Australia’s greatest cyclist helped christen the inner-west’s new cycling super-highway on Sunday.
Tour de France winner Cadel Evans joined students from Footscray City Primary School in opening the Dixon Veloway on 7 December.
Named in honour of Victorian cyclist and Australian Hall of Fame inductee Iris Dixon, the 2.5 kilometre veloway runs between Shepherd Bridge in Footscray and the city side of Moonee Ponds Creek.
The lime green connection sits beneath the elevated section of the new West Gate Tunnel and above Footscray Road, a notoriously busy but dangerous thoroughfare for cyclists travelling between the western suburbs and the city.
Footscray MP Katie Hall said by removing cyclists from Footscray Road, the veloway would have multiple benefits.
“Not only will the veloway encourage more people to jump on a bike, it will deliver a safer commute for people travelling between Melbourne’s west and the city,” Ms Hall said.
The two-lane, four-metre-wide veloway is made up of 195 individual segments, with each segment lifted into place separately to create a suspended section weighing 1700 tonnes.
It’s also equipped with lighting, CCTV, alarmed exits and emergency vehicle access.
However, according to western suburbs cycling advocacy group, Bike West, the Dixon Veloway is still missing some vital features.
While supportive of the project, Bike West vice president Pierre Vairo reiterated his call for better access ramps to be built, saying that cyclists travelling from Footscray couldn’t get onto the veloway without riding along busy Buckley and Napier streets first.
“It would be easy to make a safe connection on Napier and Buckley streets so that many more people can safely ride to the veloway,” Mr Vairo said.
More cycling infrastructure will be provided nearby when the West Gate Tunnel project opens before the end of the year.
A missing link in the Federation Trail between Fogarty Avenue and Hyde Street in Yarraville will soon open, while a new bike park will also be delivered in the coming weeks beneath CityLink near the Moonee Ponds Creek – offering skateboarders and BMX riders a range of tracks that caters to all skill levels.
