Cade Lucas
A group of inner-west residents have lodged a petition calling on Hobsons Bay council to build separate bike and walking paths along a busy Spotswood street rather than a pathway cyclists and pedestrians would have to share.
The petition organised by inner-west community group Better West was lodged at last month’s meeting of Hobsons Bay council on March 18.
The petition requests that council completes construction designs for the separated paths along Birmingham Street, Spotswood, includes the estimated cost of the project in this year’s council budget and that it commits to constructing the project in 2025.
A busy thoroughfare between Melbourne Road and the Spotswood to Sunshine freight line, Birmingham Street is regularly used by parents and students heading to Spotwood Primary School, commuters going to Spotswood Station and cyclists riding to the city, yet has no path along its southern side.
Better’s West’s petition points out that it wrote to council requesting separated paths along Birmingham Street in September 2023 and that a council report indicating separated paths would be built was unanimously approved at a council meeting on February 13, 2024.
However, at a council meeting in February this year, it was revealed that planning was underway for the construction of shared pathway along Birmingham Street.
Responding to question from councillor Kristen Bishop about the project, Hobsons Bay council’s director infrastructure and city services, Matthew Irving, said a housing development on the southern side of Birmingham Street was nearing completion and that building a 3.5 metre wide shared pathway would ensure both cycling and pedestrian infrastructure was in place by the time new residents moved in.
Mr Irving added that building a shared pathway would be less disruptive and that a separate bike path could still be built in the future if required.
Better West secretary Rowena Joske said she was confused as to why the change had been made now.
“Both council and Better West had been in agreeance that separating bikes and pedestrians on this stretch would be a much safer and better piece of infrastructure,” Ms Joske said.
“With 10,000 new residents planned to move into the new developments nearby, it’s really important that we have the active transport infrastructure to get people where they need to go safely.”
