A bold proposal to replace car spaces with bike lanes along one of Melbourne's busiest roads and most popular shopping strips has divided the city.
Sydney Road is a bustling thoroughfare frequented by thousands of motorists and tram commuters every day.
However, with the ongoing Brunswick Level Crossing Removal Project initiated by the Daniel Andrews government, the train tracks that currently run parallel to Sydney Road will be moved above ground.
The construction work will lead to a temporary closure of the train tracks and adjacent bike paths.
Now cyclists are leading calls for car spaces along Sydney Road to be removed and replaced with bike paths to improve safety while the bike path is closed.
While some residents have welcomed the proposal, business owners fear the loss of car spaces will put livelihoods at stake following a tough few years during Covid which included 262 days in lockdown.
Function centre owner Tony Cogur fears parking limitations will impact businesses significantly.
'There used to be a buzz because you could walk around and there was something to see everywhere, but now there are so many shops up for lease,' he recently told the ABC.
'With no car parking – if that was to happen – then people won't be able to come here and businesses would continue shutting down.'
At least 58 crashes involving cyclists were recorded on Sydney Road between Bell Street and Brunswick Road in the five years to last December.
Paula Hanasz and her young family are among the many Brunswick residents who cycle everywhere.
'I do not feel safe having to go onto the roads that do not have a separated bike path,' she said.
'I think the cost of inaction on this is lives,'
Another woman added: 'I've had several near misses.'
The community is just as divided online.
'Don’t ruin my community by removing car parks for yet more bike tracks, ' one resident posted.
Another added: 'Bike riders have other options to get to work though don't they other than Sydney Road. Let cyclists pay for road construction then.'
Others pointed out the removal of car spaces for bike places has benefitted many places worldwide.
'Numerous studies and real life (see Paris, Amsterdam, Utrecht and even various cases related LX removal program) show that retail activity improved when car parks are removed and pedestrian and cycling infrastructure improves. Most cars travelling on
Sydney Road aren’t stopping there to shop,' one resident posted.
Another added: 'There are 2200 off-street car parks accessed from side streets. Install protected bike lanes, do some footpath expansion, add some canopy trees to mitigate extreme temperatures in summer and filter the air. Make it more people friendly.
It is time.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12329549/Melbourne-divided-proposal-replace-car-spaces-bike-lanes-Sydney-Road.html
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)