Better bike path plan

By Lia Bichel
NEW bike paths in the City of Greater Dandenong may set the benchmark for safe cycling in Victoria, according to Red Gum Ward councillor Paul Donovan.
The avid cyclist said while training for last weekend’s Around the Bay in a Day event, he became concerned with the state of bike paths in the region.
“The on-road paths are too close to motor vehicles,” he said. “I always feel a bit unsafe when riding on the road.”
Drawing his inspiration from Europe, Cr Donovan told Star he wanted bike paths next to main roads, and eventually would like to see the number of such paths increase.
“It would be an investment and would have to start with a few letters,” he said.
“The paths would be great for the community, and eventually people would hopefully give priority to walking and cycling over other modes of transport.”
Current bike paths in Dandenong were not the only paths that were potentially dangerous, Cr Donovan said.
“When cycling along Beach Road, one can only marvel that more cyclists are not cleaned up, decapitated, sliced by car doors or forced off the road by motorists,” he said.
A section of the road was earmarked by Bicycle Victoria for the ‘around the bay in a day’ cycling event.
“Sadly, it is perilous for cyclists and causes nothing but frustration for motorists, who need to be extra vigilant when driving along this road – for their own safety and for the safety of the many who choose to ride there,” he said.
Though Cr Donovan hoped the State Government would address the wider issue, he hoped the City of Greater Dandenong council would secure funding for local paths.
At last week’s council meeting, Cr Donovan asked council officers if they could apply for funding. The acting director of engineering services responded, stating officers have applied for some recently for commuter paths, but would continue to apply for any further opportunities that emerged.
A government spokesperson said VicRoads welcomed project proposals from councils for both state and council-controlled roads and any future bike projects in the Dandenong area would be considered and prioritised on a state-wide basis.
The spokesperson also told the Star the government was committed to providing a better bike network for Victorians with their $115 million Victorian Cycling Strategy.
Some $8 million was recently invested in Greater Dandenong as part of the EastLink Project to build the EastLink Trail as well as a cycling and walking path along the toll-free Dandenong Bypass.
“The 35km EastLink Trail is the largest ever single addition into the state’s cycling network,” the spokesperson said.