Uproar as Yarra Council votes to narrow bike lanes in Elizabeth St, North Richmond as mayor hails victory over ‘entitlement’
They were brought in without notice in 2019 and now, after a stormy council meeting, the controversial Elizabeth St bike lanes in North Richmond are going to be changed.
Victoria
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Bicycle lanes on Elizabeth St in North Richmond will be made narrower after Yarra Council voted for the change during a stormy council meeting which ended just before 1am on Wednesday.
The controversial vote on the lanes attracted more than 60 members of the public giving their view on a topic that has divided the community.
Independent councillors voted 6-3 in favour of the change, with Labor and Greens councillors opposing it.
Mayor Stephen Jolly described the decision as a “victory for sharing over entitlement’’ and that the local community’s voice had been heard.
“The politically motivated nature of this opposition was proven when we announced that our bike infrastructure spending this year will be greater than that of the last three Green mayors combined,’’ he said.
“Upon hearing this inconvenient truth, some of our opposition actually stormed out of the meeting as their false narrative that we are anti-bike lanes was shattered in one moment.’’
Yarra will spend $1.1m on bike lane infrastructure in the coming year, including the North Richmond changes.
The bike lanes on Elizabeth St will be narrowed from 2.3m to 1.5m and 1.7m, with more than 50 car parking spaces reinstated.
The current lanes, introduced as a trial in 2019, were brought in without consultation with residents and the community and then made permanent in 2023.
The cycling corridor connects to Albert St, East Melbourne, where the lanes are 1.4m wide.
The plans to change the lanes sparked widespread outrage among cycling groups and the Greens.
A protest was held before Tuesday night’s meeting at Richmond Town Hall, with advocates saying the wider lanes were safer.
Originally published as Uproar as Yarra Council votes to narrow bike lanes in Elizabeth St, North Richmond as mayor hails victory over ‘entitlement’
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