Logic dictates that a lot more people would be keener to ride bikes to work if they didn’t have to occupy road real estate with trucks. Putting yourself on a thin, two-wheeled metal frame and piloting it down a busy main road as actual trucks whizz by your right ear? That’s bloody terrifying.
For cyclists getting in to the Melbourne CBD from the city’s industrial-heavy west, that trip is about to get a hell of a lot safer thanks to a new elevated bike path that’ll not only make things safer, but it’ll take cyclists off some extremely busy main roads, cutting their commute time down significantly in the process.
The Andrews Victorian Government has today announced the 2.5km “veloway” that will elevate cyclists above Footscray Road, from the Shepherd Bridge all the way into Dudley Street in the Docklands precinct.
The bridge is designed for the serious bike commuter, with a pre-existing bike path attached to the road below set to receive widening and upgrade works for the more casual cyclist.
The works are part of the $5.5billion Western Distributor project, and include a promised 14km of upgraded and new bike and footpaths, which includes installing missing sections of popular routes like the Federation Trail and the Kororoit Creek Trail.
The planned bikeway will be suspended beneath the planned flyover Western Distributor roadway, allowing cyclists to avoid traffic lights and major intersections.
Labor member for Williamstown Wade Noonan issued a short statement along with today’s announcement, emphasising the safety of cyclists as a core reason for the new development.
“The number of cyclists is booming in the inner west and we’re giving them the infrastructure they need for
continuous, safe and quick journeys into the city.”
The combined works are aiming to get trucks off the West Gate Bridge and out of suburban inner-west roads.
Construction on the project is due to begin in 2018.
Source: ABC News.
Photo: Victorian Government.
