15 Sep 20 | By pp-admin
15 September 2020
This morning the Canberra Liberals announced that cycling will be road free by 2030 and have backed this up by committing to building 100km of new dedicated off-road cycleways to provide direct links for cycle commuters between our major town centres and major employment hubs. These cycleways will include lighting and end of trip facilities.
This commitment from the Canberra Liberals represents the single largest commitment to expanding cycling in the ACT. This commitment shows real vision with a plan that will transform transport choices in the ACT.
Pedal Power has been advocating for direct off-road separated cycleways for many years. These are vital to keep cars and cyclists separated but also to provide direct routes for commuter cyclists to use.
Australia is facing a health epidemic with significant numbers of people dying from heart disease and diabetes. To improve the health of our community and our environment we need investment that helps those people who can ride, to make the choice to leave the car at home.
For people to start cycling they must have a direct safe and comfortable route. At present many people wanting to cycle between our town centres must either take the slow indirect shared path network, or risk riding on the shoulders of roads which are often littered with gravel and debris, and contend with vehicles moving at dangerous speeds.
This new plan will take ten years to build, in the meantime Pedal Power is calling for a commitment to an ongoing and systematic program of path maintenance for the entire shared path network.
Cycle commuting in Canberra is getting harder as our shared path network becomes more congested and run down.
Pedal Power is seeking further advice from the party about how the Canberra Liberals will fund this plan.