, resulting in a safe, slow speed and active environment. Work on the Bunda Street shareway is scheduled for completion early-2015.”