Gimme 5! rides roll into Bass in push for bike path funding
Bicycle Network wants 5 per cent of Victoria’s transport budget spent on strategic cycling corridors as community rides head to Cowes and Wonthaggi this week.
BIKE riders in Cowes and Wonthaggi will saddle up this week to push for a bigger share of Victoria’s transport budget to go towards cycling corridors.
Bicycle Network’s Gimme 5! roadshow is visiting the Bass electorate, calling on the state government to commit 5 per cent of the transport budget to building the strategic cycling corridor network.
Cowes residents will ride on Thursday November 5 to explore missing connections around town.
In Wonthaggi, where the town’s strategic cycling corridors line up with the rail trail, locals will ride on Sunday November 8 to highlight the need for a link to Cape Paterson.
Bicycle Network chief executive Alison McCormack will attend to talk about the campaign, ride with locals and meet local state election candidates.
Participants will share stories about getting around by bike and on foot and discuss what is being done to support active transport and community wellbeing in the region.
“Building more critical bicycle infrastructure helps get more people riding and enjoying the benefits of riding — from physical health benefits to saving money and environmental wins,” Ms McCormack said.
“The Gimme 5! campaign asks the state government to make it a priority to build key bike infrastructure in Victoria.”
The campaign is led by Bicycle Network and backed by more than 50 bicycle user groups, Streets Alive communities and other grassroots organisations.
The strategic cycling corridors were developed by the state government as a network of essential cycling routes connecting key destinations across Victoria.
Bicycle Network said there is no dedicated budget to build the network, even though the state government wants 25 per cent of all trips to be active by 2030.
It said about 75 per cent of Victorians report being interested in riding, with the biggest barrier being a lack of protected infrastructure.
Locally, the Bass Coast Integrated Transport Strategy found almost 25 per cent of trips to work in the region are less than 2.5km, yet 87 per cent of those short trips are made by car.
“If you live in Wonthaggi or Cowes and you’d like to be able to ride your bike more easily, we hope you will support the campaign and come along to the community rides on November 5th and 8th,” Ms McCormack said.
“Every voice counts.”
Details of the Cowes ride and the Wonthaggi ride are on Eventbrite, and the full roadshow schedule is at gimme5.org/roadshow.
