Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the 13 March I rode with my family and the cycling community of Melbourne's west in the ride for Arzu to demand that all levels of government deliver save cycling infrastructure for our cities. The ride was held in memory of Arzu Baglar, who was struck and killed by a truck while cycling to a friend's house in my electorate in preceding days. Arzu was travelling to Williamstown when she was hit by a truck at the intersection of Whitehall Street and Somerville Road in Yarraville. She was heading from an off-road bike path to an on-road bike lane at the intersection when she was killed. As a member of a cycling family in Melbourne's west, I was particularly distressed by this tragedy. Ms Baglar's death is representative of a broader issue with the safety of transport infrastructure for cyclists in Melbourne's west.

Melbourne's west has a relatively low utilisation of active transport. For example, three times as many Brunswick residents cycled to work each morning in 2011 as Footscray residents, despite the two suburbs being a similar distance from the CBD. The quality of cycling infrastructure and the safety of cyclists on roads in Melbourne's west is, no doubt, part of the reason for this relatively low cycling rate. Cycling in Melbourne's west can be a challenging experience, with cyclists regularly sharing roads with large numbers of trucks, on-road cycling lanes that funnel riders into heavy traffic and separated bike paths that end abruptly. The safety issues posed by these challenges will only become more acute as the population of Melbourne's west grows.

Melbourne's west has been one of the fastest growing regions in Australia over the last decade, and this growth is forecast to continue apace over the next 10 years. As population grows in Melbourne's west, so too does pressure on our transport networks. Melbourne's west needs a sustained increase in investment in active transport infrastructure to complement the major investments being made in both roads and rail by the Andrews state government. The low level of cycling in Melbourne's west relative to comparable suburbs in the north and east highlights the opportunity that investments in active transport offer for increasing the overall capacity of our transport network. In this regard, the new cycling infrastructure being proposed as part of the Western Distributor Project is welcome, but it is important that these plans offer comprehensive, linked-up travel pathways for cyclists and that these much needed infrastructure improvements are delivered as quickly as possible.

Labor understand that our cities face challenges of increased congestion, which is why we will prioritise a cycling strategy. A Shorten Labor government will require that all projects submitted to Infrastructure Australia add another criterion to their assessments: the inclusion of active transport modes, including cycling and walking. We will also continue to work with states and territories to consider establishing a new walking, riding and access to public transport council, as outlined in the 2013 report Walking, riding and access to public transport.

Given population growth in Melbourne's west, safety issues for cyclists are only likely to become more acute. The clear message from my community is that Ms Baglar's death should spur all levels of government to make infrastructure investments to ensure that, as far as possible, future tragedies of this kind are avoided.