Safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians

Like many Melburnians, I love riding my bike

Life as a local MP and a mum of two young kids can be pretty busy sometimes, so the chance to get some exercise and fresh air while travelling to work means I can kill two birds with one stone, and I also find it clears my mind ahead of a big day.

As you might have noticed, cycling has boomed during the COVID-19 lockdowns. And while it’s great to see more people enjoying healthy low-emissions transport, it’s also shone further light on some particularly unsafe bike routes on state-managed roads in our suburbs.

More separated bike lanes for cyclists

Credit should go to the City of Melbourne for taking leadership and creating more than 40km of separated and pop-up bike lanes across our inner city. The newly-completed Rathdowne St separated path is just one of them.

But despite this good work, there are still several state government-managed arterial roads that are currently very dangerous for cyclists, and crying out for bike lanes.

Royal Parade alongside the University of Melbourne, for example, often carries more cyclists than drivers during peak hour. Flemington Rd is another busy but unsafe route; which people often use to travel from the inner north or west into the CBD. Both of these routes are especially dangerous hotspots for “car dooring”.

To help fix these issues, I’ve been working with our local councillors to advocate to the Victorian Treasurer and Transport Minister for separated lanes on these roads. I’ve put in a Budget bid and hope to see some funding in the upcoming Budget.

Safer streets for pedestrians

In the past 12 months, my office has also engaged locals in a Pedestrian Safety Survey, which asked people to highlight concerns they had about their safety on inner city streets.

I’ve heard from Carlton residents about many near misses on busy roads in Carlton including along Cemetery Rd where four lanes of traffic funnel from Alexandra Parade into high density residential streets near the University of Melbourne, public housing and Melbourne’s hospital precinct.

In Parkville in the middle of Royal Park there’s also no pedestrian crossing from one half of the park into the other which means residents, commuters and visitors either have to walk up to Royal Parade or into the refuge island near the Melbourne Zoo where it’s dangerous to wait, especially with dogs or small children.

We have the opportunity to bring life back to our city streets with more people already riding their bikes and enjoying long walks on our footpaths after COVID-19, but we also have the responsibility to keep everyone safe.

If you have any concerns about road safety or ideas on how to improve active transport options and infrastructure in Melbourne’s inner city, I’d love to hear from you. Don’t hesitate to get in touch at 146 Peel St, North Melbourne by emailing [email protected] or calling us on 9328 4637 •