Victoria’s Department of Transport (DoT) has agreed to remove a number of pop-up bike lanes and review speed cushions following concerns expressed by Port Phillip Council.
Port Phillip Council Mayor, Marcus Pearl said Council wrote to the Department to express concern about the provision of the temporary lanes as part of the State Government’s pop-up bike program.
DoT is currently trialling 100 kilometres of new and improved bike routes across key innter-Melbourne suburbs.
“We received a response from DoT (below) in which the Department committed to several undertakings including removing a number of pop-up bike lanes, including two sought in Council’s resolution and reviewing speed cushions and other infrastructure placement,” said Mayor Pearl.
“We thank the DoT for working with us and seeking to address our community’s concerns.”
Council will consider the letter and its response at a meeting on 7 September.
The pop-up program aims to make it easier and safer for bike riders to get to and from
Melbourne’s CBD, as well as providing improved local connections, the DoT said in its response to Council.
“As part of this roll out, 38km routes were approved by the City of Port Phillip. The 38km trial aligns to Council’s Move, Connect, Live; Integrated Transport Strategy 2018-28,” it said.
“A key pillar of this program is that it allows changes to routes based upon community feedback and DoT evaluations. The pop ups are temporary infrastructure, which enables effective changes to routes when and where they are needed.
“Since the rollout of these trial routes in the City of Port Phillip, DoT has received community feedback directly via email and online around some of the routes and their designs. Along with that feedback, the pop-up bike routes are under constant evaluation by DoT. These regular reviews assess safety, user numbers, sentiment, network performance and other factors.”
Based on community feedback and DoT review processes, the changes identified require Council approval for all proposals, the Department said.
It has proposed to end the trial at a number of sites across the municipality.
“DoT will work with Council Officers to explore alternate designs to address bicycle safety,” the Department said.
