Bicycles are an excellent form of transport. They have almost no impact on the environment, produce no greenhouse gases, make no noise and consume no fossil fuels and they rarely cause serious injury or death to other road users. Cycling is also good for people’s health and fitness and is an enjoyable pastime.
As such, cycling is an important component of a sustainable and integrated transport system. In fact, Victorians have indicated consistently that they want to cycle more often and that they need more bicycle facilities on which to do so.
The Government recognises the social and environmental benefits of cycling and is committed to achieving an on-going and measurable increase in the numbers of people who cycle.
Cycling is recognised in a number of Government strategies. These include:
Melbourne 2030, in particular, identifies a number of specific actions for cycling with the objective of giving more priority to cycling and walking in planning urban development and in managing our road system and neighbourhoods.
To support this commitment and the key strategic directions for cycling, VicRoads provides bicycle facilities such as on-road bicycle lanes and off-road bicycle paths and seeks to improve cyclist safety. In particular, VicRoads’ objectives are to:
- Create visible and connected cycling networks that are made up of continuous routes by completing strategic sections and by closing gaps that exist in current networks.
- Provide bicycle facilities as part of major road projects and when major roads are upgraded.
- Improve safety for cyclists through programs such as Bike Ed for primary school students and teaching cycling safety to secondary school students. For more information see road safety education programs.
- The Share the Road campaign also supports cyclist safety.