Claims spending on bike lanes is equivalent to a cut of between $9m and $10m on the previous term’s investment

Cyclists have vented their fury at Lord Mayor Nick Reece, claiming he is short-changing investment in city bike lanes by millions of dollars per year.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece has faced criticism from advocacy group ­Bicycle Network. Picture: David Caird

Dozens of cyclists descended on Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday night to vent their fury at Lord Mayor Nick Reece, claiming he is short-changing investment in bike lanes by millions of dollars per year.

Cyclist Aaron Moon questioned why the Queensberry St bike lane, which had a construction schedule starting in mid-2025, was delayed.

Mr Reece said council was conducting more feedback on the project with local residents, businesses and state authorities. “(Queensberry St) is a road that is expected to be impacted by the Westgate tunnel, which will have huge impacts through the north and west of the municipality,” he said.

At the meeting, 168 speakers were registered to ­discuss the 2025-26 draft budget, the overwhelming majority focused on bike lanes.

Bike lanes was a big topic of discussion at Tuesday night’s meeting. Picture: Ian Currie

Failed lord mayoral candidate Anthony van der Craats – who ran on the Rip Up the Bike Lanes ticket – was one of the lone voices against the rollout of bike lanes.

“My concern is related to the design and the safety of the bike lanes and I’m wondering whether the City of Melbourne is prepared to undertake a review (of bike lanes) in an open and proper format,” he said.

Mr Van der Craats said bike lanes were “creating a serious, serious safety issue” in Melbourne and more feedback from emergency services was needed on the current layout.

When a bureaucrat said council did refer bike lane design to emergency services for feedback, Mr Van der Craats yelled: “Where is their report? Where is their report?”

Advocacy group ­Bicycle Network estimated the $9m spend on bike lanes over four years was equivalent to a cut of between $9m and $10m on the previous term’s investment, breaking Mr Reece’s election promise to “maintain investment in bike lanes over the next four years at the same level as the previous term of council”.

However, council infrastructure and amenity general manager Rick Kwasek said spending on bike lanes for the next ­financial year would be around $3.5m, including grants from other levels of government.

Originally published as Claims spending on bike lanes is equivalent to a cut of between $9m and $10m on the previous term’s investment