_ON YOUR BIKE – OR IS IT OFF

The Melbourne lockdowns over the past few years were an opportune time, while crowds were stuck at home, for Melbourne City Council to work on expanding the protected bike lane network throughout the CBD.  The recent return to ‘normal’ life and of people and traffic to the CBD, have led to some backlash from business owners and residents who claim that the lanes are impacting deliveries. 

The bike lanes are intended to support a more active and less car dependent City, protect cyclists and produce more movement-friendly and interactive streets at the human level.  Melbourne by comparison to other global cities, like Copenhagen, Paris, Sydney, Milan or London, has been slow and unambitious with its planned 2030 strategy. 

We understand The Future Melbourne Committee met last week and determined to pause construction of new bike lanes for a year, despite receiving over a thousand (99 per cent of all of submissions) written submissions opposing the delay.  We further understand no evidence was presented to support the deferral.  

Clearly a city needs goods delivered and there is a balance to be met between this requirement and other movement modes.  We hope in a City still recovering from the effects of the pandemic, this decision is not a short-sighted one which halts progression of livability standards which the Council seeks to achieve.