New Plan To Put Inner City Cycling On The Map

News > New Plan To Put Inner City Cycling On The Map

Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Verity Firth and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP today announced new measures to help make it safer and easier for inner city commuters to get on their bikes and make a dent in local air pollution, traffic congestion and their fuel bills.

Speaking at “On Your Bike”, an Active Transport Conference in Sydney this morning, Ms Firth said climate change and rising fuel prices meant Sydney needed to combine innovative programs and clever education strategies to make cycling a more realistic alternative to the car.

“London has increased its cycling participation levels on major roads by 83 per cent since 2000 and is aiming to see cycling grow 400 per cent by 2025,” said Ms Firth. “In NSW we have already made a $291 million investment in cycling infrastructure, and we now have 3,900km of cycleways.

The next step is to make cycling safer and easier, so it is not just seen as transport for a small number of people, but an everyday part of getting to shops, schools and work for average families. A key to this will be ensuring that our existing cycleways link up with each other and with paths and public transport options, so that people can switch their short trips from the car to the bike.

“The Sydney Regional Bike Network Plan coordinated by the City of Sydney will do just that by helping connect cycleways and cycle plans across 12 inner city council areas,” said Ms Firth.

Funded by the NSW Government’s ‘On Your Bike’ initiative, the City of Sydney was awarded $160,000 in funding to expand the regional plan, which will now cover 12 local council areas including – City of Sydney, Marrickville, Leichhardt, Waverley, Woollahra, Randwick, Botany Bay, North Sydney, Canada Bay, Ashfield, Canterbury and Rockdale.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP welcomed the grant saying it supported the City’s ongoing commitment to building safer cycleways. “The funds will help the City of Sydney expand the Inner Sydney Regional Bike Plan to include a number of new Councils within a 10 km radius or 30 minute bicycle ride of the Sydney CBD,” Ms Moore said.