Move would promote social distancing, take thousands of cars off roads and make it safer for riders, Australian cycling organisation says
Australia’s peak cycling organisation is calling on governments to capitalise on a surge in lockdown-induced bicycle sales by fast-tracking the construction of all 750km of planned bike lanes around the country, a move it says would promote physically distanced commuting while taking “tens of thousands” of cars off city roads.
The rising interest in cycling has also been noticed by Queensland’s transport and roads minister, Mark Bailey, who told the Guardian the Palaszczuk government would consider “further investments in cycleways across Queensland in the near future” as a result of the demand.
He said he expected many of the new riders would “stick with it permanently”.
Bicycle Network, which has more than 45,000 members, has called for cooperation between the federal and state governments, as well as councils, to move ahead with “pop-up” bike lanes to help boost construction jobs hit hard by the Covid-19 lockdowns and to ultimately reduce unsafe crowding on public transport as workers return to offices during the pandemic.
The group believes this can be achieved in a matter of days by using barriers, line markings and lane dividers on existing roads – similar to a plan for six pop-up cycleways recently announced across Sydney.
But Bicycle Network also wants 750km of bike lanes planned for the longer term, including Melbourne’s Transport Strategy 2030 and Sydney’s Future Transport Strategy 2056, to be built immediately, in line with similar moves in Berlin, Montreal and Paris.
A key element of the Bicycle Networks vision is a daily $5 cash incentive paid by the federal government to commuters who leave their cars at home and ride to work. The network’s chief executive, Craig Richards, argues that would save public money in the long term when maintenance and health outcomes are taken into consideration.
In its six-month plan “to stimulate the economy, create jobs, save lives and get Australians moving,”, Bicycle Network notes a 270% increase in bike path use in some cities since the pandemic began.
Call to fast-track bike lanes to boost jobs and take advantage of lockdown-induced bicycle sales | The Guardian
Move would promote social distancing, take thousands of cars off roads and make it safer for riders, Australian cycling organisation says Elias Visontay Australia’s peak cycling organisation is calling on governments to capitalise on a surge in lockdown-induced bicycle sales by fast-tracking the construction of all 750km of planned bike lanes around the country, a… [Read More]
