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Melbourne mulls elevated bicycle lanes in business district

Elevated bike lanes through Melbourne's CBD would improve city access for everyone, a major cycling advocacy group says. The US$72 million “cycle highways” scheme is one of 200 ideas put forward by Infrastructure Victoria, a Victoria state agency, to improve public transportation in the next 30 years. The agency estimates that more than 81,000 bike trips are recorded in Melbourne each weekday, according to a report by ABC News. "I do think we need to encourage this sort of bicycle network infrastructu
June 3, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Elevated bike lanes through Melbourne's CBD would improve city access for everyone, a major cycling advocacy group says.

The US$72 million “cycle highways” scheme is one of 200 ideas put forward by Infrastructure Victoria, a Victoria state agency, to improve public transportation in the next 30 years. The agency estimates that more than 81,000 bike trips are recorded in Melbourne each weekday, according to a report by ABC News.

"I do think we need to encourage this sort of bicycle network infrastructure," said Infrastructure Victoria's chief executive Michel Masson.

Similar cycle paths are in place around the world, including the Cykelslangen, or the Cycle Snake, in Copenhagen. London now has a so-called bike superhighway linking the city's east and west with traffic-free segregated tracks.

Bicycle Network chief executive Craig Richards welcomed the idea for Melbourne. "Infrastructure Victoria is thinking big, and realises that the benefits of bikes comes from major, co-ordinated and sustained investment rather than the piecemeal approach that has prevailed to date," he said.

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