The Banyule Bicycle Strategy, including an action plan for 2022-2027, was adopted by Council at it's meeting on 28 February 2022.

Thank you for your feedback which was used to shape the final Banyule Bicycle Strategy and 5 year action plan.

During May and July 2021 we asked for feedback on the draft Banyule Bicycle Strategy and its key themes and summary recommendations. The project was viewed by 511 people, 25 of which provided feedback through an online survey. We also spoke to over 100 community members at our pop-up community conversations and drop-in information sessions.

Feedback confirmed that the draft Bicycle Strategy was supported by the community, however more work is needed to improve the cycling experience within Banyule.

Here's a snapshot of what people said:

Suggested improvements include:

• Improving the quality of the surfaces and access points to our Trails including the Darebin Creek Trail at Bell Street; Main Yarra Trail between Banksia Street and Burke Road North and the Plenty River Trail overall.
• Addressing key safety concerns for on-road cycling including dangerous crossings, lack of separated infrastructure and speed limits.
• Providing increased bicycle parking across the municipality and other amenities including bicycle repair stations; water fountains and public toilets.
• Developing and installing consistent and clear wayfinding signage
• Supporting families and school children to safely ride to school

View the Consultation Summary Report.

Background

Bike riding offers us all a sustainable and healthy way of getting around. We cycle for many different reasons but have in common a need for a bike-friendly network with safe and direct connections to destinations and opportunities to build cycling skills and confidence.

Banyule has an extensive network of 40kms of cycling routes, both on and off-road, across the municipality. The off-road trails run through beautiful open space parks and reserves in and around Banyule and the on-road routes are on local roads for maximum cyclist safety. Overall the local bicycle network is made up of 12 of these on-road bicycle routes.

Our local routes also connect to a wider network of cycling routes, across neighbouring municipalities, to allow cyclists to access destinations outside of Banyule.

We are committed to maintaining, developing and encouraging the use of our cycling facilities and ensuring future Banyule cyclists have plenty of safe route options to get to where they need to be or just to get out and about.

We have drafted a new Banyule Bicycle Strategy to support our work in this area.

Over the last two years we have been gathering information on what is needed to support cycling becoming a safe and viable transport option or recreational choice in Banyule.

Stage 1: In late 2018 we started our conversation with the community about what it is like to cycle in Banyule. The findings of this engagement are included in the ‘What you told us about Cycling in Banyule’ report.

Stage 2: In 2020, prior to and during the Covid-19 lockdowns, we undertook a second round of engagement that included workshops with community and government stakeholders. The Banyule community was also given the opportunity to participate in the BikeSpot 2020 online engagement project that asked people to nominate safe and unsafe spots for cycling within the municipality. The results of this engagement can be found in the BikeSpot 2020 Project report.

Stage 3: Our research and feedback gathered was used to develop the Banyule Bicycle Strategy 2021-2031.

Stage 4: Council considered all community feedback from public exhibition and has developed a five-year action plan to implement the Strategy’s recommendations. The Banyule Bicycle Strategy and action plan, was adopted by Council in February 2022.