Wheels up on local bike plan

Wheels up on local bike plan
Image: In gear: the new bike plan. Photo: Chris Peken

Waverley Council will implement a Bike Plan to encourage locals to use bikes as their primary mode of transport.

Council hopes the five-year framework will further the growing popularity of cycling in the Waverley area.

Research conducted by council found there were fewer female cyclists on the roads, and that inexperienced cyclists were put off from cycling on roads due to safety concerns. The plan outlines initiatives that will change this situation, getting more people onto bikes.

These initiatives include creating more separated bike lanes, increasing and improving signage of bike routes, and upgrading existing bike routes.

More bicycle parking spaces will be provided. Improving bike access into the city and surrounding areas is a key part of the plan, as is improving the connection between Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction.

Waverley councillor Leon Goltsman said improving the safety of cyclists and increasing the number of people cycling were the main objectives of the plan.

“If [bike riding] is safer, more people will embrace it,” Mr Goltsman said.

“[Making] it easier for people to get from A to B, and making it more appealing to vehicle owners to be able to make the switch [is important].”

Mr Goltsman also hoped to lift the number of parents taking their children to school by bike.

“This leads to healthier communities.”

As part of the plan, Waverley Council acknowledged safety concerns for cyclists using Oxford St as a route into the City.

“In the long term, we are looking at how we can get bikes through Bondi Junction in a safer manner,” Mayor Sally Betts said.

“We are considering creating a bike path on Spring St. This would have to be fully separated from the road.”

Council will also consider ways to make the intersection of York and Oxford streets at Centennial Park safer.

“At the moment they have to cross four lanes of traffic”, Ms Betts said.

The first stage of the plan will be to install new signage, particularly at roundabouts, to reduce confusion around bike routes. Paths will be clearly marked to ensure that cyclists avoid busy roads.

Mark Worthington, president of BIKEast, told the Bondi View the cycling community is pleased.

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