It comes as a survey reveals that Canberrans are more likely than anyone else in Australia to find cyclists to be a road hazard.

Greens planning spokeswoman Caroline Le Couteur used an Australian National University report which she said showed cyclists made up almost a quarter of road-accident-related hospital episodes in Canberra to lobby Chief Minister Jon Stanhope in the Assembly this week to ''make our roads safer for cyclists''. She also called on the Government to build off-road cycle-paths on any new collector roads.

Mr Stanhope said in response that Canberra could boast ''perhaps the best network of pathways and cycle-ways of any significant-sized city in Australia''. That network was being expanded and the Government was ''seeking to make it safer for cyclists continually''. The Greens are keeping their policy under wraps for now but it is understood to include measures to encourage respect between drivers and cyclists, and for cyclists to wear high-visibility clothing.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times