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Bikes and buses a priority for Geelong community

Community engagement for the integrated transport strategy being prepared for the greater Geelong region has flagged better bike infrastructure and bus services as high priorities.

The liveability and amenity of streets and local neighbourhoods are also important to the people of Geelong.

The feedback will be used as input to the development of the Geelong Integrated Transport Strategy (ITS), which will guide decision making on transport and land use planning for greater Geelong in the years ahead.

The engagement report says Greater Geelong is experiencing significant development and population growth in greenfield (new) and infill (redevelopment of land in existing, built-up areas) locations. 

"This growth is currently, and will continue to, place pressure on the existing transport network," says the report. 

"In response to this increased network pressure, the ITS will have a focus on how Geelong can achieve a mode shift towards sustainable forms of transport to create a more vibrant and liveable city and region."

The engagement process revealed disconnected bicycle infrastructure and busy roads that were difficult to cross on a bicycle.

Survey participants also identified that safer, lower stress and well-connected infrastructure would encourage them to take relatively short trips by bicycle. A small number of respondents requested that car parking would not be impacted by bicycle infrastructure.

Another key theme was the inability to park a bicycle securely and close to a destination, along with a better-connected shared trail network and a desire for better footpaths and road crossings.

There was a strong desire for improvements to the bus network across Greater Geelong as well as improved frequency of ferry services.

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