Following on from last months Rescission decision to keep the Kent Road bike lanes, Cr Pavlidis submitted a Rescission motion for the November meeting which was successfully passed. The De carle street proposed bike lanes rescission motion was also successful, but the subsequent motion to support the Council Officer design failed. After debate the October Councillor motion for protected bike lanes was 5reput and was carried.

Council also voted for the Draft Transport Styrategy to go out for Community Consultation. Council at its next budget process will also increase active transport budget to $12 per head and consider increasing this allocation to the rate cap rise thereafter.

While most Councillors say they support cycling and active transport, when it comes to the nitty gritty decision making some Councillors fail to carry through. We have a climate emergency. Transport Emissions are growing. We need to change mobility behaviours through improving infrastructure.

On Kent Road bike lanes this was a vote by all eleven Councillors, (Cr Carli-Hannan was absent the previous two months) The Rescission motion was carried with 6 for and 5 against. A motion was then put to remove the Kent Road bike lanes and start consultation for route options.

So the Kent Road protected bike lanes will be removed, and Council staff will prepare a community engagement for the Glenroy-Coburg cycling route in 2024.

It is back to the drawing board on a safe cycling route. Note, a Council report was done on Glenroy-Coburg cycling route options as part of the Officer report to Council in September 2023. Council staff had recommended the Pascoe Vale Shimmy route, while members of Climate Action Merribek highlighted problems with this route.

Just as you are perusing this report, note that Option 1 and 2 say that parking would need to be removed on Pascoe Street, but what if a bi-directional protected bike lane was constructed on the north side of Pascoe street from Northumberland through to Bristol Street? Parking would still be available on the south side next to the shops.

The report also does not investigate off road options along Boundary Road, designated by the Department of Transport as a strategic cycling corridor. The Nature strips both on the north side and south side of Boundary road from Bristol street to Derby street provide opportunity for a shared use path.

Cr Harte highlighted that the Kent Road protected bike lane became problematic once the State Government opposed use of Cumberland Road for protected bike lanes. The State Government needs to bear some of the responsibility for the lack of cycling infrastructure in connecting Glenroy to Coburg. Take note Anthony Cianflone (Pascoe Vale MP)

We have already reviewed The Pascoe Vale Shimmy Route that Council Officers proposed in September:

See below for the 6 route options Council has under consideration and the elevation change profiles:

De Carle Street protected Bike Lanes

Cr Pavlidis also submitted a rescission motion on the proposal for protected bike lanes on De Carle Street, Coburg. Cr Pavlidis attempted to argue the same circumstances as kent Road, but the circumstances here in central Coburg are quite different, with 3 consultations having already taken place.

The Rescission motion was successful. The motion to put green painted bike lanes in with a wide single traffic lane, in which cars moving in the opposite directions would likely use the bike lanes, failed.

The foreshadowed motion then moved was the alternative motion from October for protected bike lanes, which was carried.

Councillors obviosly needed this extra time to think through the safety implications, especially as these protected bike lanes would provide a safe riding route to Merribek Primary School.

Transport Strategy out for Consultation

Also considered at November Council meeting was the Draft Transport Strategy for publication for community consultation.

Addressing transport behaviours to reduce transport emissions is vital.

But there can be pushback regarding reallocation of road space to encourage change.

The motion proposed that the Draft Transport Strategy Moving Around Merri-bek (Attachment 1) and associated Action Plan (Attachment 2) go out for public exhibition for 5 weeks from Monday 13 November until Sunday 17 December 2023. People can Speak to written submissions on 30 January 2024 at 6pm, at the Coburg Civic Centre. Further report at the March 2024 Council meeting with a final version of Moving Around Merri-bek Strategy and associated Action Plan.

Motion was carried.

Watch for this on the Conversations Merri-bek Moving Around Merri-bek webpage

Indexation of Per Capita Spending on Active Transport

This motion defers a decision on increasing active transport spend to the 2024/25 budget process, but to consider increasing the allocation to $12 per head and increasing it thereafter by the rate cap each year.

It was Carried, without a division, but Cr Pavlidis hand appears up in voting against the motion.