Municipalities around the state are finalising their budgets, making it the ideal time to discover whether they are taking their responsibilities for active transport seriously.
Have bike facilities made the cut? Or are they the expenditures that have been cut?
Your local council could well have its final draft budget out for consultation, so as a bike riding community, now is the time for us to take a peek.
Most local governments have bike strategies that set out their plans for facilities and programs to get more people riding to work, school and university, and for recreation and health.
These strategies should be picked up in the council planning process so that each year some aspect of the strategy is delivered via funding from the budget, often supplemented by external sources.
It could be funds for planning, design or construction. Or for various stages of construction of a multi-year project.
Councils have special websites for public participation where you will find all the information and can comment. Some will have public briefings scheduled.
For example, the City of Melbourne has a draft budget and annual plan available for perusal: https://participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/our-plans-2024-25.
There is mention of a number of bike initiatives for next financial year, including the Macaulay Road bike lane upgrade. But are there other critically important projects that they have missed?
You can send a question to the council, make a submission, attend a special committee meeting where feedback will be discussed.
It is a similar story for all councils. Check out their budget comments page.
Use your local knowledge to scrutinise the plans and expenditures and don’t hesitate to make suggestions. Bike projects are known to provide huge community benefits, but are often overlooked.
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