Bicycle Network joined the Friday Night By Bike Ride on Friday 10 July to launch the Geelong arm of a campaign to get the Victorian Government to commit funds to build more bike infrastructure.
The group ride traversed 12.5km on quiet streets, laneways and shared trails, followed by a post-ride social gathering.
Bicycle Network CEO Alison McCormack, who also with local MPs to talk bike infrastructure during her visit, was in attendance.
Besides the Friday Night By Bike Geelong team and Bicycle Network staff, representatives from Bellarine BUG, Better Streets Geelong, Cycling Geelong and other local groups attended the ride.
The ride is in support of Bicycle Network's 'Gimme 5' campaign, which seeks to get the Victorian Government to spend 5% of the transport budget on building the Strategic Cycling Corridors (SCCs) and is supported by almost 30 bicycle user groups, Streets Alive communities and other grassroots organisations.
The SCCs were developed by the state government and form a network of essential routes that connect key destinations across the state.
However, most of them have not been built. In Geelong, the SCCs include major missing links such as:
However, most of them have not been built. In Geelong, the SCCs include major missing links such as:
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High Street, Belmont
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Gleringhap St's missing 600 metres between Lt Malop Street and the Waterfront
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North Geelong shared path (alongside North Geelong Station) lacking connections to other areas including Cowies Creek, Geelong Golf Club and Rippleside Park.
"We're excited to join the long-standing Friday Night By Bike community ride, chat to the locals and launch the Gimme 5 campaign here in Geelong," McCormack said.
"There's huge potential for the Strategic Cycling Corridors to make Geelong a more liveable and active city."
There is no dedicated budget for building the sorely needed SCC network, even though the Victorian Government wants 25% of all trips to be active by 2030 and roughly 75% of Victorians report being interested in riding, with the biggest barrier to uptake being a lack of protected infrastructure.
You can find out more about the Gimme 5 campaign at https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/our-advocacy/strategic-cycling-corridor/.
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