After motorists explode in rage, a major Australian city pulls an embarrassing U-turn on bike lanes: “This is a victory for common sense.”
Victoria’s City of Port Philip conducted a controversial trial of temporary bike lanes.
However, residents of Port Melbourne and St. Kilda criticized the proposal.
Now, after the outcry, the state government has agreed to modify the plans.
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A city in Australia has abandoned a controversial bike lane proposal in response to vehement protests from local motorists enraged by their increased commuting times.
Along with speed bumps, bollards, concrete blocks, and yellow markers, the City of Port Philip in Victoria, Australia, implemented a trial of pop-up bike lanes.
Residents of suburbs such as Port Melbourne and St. Kilda criticized the plans as a “desecration” of highways.
Now, the state administration has agreed to modify the plans, a move that one critic hailed as a “win for common sense.”
After Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth all implemented 30km/h speed limits to deter cars from entering the inner city, the plans were the latest indication that Australia’s cities appear to be at war with drivers.
Residents of suburbs like as Port Melbourne and St. Kilda criticized the proposal as a “desecration” of highways.
One critic hailed the shift as a “win for common reason” after the state government agreed to alter the plans.
Alan Fedda, executive director inner of the Department of Transport in Port Phillip, stated that the council had listened to community feedback over the cycle lane.
The proposed improvements will assist create a compromise between community requirements and the safety of cyclists in the City of Port Phillip, he said.
Andrew Bond, a Port Phillip councilman, supported the decision to reduce cycling lanes.
He stated, “This is a win for common reason.” ‘However, besides these regions, there are other more in our municipality that are equally of concern to our inhabitants.
I anticipate that they will be addressed in the near future.
Residents complained at a July council meeting that the bike lanes were ill-conceived, hazardous, and a blight on bayside suburbs.
The program is part of a larger government initiative to construct lanes in urban cores.
Now, due to the modifications, the Port Melbourne trial will finish, and concrete blocks and bollards will be removed.
Alan Fedda, executive director inner of the Department of Transport in Port Phillip, stated that the council had listened to community feedback over the cycle lane.
Throughout the duration of the project, the department has conducted frequent meetings with the council and is collaborating on the pop-up bike routes.
Last week, employees in Brisbane’s outer suburbs reacted angrily to a contentious proposal to decrease speed restrictions to 30 km/h in residential zones, worrying that it may lengthen their daily trip to work.
Jonathan Sriranganathan, a Greens councillor, proposed the resolution to dissuade automobiles on the grounds that it would foster “vibrant public places and social hubs.”
Similar programs have been tested in other Australian cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.