Bill Cawte, Cycling activist and regular commuter through Fawkner gave his thumbs up to a new bikepath constructed by Moreland City Council through Charles Mutton Reserve. The previous informal path was likened to a hippopotamus wallow according to Bill Cawte’s tweet on April 18, 2012 (see below).
You can read more on City of Moreland transport strategies, including the Moreland Bicycle Strategy. There are several Bicycle Strategy appendices which outline future short, medium and long term projects, including in the north of the municipality the Fawkner Loop, Glenroy to Fawkner Route, Western Ring Road Trail, Merlynston Creek, Boundary Road, Broadmeadows to CBD route. But some of these projects won’t be constructed for at least 10 years without continued pressure on council to provide a reasonable funding for bicycle infrastructure and not divert this funding to road infrastructure. In November 2011 Bicycle Victoria reported that the City of Moreland had been caught out spending dedicated bike funds to instead rebuild suburban streets that don’t have bike lanes or any other bike facilities.
“We struggle for every cent we can get to bring bike facilities closer to acceptable standards, so it is hugely disappointing to see valuable dollars syphoned off for non-bike purposes”. said Harry Barber, CEO of Bicycle Network Victoria. So Bill Cawte’s report is a little bit of good news on improving the bicycle infrastructure in Fawkner and the north of the municipality where many trips are made predominantly by car and cycling needs to be encouraged.
Improvements in bicycle infrastructure encourages cycling which improves social health outcomes, reduces fuel consumption and provides less congestion on our roads for those who really need to drive.
Sustainable Fawkner 