3. Could Melbourne’s cycling network be improved?

The benefits of cycling and its growth in popularity mean there is widespread support for cycling improvements.Bicycle Victoria would like to see councils increase their spending on bike programs. It advocates councils spend a minimum of $5 for each resident on bike programs but claims that fewer than a quarter of Melbourne councils spend this amount.

Nick Low, director of the Australian Centre for Governance and Management of Urban Transport, says that by 2030, 30 per cent of all city trips should be made by bicycle.

To achieve this target, he has identified eight priority areas. Among these are: sacrificing road space for bikes, including cycling in transport planning, special designs of bike path intersections and bike paths connected to stations and activity centres.

In the Netherlands, cycling is one of the most popular forms of transport. In the capital, Amsterdam, 40 per cent of all traffic movements are by bicycle, bike rental is available throughout the city and the bike parking ramp at Central Station accommodates about 7000 bikes. Bike lanes and paths often have their own traffic signals.

Lyon, in France, has a public bicycle rental system, Velo’v, that began in 2005. Rentals up to 30 minutes are free using a prepaid card. Riders collect a bike and, after use, leave it at any other Velo’v station. Each bike has a computer tracker. The system provides about 3000 bikes at stations around the city. It was so successful it is now used in Paris.

Similarly, the Millennium Park Bicycle Station in Chicago, in the US, supports the local cycling population. It provides secure, 24-hour parking for 300 bikes, lockers, showers and towels, bike rental and a maintenance and repair centre.

Planning that encourages bikes as an integral part of sustainable city transport relies on making it easier, safer and more enjoyable for people to cycle.

Other strategies to increase the ease of use of bikes in Melbourne could include dedicating lanes on Melbourne’s east-west arterial roads to cyclists during peak hour (similar to bus/taxi lanes) and encouraging workplaces to provide improved facilities for cyclists.

4. Recent headlines

“Melburnians stick to cars for work”
The Age, October 9“90,000 bicycle commuters battle 6 million cars — THE CENSUS”.
The Australian, October 26

“Plea to slow cars for bikes”
Herald Sun, September 13

5. What The Age says

“The weekend death of the son of a colleague again highlights the danger that many Melbourne cyclists face every day as they attempt to commute to work or simply enjoy a ride out. The police and coroner will no doubt determine whether charges are to be laid against the living, but this is poor consolation for the dead and does nothing to fix the current hopeless system — a system where lanes are just painted on roads that motorists believe are theirs by right and where the bike lanes are often totally ignored or simply used as parking places … It is time the Government got serious about cycling safety and set aside some roads for bicycle commuting — where cyclists needn’t worry about becoming another road toll statistic.”
Lindsay Grayson, Kew, and Paul Johnson, The Sunday Age, January 31.

“Melbourne only needs to look to Copenhagen to see how a city can realign its transport priorities successfully. The city has adopted a 10-year policy to fully realise the potential of the bike as a commuter vehicle.

A key factor is having the infrastructure in place that makes riding a bike safe. Another is the elimination of the ‘us and them’ mentality that pervades both sides. In Copenhagen, authorities are looking at ways to change the attitudes of drivers and riders towards each other.”
Editorial opinion, October 17.

6. What people say

“I think every new (housing) development should be built with a footpath and every major road should have an associated bike path or else a decent shoulder where a bike can travel safely.”
Director of the Australasian Centre for Governance and Management of Urban Transport, Professor Nick Low, The Age, August 4

“We’re at this stage now where we want to accommodate bikes without infringing on cars, but if you want to get more people riding bicycles to achieve modal shift, then you are going to have to give preferential treatment to bicycles.”
Cycling Promotion Fund Program director Rosemary Speidel, The Age August 4.

YOUR VIEW

What do you think? Do you choose a bike over other forms of transport? Should more people be encouraged to cycle? Does it matter if it affects drivers? Would you like to see changes to Melbourne’s cycling facilities?