Less than a third of the city’s promised infrastructure for bike users has been completed, despite 16 years having elapsed since they were announced.
That’s the analysis from Bike Geelong who have run ruler over council’s 2008 cycling strategy and found just 28 per cent of targets have been met.
A spokesperson for the group says there’s a desire within some quarters of council to make progress, but it’s not translating to actual action on the regions roads, paths and other thoroughfares.
“It seems to be a lot of talk, and not a lot action,” Ashley said.
“I think the engineers, there’s kind of goodwill in there to get it done but every time something is proposed and it goes to council they just back down and don’t actually do it.”
He’s also drawn attention to a lack of oversight over the strategy, despite assurances of semi-regular reviews of progress on promised benchmarks.
“The most recent cycling strategy was written in 2008 and was meant to be updated every 5-years, there’s been no update to it since then,” Ashley said.
“We’ve also found of all the actions listed in the strategy only 28 per cent have actually been actioned, nothing has been reviewed on the strategy in all that time in 16-years.”
He says the result is disconnected bike routes, incomprehensible signage and the dangerous merging of vehicles and bikes, among other issues.
Bike Matters points to the G21’s Integrated Transport Strategy as a logical path forward, with its policy focus on taking the load off roads via new and efficient public transport and ‘active’ travel routes.
The strategy acknowledges the ‘patchwork of cycling and pedestrian connections’, in one of Australia’s fastest growing regional cities.
Ashley says he’d like to see the strategy adhered too, providing less talk and more action is the outcome.
Geelong council has been contacted for a response.
