Originally Posted by
cooker
That part of Australia is greener than I expected.
I find diagonal parking like that somewhat hazardous, but the upside as you say, is that it is generally on a wide (and slow) street, where you can keep well out from the backs of the cars. It seems to be a very "new world" concept, based on the development of cities in the the early 20th century, as cars were catching on.
In my city, the main shopping street was a very wide boulevard with parallel parking on both sides, for carriages and then horseless carriages. In the 1950s it was made into a carfree outdoor "mall" with trees and benches and so forth. The cars were let back in about 15 years ago. Now it's two narrow lanes with the nose-in angle parking. The sidewalks are quite broad with trees, "furniture" and sidewalk restaurant seating in nice weather.
The traffic is real slow with frequent delays. I ride way to the left edge of the lane, almost in the center of the street. Even so, like I said,I got hit one time. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about this type of parking:
Angle parking is considered dangerous by cycling organisations, especially in the head-in configuration, but unwelcome in either form. When comparing to parallel parking:
There is a significant risk to cyclists from vehicles reversing out, as approaching bicycles are in the blind spot of the reversing and turning vehicles.[2]
Longer vehicles project further into the road; this can inconvenience/endanger other road users,
The "surplus" road space which enables angle parking could also be used for bicycle lanes.
Hence organisations such as the Cyclists Touring Club are usually opposed to all proposed echelon parking schemes, though there are some alternatives, such as "back in" angle parking (slanted the "wrong" way, with the driver reversing into the space, rather than reversing out), which can overcome many of the issues of safety.
Parking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia