HUNDREDS of western suburbs cyclists want Premier Dennis Napthine to find money to fix Footscray’s notorious Shepherd Bridge.
The cyclists yesterday signed a giant letter which western suburbs Greens MP Colleen Hartland passed on to the Premier.
Brightly coloured bicycle cut-outs and letters spelling ‘Fix Shepherd Bridge’ were also attached to railings on the bridge, which is the key gateway to the city for cyclists in the west.
Michael Shirkey, who rides from Seddon to the city for work, said crossing the bridge was by far the worst part of the journey.
“It’s too narrow, the surface is terrible. I would like to at least see a barrier between the path and the traffic; it’s nerve-racking.”
Heather Barry, who commutes from Kingsville to Docklands, is also uneasy about the bridge. “It’s far too narrow. It’s really uneven and so heavily used it can be really dangerous. It’s great to see lots of people wanting to ride, but it’s really unsafe.”
Fixing Shepherd Bridge was proposed as part of the Truck Action Plan, currently under review as part of east-west link development work.
Bicycle Victoria has declared improvements to Shepherd Bridge its top priority.
Ms Hartland said the Premier must commit to fixing the bridge in next month’s budget.
“Council are saying when they did the bike count, 700 cyclists went over the bridge in a two-hour period,” she said.
A state government spokeswoman would not comment on what might be in the budget.
“The government is committed to encouraging people to use bikes for transport and recreation,” she said. “A number of options have been investigated, including a separate bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.”
