Cyclists have welcomed a $1.2 million Maribyrnong council package for bike infrastructure but warn more needs to be done to improve safety.
The draft Maribyrnong bicycle strategy, released this month, is a five-year plan to guide funding of on and off-road cycling projects.
Cycle commuting has more than doubled in Maribyrnong since 2001, from 1.3 per cent to 3.2 per cent in 2011, but a report to the council noted key sections of the bike network were missing or needed upgrading.
The report found cyclist numbers would improve with more suitable infrastructure.
“Issues of safety and safe paths are the most common reasons cited for not riding,” it said.
Under the strategy, the council will upgrade the Maribyrnong River bike path, improve the route from Footscray to Highpoint and install a Parkiteer cage at Yarraville train station.
It will lobby the state government for an off-road cycleway on the south side of Napier Street and a continuous east-west bike route north of Footscray.
West Footscray cyclist Josh Madgwick said it was likely that Maribyrnong’s disjointed cycling network was putting off potential riders. “There’s some really high-quality cycling infrastructure; the Cross Street bike path is a beautiful thing to ride, but you get to West Footscray station and it just peters out.”
Mr Madgwick said the draft strategy was a good start, but he would like to see the council do more to improve links and fix problem spots.
VicRoads regional director Patricia Liew said VicRoads would deliver three new bike projects in the western suburbs by July next year, including traffic signals at the intersection of Whitehall and Parker streets, Footscray.
The $5.3 million Federation Trail extension, over the Newport-Albion freight line, will link to Fogarty Avenue in Yarraville by the end of the year.
“VicRoads is working with the Victorian government to encourage more people in the west to ride bikes, and we are doing this by expanding the bicycle network and making it safer,” Ms Liew said.
