26 September 2024

Greens promise Canberra-wide bike network by 2030

| Ian Bushnell
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Woman cycling with two children

The Greens say a safe off-road network will entice more people onto bikes. Photo: Grit Schuster.

The ACT Greens have promised to build a $216 million city-wide bicycle network and will offer $500 rebates to electric and cargo bike buyers if they form government after 19 October.

The party says it has an ambitious plan to make cycling accessible, affordable and a realistic option for people to choose to get around the city.

In a pitch to the city’s cycling community and those who would like to ride a bike but feel it’s unsafe, the Greens say a city-wide off-road bike network, based on the cycling network plan in the ACT Government’s Active Travel Plan, will be delivered by 2030.

The policy would deliver 135km of new separated bike paths, fixing many of the missing connections in neighbourhoods across the city and boosting the path network. The six-year plan would cost $36 million a year.

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ACT Greens MLA for Ginninderra Jo Clay said the right infrastructure would make cycling a genuine option for more people.

“Many who ride around Canberra at the moment have to ride on the road and rely on the thin, painted bike lanes,” she said.

“Paint is not infrastructure and these lines provide little to no real safety. The danger of riding on the road discourages many from getting on the bike, particularly women and children.

“That’s why our plan focusses on off-road bike paths, giving real safety for anyone who wants to cycle.”

The Greens plan would establish a $5 million fund to provide up to 10,000 rebates of $500 to help people buy e-bikes.

Greens MLA for Brindabella Laura Nuttall said the $500 rebates would help young people and renters afford to get around Canberra.

“Often, sustainability is considered a luxury for those with money, and it actually shouldn’t be,” she said.

“At the moment, financial support for sustainability is overwhelmingly going to homeowners and people who drive, and not towards renters and those who walk or ride.”

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The Greens would also boost bike parking and storage, including all ACT Government workplaces with more than 20 regular employees being provided modern end-of-trip facilities and secure bike storage.

Ms Nuttall said there needed to be a big increase in bike parking and storage to make riding a viable option.

“For many who are up for a ride to work, this could be the deciding factor which actually lets them do it,” she said.

Schools would also be provided bike storage facilities at least equivalent to one third of the maximum number of enrolled students.

The parking plan would increase overall bike parking facilities around the city in places such as town centres and bus stops.

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J a c k d a w9:08 am 01 Oct 24

MLA Laura Nuttall imagines that –
“At the moment, financial support for sustainability is overwhelmingly going to homeowners and people who drive, and not towards renters and those who walk or ride.”

I would point out that the crippling future public debt being accumulated for the Light Rail is claimed to be for Sustainability.
Of course, the tram system is also claimed to be of universal appeal.
Renters can put their bikes on board, as well as others.

So might we ‘save’ this $5M promise of the best of all possible whirls ?

Seriously, how many do or will ride a bike to work , shops, schools etc , in the real world, most people live in suburbs and need to drive, but lets spend heaps of money for a few

Capital Retro8:35 am 30 Sep 24

Right on, davo1.
And how many of those weird bikes are there like the one on the image leading this article?
I have never seen one and it seems “overloaded” so, is it licensed?

J a c k d a w9:06 am 29 Sep 24

Of course you are correct –
thelonius – the “sneering haters” who comment on the RiotAct do not have enough votes to make a difference.
Individual votes, yes.

But think of what they signify by their various comments – only a minority read this stuff, however far, far more reasonable folk THINK similarly, and yet never comment.

Your “sneering haters” are are the tiny tip of an iceberg of real Voters who are fed up with the Assembly, the politics, the factions, the wobbly coalition, the scandals, the secret socials, the CIT, the private school rorts, the tram, etc, etc .. ..

Calling me out as a sneering hater (especially of all pre-election promises) is quite OK by me.
Cheers !

Rupert Samuel4:55 am 29 Sep 24

I ride to work or the shops whenever I can. It’s much less stressful than driving and I get some much needed exercise built into my day. And while I’m on my bike, I’m still paying my car rego, so I’m subsidising drivers at the same time. I can live with that. It takes more planning and effort, and that’s fine. I can go where I like, Park nearby (bikes have a very small footprint) and for most of the year is great. Yes, sometimes I need the car, and that’s okay. It’s a necessary evil.

But live and let live, you sad, same old names in the comments section! You all sound like you need a good bike ride!

Incidental Tourist6:33 pm 28 Sep 24

Why didn’t Greens pay attention to long overdue maintenance of existing bike paths if they remained in power for a decade?

The Greens have been in coalition with Labor for years. Why haven’t they done this already? Oh that’s right, they’re waiting for the four year shift change of the bottom of the garden fairies

Rupert Samuel5:03 am 29 Sep 24

Yes, yes, you’ve already said that. (To every Greens and Labor policy announcement, it seems.) Do you have a credible alternative position or is this as good as it gets?

I’m grateful the sneering haters in the comments section on the RiotAct don’t have enough votes to make a difference.

Rupert Samuel4:37 am 29 Sep 24

Haha! Comment of the week! Yes, you can’t write derogatory messages while using active transport.

wildturkeycanoe11:45 am 28 Sep 24

I’m curious to know how all these expected future commuter cyclists get to work when we have weeks of torrential rain or temps in the low forties. Do they all just get on buses? If so, does the network have to introduce new temporary services or do they just happen to run with lots of spare seats all the time in case of “inclement weather”?

If the Greens stuck to genuine green policies and advocated for nature and the environment id vote for them everyday of the week but they are increasingly becoming the party that wants to give away your money to someone else.
Working hard and getting ahead in life is not encouraged under the Greens.

