Yarra City Council: Pop-up bike lanes to become permanent following successful trial

The Victorian Government has announced that pop-up bike lanes on Heidelberg Road between Fenwick St in Clifton Hill and Arthur Street in Fairfield will be made permanent, providing greater safety for active transport users. The pop-up bike lane trial commenced in December 2020 and was intended to make it easier and safer for people to cycle in inner-Melbourne. The now-permanent bike lanes include a range of cycling infrastructure changes including:

  • Bollards used to separate bike lanes from traffic on major roads
  • New signage to improve navigation
  • Reshaped roads and repainted bike lanes 
  • New speed cushions to reduce vehicle speeds

The trial was an overwhelming success, with over 600,000 bicycle trips made on Heidelberg Road between January 2021 and April 2023. 88 per cent of riders said that the pop-up routes made them feel safer. Yarra has been advocating to the Victorian Government to make these pop-up bike lanes permanent as a key outcome of Council’s Advocacy Action Plan and Transport Action Plan.  Read more.