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Australian pop-up bike lane league
Australian Pop-up Bike Lane League update

It's been a big few weeks in the world of sport. Cricket is back on the telly, the AFL is housing interstate teams in holiday hot spots, the NRL is carrying on like everything's normal, and the Australian Pop-up Bike Lane League (ABPLL) has seen more promises and even some action.

Live ladder

Place
Team
Points
The Sydneysiders 10
2 The Melbourne Knights 6
3 The Brislanders 3
4 The Feds 1
5 The Taswegains 0
6 The Big V 0
7 The Croweaters 0
8 The Sandgropers 0

 

Play-by-play

The Sydneysiders

The Sydneysiders have shot to a clear lead by officially implementing Australia's first pop-up bike lanes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three of the six promised pop-up bike lanes are now operational, with the second round under construction.

And when it rains it pours in Sydney, with lord mayor Clover Moore announcing last week that the city has identified a number of additional locations to invest in active transport infrastructure. 

Read more on what's happening in Sydney here.

The Melbourne Knights

Despite the disappointment of lockdown 2.0, the Melbourne Knights have cemented their spot near the top of the table – with the Moreland City Council unanimously voting in support of an extra $2.4 million in cycling and walking projects to deal with the transport impacts of COVID-19, including separated pop-up bike lanes in Brunswick and Pascoe Vale. 

Read the full details here.

The Brislanders

While the forming of the new Active Transport Advisory Committee (ATAC) between Brisbane City Council and the Queensland state government was enough to get them on the board, Brisbane kicked another point last month when lord mayor Adrian Schrinner said that pop-up bike lanes are being planned as a priority project, with help from the state government.

Read more on Brisbane's bike plans here.

The Feds

Despite no direct support for pop-up bike lanes, The Feds get their first point of the season by supporting a number of priority bike infrastructure projects around the country through stimulus and program funding, including:

NSW stimulus: $1 billion investment in shovel-ready infrastructure projects – including a cycleway in Centennial Park. Read more.

Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program: $500 million to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects – including $1.5m for Rockhampton paths.Read more.

Plus potential funding for local bike projects as apart of their council stimulus packages. Read more.

There have been no new moves from the rest of the league that we know of. If we've we've missed a promise, announcement or even a whisper of pop-up bike lane in Australia, please let us know!

The Taswegians, captained by Peter Gutwein – still awaiting first move.*

*Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said she would be in support of pop-up bike lanes, “we’re just in the early stages of thinking about our (coronavirus) recovery plan.”

The Croweaters, captained by Steven Marshall – still awaiting first move.*

*City of Adelaide councillor Robert Simms proposed trialing some pop-up lanes to help settle the debate over the long-awaited east-west bikeway though the CBD.

The Sandgropers, captained by Mark McGowan – still awaiting first move.*

*The Space for Health Perth community coalition proposed pop-up bike lanes on the Causeway and Riverside Drive to reduce congestion. City of Perth chair commissioner Andrew Hammond said the City would develop a masterplan for the foreshore area in the next financial year.

The Big V, captained by Daniel Andrews – still awaiting first move.

Again, Bicycle Network urges all potential players in the APBLL to read our Pedalling to a better normal campaign to help boost their team's performance.

This recommends a $904 million bike stimulus package that would use pedal power to safeguard our health, create jobs and boost our economy as we work our way out of the COVID-19 crisis.

You can read the game plan here.

FUN FACT

Back in 1967, one of the founding fathers of Bicycle Network, Keith Dunstan, also founded another organisation known as the Anti-Football League (AFL).

This was a place where "the long pent-up frustrations of those whose interest in football was negligible were at last brought out into the open." 

With nothing fundamentally against Aussie Rules, the league stood against the increasing dominance of one sport in the minds and media of our country, while other super beneficial forms of physical activity (like say, bike riding) seemed to fall by the wayside.

Check out their story here.

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