Margaret Freemantle9:02 pm 27 Sep 24

Only the Greens!! Will they ever understand that cyclists don’t use off road paths and there are plenty of us Canberrans who don’t want to, or can’t, ride bikes;

Probably one of the better investments the ACT government can make noting how expensive adding road capacity is: $107m just to duplicate a 4.5km of of William Hovell Drive. Bikes are a great way for many to get around cost effectively and keep fit. Keeping motorists and cyclists separated and out of public hospitals and litigation proceedings adds to the cost benefit.

J a c k d a w8:14 pm 27 Sep 24

Relaxed and Comfortable.
The key phrase is – “if they form government after 19 October.”
No Worries; the Greens will NOT.
Antony Green says so.
That is more certain than “Simon says . . . “

What really is tiresome however, is the blue-sky dreaming nature of yet another ALP/Green fantasy which has no apparent cost-benefit analysis.
The notion of a network of cycle paths separated from the (far too dangerous) on-road designated lanes – “build it and they will come” – NOT !!
What Nonsense !
Canberra’s original separated bike-paths were never popular – too indirect, too dark at night, too narrow, too hard to maintain, etc., ad nauseam.

And the cost of the overpasses and traffic lights needed for the Green separation of powers ??

Q. When did an MLA ever ride a bike, I wonder ?
A. When they were a Spokes-person.
(That’s an MLA Joke, Joyce.)

GrumpyGrandpa5:17 pm 27 Sep 24

Canberra had cycle paths, but bike riders demanded on-road bike lanes, because the cycle paths took too long and they weren’t properly maintained.

Now the Greens want to spend $216 million of our money and take bikes back off-road onto cycle paths and for taxpayers to fork out another $5 million to subsidise 10,000 e-bikes.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like riding a bike in the rain or in the heat. I’m not so keen on riding a bike from Tuggers into the City or out to Ikea either. The thought of putting a couple of kids on the back of a bike and taking them to soccer practice doesn’t excitement me.

Here’s a radical idea. How about just improving the bus network?

And the ALP sign up these people, as partners in government!

Margaret Freemantle8:57 pm 27 Sep 24

With you!

Right, so you don’t like to ride a bicycle in the rain or heat. Considering the low rainfall of the ACT and the fact that it isn’t hot for about 8 months of the year, that probably gives you plenty of scope for a bit of healthy exercise then.

I’m sorry Minister but you’ve had 23 years to do something about this and you have failed miserably. So much for being a partner to Labor, you deserve to go down with them. Don’t get me started on the tram waste, homelessness and public housing has not improved a lot over the years either. Nope. Some might complain about the Libs and other parties but now is the time to pack your bags and leave for good.

Absolutely. It is called selling out. You know, I remember speeding around Florey on a dirt bike before it was Florey. Terrific fun. I do wonder just how many of our demographic can actually ride. It seems to be a policy skewed to the abled. Which doesn’t surprise me given how Labor/Greens treat disabled citizens with contempt and disregard.

Interesting. Canberra’s first bike paths were off road. They morphed into shared pathways and then commuting cyclists exercised their right to use the roads. Consequently many off road cycle paths became little used and poorly maintained. History can be circular!

$500 rebate for the young and renters. Is it limited to just those categories or can all people who want to exercise take part ?

Just came back from Tuggers to Belco and managed to dodge all but two potholes in the parkway…. Maybe if we can ditch the bike paths that no-one uses we could afford to fix a few potholes….

🤣🤣🤣 that is so funny Bloke48. You see, they made the bike paths to save the cyclists from being killed by drivers avoiding potholes, so they didn’t have to fix the potholes… It makes sense if you think like a Green. Pff 💨

Chris Lvoric1:34 pm 27 Sep 24

A great idea! There’s a bunch of folks who complain about cyclists being on the road, but very curiously don’t support building good off-road alternatives.

Looking at this at the network level is the right approach. The piecemeal approach to date has achieved very little and wasted significant resources on unsafe and unconnected cycle lanes like the disastrous one on Corrina Street.

Maybe we should just setup green suburbs so all the Greenies can live together. No roads just cycle paths.

Seems to be a waye to put in city wide infrastructure. Put all the cyclists in one spot.

Heywood Smith10:34 am 27 Sep 24

What an absolute waste of money!

Yes, and to assist you in working out how they will fund it, look at the fees and penalties site on ACCESS Canberra….

Capital Retro9:13 am 27 Sep 24

How about the Greens give a pro-rata share of all that money to those of us who cannot ride or do not want to ride?

Great news, massive windfall for those who can’t or do not want to drive! Also paid for by rates but so so so much more expensive.

John Hamilton10:10 am 27 Sep 24

I agree. Let’s take it a step further give a pro-rata share of all money allocated to education to people who don’t have kids. Also pro-rata share of police/fire services to those who never use those services. Also a pro-rata share of money going to TAMS to cover maintenance of parks for the people who never go into public parks.

That being said, I generally agree that isn’t the best move by the Greens. We have an excellent sharepath network. Yes it has a few gaps and needs better maintenance but this is not enough to warrant an entire new path network which is what the Greens seem to be proposing

What about a pro-rata share of all money spent on roads given to everyone who doesn’t drive? I think that might well be more lucrative than any of these other pro-rata payments.
BTW, I don’t think the Greens are proposing a whole new path network. That would cost more than $216 million and be longer than 135km. The proposal is to fill all the gaps in the current network. I think this is a reasonable proposal, so long as the effectiveness is evaluated as it is rolled out and implementation adjusted accordingly.

Max_Rockatansky8:27 am 27 Sep 24

Greens Senator Steele-John said on July 1st, graffiti of war memorials in Canberra by Palestinian supporters “is a form of speech”. The 11 Greens in the Senate then refused to support the motion condemning those desecrations. Greens have failed our veterans. Shame on them, they deserve zero votes in every election from now on.

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