Newsroom

Updated on Monday 20 February 2023.

Investigations continue into the tragic death of a rider on the Footscray Road trail in West Melbourne two weeks ago.

Various parties including the Victoria Police, West Gate Tunnel Project, contractors CPB-JH, and road safety investigators have been looking into the circumstances around the collision in which 22-year-old Angus Collins died.

Collins died after his bicycle and a concrete mixing truck collided at the corner of Footscray Road and Dock Link Road.

No charges have been laid in relation to the incident.

Bicycle Network asked the Minister for Roads, Ports and Road Safety, Melissa Horne, to consider banning left turns into the port at that location as a safety measure.

Minister Horne has referred the matter to the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure who has responsibility for the West Gate Tunnel Project.

The left turn out of Footscray Road into the Dock Link Road is rarely used by the large trucks that typically access the port because of the restricted area available.

And any vehicle that does turn left also has restricted vision because of adjacent bridge construction.

Footscray Road is currently a major work zone as the elevated freeway and bike veloway are constructed above the existing road and trail.

Road layout and traffic conditions will change periodically for the remainder of the year.

There will be more changes to the bike route in the coming months including a switch of bikes to Dynon Road.

It is expected that the ongoing impact of this series of complex traffic changes needs to be considered in context with any proposed safety enhancements at the intersection and elsewhere.

Bicycle Network CEO Alison McCormack said any death of a person on a bike is one too many, and this one is especially saddening as he was only 22 years old.

"It has been a tragic start to the year on Victorian roads with far too many road users of all kinds suffering fatal or serious injuries.  We have to turn this around, and quickly. Victoria has a proud history of being a global innovator in road safety, but we have become complacent. Our road safety strategies are among the best, but progress is simply not fast enough."

Ms McCormack said although there had been a Parliamentary Inquiry into road safety as recently as 2021, Bicycle Network would back any new initiative with a chance of kick-starting a revival of the State's safety culture.

The 2021 inquiry highlighted shortcomings and opportunities for improvement in road standards, speeding, training, licensing, behaviour, vehicle standards and technology.

"Did anything happen as a result of those findings?, Ms McCormack asked. "Have we moved forward and do we have safer roads, vehicles and drivers?  Everyday bike riders have a front row seat into the risks people face on the roads and it is obvious that much more needs to be done to ensure everyone gets home safe."

Bicycle Network has been working intensely to provide input into many projects around the state where major improvements are coming for the state's bike riders.

For example, just metres away from the scene of this latest tragic incident, work is underway to build the 2.5-km overhead cycling Veloway from Footscray to Docklands that will remove six of the intersections, including Dock Link Road where this last tragedy occurred.

But completion is still more than a year away, as it is with many other projects, showing that we can't pause for one minute in the task to upgrade so much inadequate infrastructure across the State.

Read the latest statement from the Big Build, the project website of the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority.