For another year running, bikes have missed out in the Victorian State Budget.
With cycling labelled as “losers” in transport by The Age, yesterday’s budget revealed that we’re still no closer to seeing Victoria’s cycling plan.
And sadly, nothing in the budget lends itself to transformational change for __bike riding in the state.
Over two years into their term, the Andrews Government is yet to commit a single new dollar specifically to paths or infrastructure to get more people riding.
There’s a silver lining, but it’s an incidental one – Victoria has a ‘mainstreaming’ policy, which ensures that bikes must be considered in all transport projects. If it wasn’t for this, __bike riders would be getting very little in return for their contribution to a healthier, happier and less congested Victoria.
Some bike infrastructure improvements will come in the form of previously announced off-road paths and trails or as part of major roads or transport projects such as the $300 million Mordialloc Bypass or the Level Crossing Removals program (so far 10 have been removed and 13 more are in the design or construction phase.)
Previously announced projects include:
- 17 kilometres of new bicycle paths built from Caulfield to Dandenong completed by the end of the year as part of the Level Crossing Removals project
- The West Gate Tunnel project includes 14km of new cycle paths including a 2.5 kilometre bicycle superhighway
It’s also unclear as to how the $100 million of TAC funding is to be spent.
Bicycle Network’s Chief Executive Officer Craig Richards was disappointed that for another year, the government was adopting a “business as usual for bikes” approach.
“Sadly, the budget was exactly what we’ve come to expect – very little joy for bike riders.”
“Without true leadership and investment in bikes, our health and congestion problems will continue to grow, while people who ride bikes are desperate for transformational change.”
See the Budget overview
See Bicycle Network’s Budget Submission
