Jennifer Pittorino
The reconstruction of Summerhill Road, West Footscray, will now include pop-up infrastructure to provide safer connections for cyclists.
On Tuesday, September 19, a group of 32 riders participated in a ‘Kidical Mass’ from Summerhill Road to a Maribyrnong council meeting in Braybrook, where the reconstruction of the road between Barkly and Raleigh roads was discussed.
Twelve riders spoke at the meeting pledging their support for cycling infrastructure to be included in reconstruction plans.
Councillor Bernadette Thomas moved an alternative motion under which reconstruction of the road would include pop-up style infrastructure based on the current review of bicycle infrastructure opportunities on a two-year pilot-trial basis and the council would undertake consultation with the community during that period.
The motion passed 4-3.
Resident Pierre Vairo said cyclists have been complaining about the state of Summerhill Road for some time.
“The plan for the reconstruction laid out in the original motion was to rebuild it in the exact same way,” he said.
“What we wanted was to include safe bike lanes on Summerhill Road, 350 metres of bike lanes in a particularly dangerous spot of road.”
Mr Vairo said the cyclists were surprised but very happy with the outcome.
“Kidical Mass is a derivative of Critical Mass which is an old cycling protest, Kidical Mass is very much focused on safe infrastructure for kids,“ he said.
“We had many families without their kids, because no parents trust their kids to ride their bikes on our roads.
“We were all happy to tell these stories to council and let them know our concerns which are real, we really wanted to be heard.
“Not only were we heard, but our advice was adopted, it was great.”
Cr Thomas said had also rode to the meeting, saying it’s not where she feel safest but the road is a shared space.
She said at the moment one type of road user is prioritised over the other.
“When we add bike lanes into roadways, we will actually make it safer for everybody, for the people riding their bikes, for the people walking on the footpath and for the people driving their cars,“ she said.
“Our community is advocating for that change, and I think we should be listening.”
The addition of the bike lane will require the removal of a car park which mayor Sarah Carter said was a substantial change and was one of three councillors to vote against the motion.
“I’m concerned because we’re hearing from one cohort, this is a substantial change which I don’t support making a decision based on hearing from one group and not the whole community.
“We need to do our due diligence, we need to consult with the community and we also need to look at what those options are.
“From a due diligence governance perspective, I can’t support this as much I want to, I want to explore the options.
“I want to hear from the community, not one cohort of the community because there is opposition to cycling lanes on the street, so we need to hear from everyone.“
