St Kilda Road bike lanes
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (13:31): On Sunday I attended a fantastic event, the community opening of the St Kilda Road bike lanes. This was organised by the Port Phillip and Stonnington bicycle user groups. One of the younger members of our bike-riding community cut the ribbon, opening a great piece of infrastructure enabling more people to use climate-friendly transport. Bicycle Network CEO Alison McCormack and my Greens colleague from the other place Sam Hibbins, MP for Prahran, also spoke to the crowd. While we celebrate these new lanes, what is clear is we need a better plan for what will be built next. Around 60 per cent of Victorians are interested in cycling as a form of transport but are afraid to ride alongside motor traffic. Separated bike lanes are safer for everyone – people riding bikes as well as those driving and walking – and reduce congestion and have a calming effect on car traffic, enabling vehicles to move at a safer speed for everyone. With rapidly increasing numbers of scooters and other micromobility devices as well, the need for dedicated lanes is only growing. There are many ways safe, separated bike infrastructure is a good investment for our city and across our state: better safety, better mobility around neighbourhoods, less congestion, improvements in physical and mental health and reductions in our ever-growing transport emissions through climate-friendly transport. I say well done to the BUGs for such a beautiful community-building event.