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<div class="moz-forward-container">Hi all,
<p>Your support is required at short notice to support City of
Melbourne's separated bicycle lanes, see below for two messages
received from Stephen Hodge, WeRide Australia and Craig
Richards, Bicycle Network.</p>
<p>The Age: No more new bike lanes for CBD after council cops
complaints<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/no-more-new-bike-lanes-for-cbd-after-council-cops-complaints-20220602-p5aqia.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/no-more-new-bike-lanes-for-cbd-after-council-cops-complaints-20220602-p5aqia.html</a><br>
</p>
<p>Also a heads up to listen to Yarra Bicycle Users Group Radio on
3CR this Monday 6 June 2022 at 10am to hear Chris interview Cr
Rohan Leppert, City of Melbourne and Andreas Loewe, Dean of
Melbourne at St Paul’s Cathedral talk about these issues
including how separated bicycle lanes improve the city for
everyone</p>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.3cr.org.au/yarrabug" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.3cr.org.au/yarrabug</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.yarrabug.org/radio/" moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.yarrabug.org/radio/</a><br>
<p><b><br>
</b></p>
<p><b>1. Craig Richards: It’s time to declare a bike lane
emergency</b></p>
<p>Please register to attend by 10am Tuesday 7 June 2022:</p>
<p>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-council/committees-meetings/meeting-archive/Pages/Future-Melbourne-Committee-7-June-2022.aspx"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-council/committees-meetings/meeting-archive/Pages/Future-Melbourne-Committee-7-June-2022.aspx</a><br>
<br>
If hundreds of people turn up council will take this seriously,
if it’s just a couple well we’ll be dodging trucks for years.<br>
<br>
We’ll provide the bike parking! See you there<br>
<br>
Best wishes<br>
<br>
Craig Richards, <span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-AU"
lang="EN-US"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated
moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="mailto:craigr@bicyclenetwork.com.au"
moz-do-not-send="true">craigr@bicyclenetwork.com.au</a></span></p>
<p><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-AU" lang="EN-US"></span><br>
<b>2. Stephen Hodge, WeRide Australia</b><br>
</p>
<p>We are getting in touch about an urgent issue which threatens
the fantastic progress that has been made during and since COVID
by the City of Melbourne to invest in a network of bike lanes
and separated infrastructure that is vital to getting Melbourne
moving into and around the CBD by bicycle.<br>
<br>
<b>What’s the Issue?</b></p>
<p>Reporting today in The Age indicates that the City of Melbourne
is considering scaling back their plans to provide safe,
separated bicycle lanes across the city in response to vocal
criticism from business interests, AWU and some residents.<br>
<br>
The City of Melbourne will make their decision at the next
Council meeting on Tues June 7 starting at 5.30pm.<br>
<br>
Melbourne Greens Councillor Rohan Leppert is calling for people
to write to the Council to show they support the bike lanes.<br>
<br>
WeRide is working with the Climate Council, Victorian bicycle
user groups and other cycling organisations to publicly support
the City of Melbourne’s plans for a better cycling network. <br>
<br>
<b>This development is bad news because:</b><br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>It is likely to galvanise the anti-bike lane cohort – it
will establish a precedent that loud opposition has the power
to stop sensible transport investments and could mean they
will continue to block active transport infrastructure both in
Melbourne and interstate,</li>
<li>This could also set a worrying precedent that the Melbourne
CBD Council would stop rolling out bike lanes after a few
adverse media days. Our aim is to support the Melbourne City
Council’s efforts for all the people that would like to cycle
and love the bike lanes.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Please take the time to make a submission</b><br>
<br>
You can make an urgent submission before the Council meeting
deadline<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>The submission deadline is 10am Tues June 7, but ideally it
would be better to get it in a bit earlier!</li>
<li>The submission portal is here:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-council/committees-meetings/meeting-archive/Pages/Future-Melbourne-Committee-7-June-2022.aspx"
moz-do-not-send="true">https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-council/committees-meetings/meeting-archive/Pages/Future-Melbourne-Committee-7-June-2022.aspx</a></li>
<li>The fact that media announced these changes on World Bike
Day is all the more important!</li>
<li>The Climate Council has provided a template letter of
submission which you can use to expedite the process (please
refer below)<br>
</li>
<li> You can include anything personal that is relevant -
personal experiences and anecdotes in relation to the
importance of the bike lanes will go a long way</li>
<li> Please sign off with your own name and suburb if based in
Melbourne.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Ideas and stats/facts to use in your submissions</b></p>
<p>Here's points for a draft letter is attached for use if it
helps you, the more you can personalise it the better<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>We support the City of Melbourne’s efforts to ensure our
streets are able to be accessed by those that want to walk or
ride as well as drive</li>
<li>People make the city not cars</li>
<li>No matter where we live, it’s important for everyone in our
community to access and enjoy our streets. That means joining
up the missing links in our walking and cycling networks with
more footpaths and bike lanes.</li>
<li>Our streets are for everyone to move around – bikes belong
here.</li>
<li>43% of cars in the City of Melbourne are simply travelling
through, the city is not their destination</li>
<li>Before COVID, 7% of all people travelling into the CBD came
by bike, if Melbourne wants to attract people back into the
city, people who walk and people who choose to ride a bicycle
must be supported and that includes routes both into and
within the CBD.</li>
<li>From Urbis – parking in a bike space generates twice as much
economic activity for local businesses as a car parking in the
same space</li>
<li>The average trips distances in Greater Melbourne are very
small, more than 40% of all trips for all purposes are just
3km or less, 50% are just 5km or less.</li>
<li>Average speeds in the CBD can be competitive for people
riding bikes, who average around 20kph. And the more bikes are
separated from cars the more space for drivers who do not have
the option to ride a bike.</li>
<li>Improving safety for people riding and walking improves
safety for all road users</li>
<li>Economic activity generated by the Australian cycling sector
is significant:</li>
<ul>
<li> $6.3 billion in direct industry output</li>
<li> $3.4 billion in direct value add to our GDP</li>
<li> 34,295 direct (FTE) jobs, and</li>
<li> Cycle tourism has a direct industry output of $1.2
billion annually. </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<p> <br>
We hope this helps. Please let us know if you do a submission,
it would be great to be able to tell media how strong the
support it! Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to
discuss this with us.<br>
<br>
Thanks in advance!<br>
Stephen Hodge<br>
Director - National Advocacy<br>
M:+61 411 149 910<br>
E: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="mailto:stephen@weride.org.au" moz-do-not-send="true">stephen@weride.org.au</a><br>
Twitter: @werideaustralia, @stephenhodgeaus<br>
Web: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.weride.org.au" moz-do-not-send="true">www.weride.org.au</a></p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>*****<br>
</p>
<p>-- <br>
Listen to <a href="http://www.yarrabug.org/radio/">Yarra
Bicycle Users Group Radio</a><br>
Every Monday morning 10am on <a href="http://www.3cr.org.au/">3CR
855AM Community Radio</a><br>
<a href="http://www.yarrabug.org/">web</a> | <a
href="https://www.facebook.com/YarraBUGRadio/">facebook</a>| <a
href="https://twitter.com/yarrabike">twitter</a> </p>
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