Skip to main content

Melbourne fast-tracks 40km of new bike lanes

Australian city binned its bike-share scheme but is now making more space for two wheels
By Adam Hill June 17, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
The Melbourne bike-share scheme was scrapped last year, but the city is still keen on bikes (© Rafael Ben Ari | Dreamstime.com)

The City of Melbourne is making more space on its roads for bicycles, adding 40km of dedicated bike lanes to its road network. 

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said they would be 'adaptable', which means they "can be constructed and installed more quickly".

The city, which scrapped its own bike-share scheme last year, said lanes will be built in two stages, with the first 20km in 2020-21 via a $16 million investment.

The new routes are part of the Australian city's Transport Strategy 2030, which sets out a 10-year plan to become a "premier cycling city with a network of protected cycling lanes and intersections, lots of bike parking and facilities for cyclists".

"We've seen other leading cities around the world such as Paris, London and Milan successfully integrate cycling as a key mode of transport to reduce congestion and accommodate growth," said councillor Nicolas Frances Gilley, transport portfolio chair.

"We will use plastics, rubber and recycled materials than can be installed quickly so we can accelerate bike lane delivery. The infrastructure we install will be functional for years to come and can be progressively replaced with fixed lanes over time as required."

The authorities have carried out research which suggests that it is essential to create physical protection from motor vehicles if people are to have the confidence to ride in the city centre.

The first priority routes include:

Exhibition Street stage one (Flinders Street to Bourke Street)
Rathdowne Street (Victoria Street to Faraday Street)
William Street (Dudley Street to Flinders Street)
Abbotsford Street (Flemington Road to Queensberry Street)
Swanston Street (around the University of Melbourne from Grattan Street to Cemetery Road).

Related Content

  • Promoting cycling is the solution to congestion and pollution
    August 20, 2015
    Cycling offers health, air quality and road space/parking benefits, promoting governments and the EU to look at tax and technology initiatives. David Crawford reports. One way to improve urban air quality is to make green alternatives to car use financially attractive. Incentivising employees to switch their travel-to-work mode to using their own bikes could increase cycling’s modal share of commuting travel by 50%, a recent French research project suggests. The country’s government already subsidises pu
  • Sydney enlarges 'space for pedestrians'
    September 29, 2021
    George Street project will also include simpler intersections to reduce travel times
  • London may trial Dutch-style roundabouts
    April 30, 2013
    Roundabouts similar to those used in the Netherlands, which separate cyclists from cars and give them priority, could be used in London as early as next year, according to Andrew Gilligan, the city's cycling commissioner. The layout means cyclists are in the clear line of sight of drivers when vehicles exit the roundabout. The trial forms part of the mayor of London's Vision for Cycling. Over 600 people have been involved so far and the effects on safety and capacity will be studied as well as the impact o
  • Coronavirus fuels global cycling upsurge
    March 27, 2020
    The ongoing coronavirus pandemic may be sending the world's transit systems into disarray, but a global surge in cycling may just provide a much-needed silver lining.