Melbourne mayor slams cyclists’ ‘white privilege’ over bike lane saga
A long-running debate over a cycle lane in Melbourne’s inner city saw the local mayor call out “managerial class people”.
On the Road
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A Melbourne mayor who accused cyclists of “white privilege” during a debate over the future of a controversial bike lane has brushed off criticism, saying “the truth hurts”.
More than 50 people spoke at a heated Yarra City Council meeting earlier this month on plans for the Elizabeth St cycle track in North Richmond.
The crux of the issue was whether to keep the protected cycle track as it was installed under a trial started in 2020, or trim its width to return more car parks to the street.
Cyclists argued narrowing the lane would make it unsafe for people riding to work or school, while Elizabeth St residents bemoaned the loss of parking spots and the impact on local business.
After hours of submissions both for and against keeping the active transport route in its current state, Mayor Stephen Jolly moved to narrow the lane by 60cm before calling out “tone-deaf” opposition.
“This is not about safety, it’s about two things,” Mr Jolly said.
“First of all the right to overtake for the lovely folks cycling home from the city to the eastern suburbs, and their right apparently overrides the legitimate concern of locals.
“In my opinion that is pure entitlement.
“The second thing it’s about, it’s about politics, it’s about the opposition to this council.”
The bike lane runs past North Richmond’s infamous public housing towers, with local residents telling the council people “can’t access their homes” or a nearby Buddhist temple.
Council documents show 69 car parking spots were removed for the bike lane in 2020.
Mr Jolly said the council would spend $1.1 million on bike lanes this year but needed “unity” and compromise from the community to get those projects through.
He said that even with the new dimensions – reducing it from 2.1m west of Lennox St and 2.3m east of Lennox St to 1.5, and 1.7m respectively – it was still wider than the Albert St, East Melbourne track the lane fed into.
“And by the way for those people, those professional managerial class people, who have sent us emails saying ‘protect our safety’, talking to people who live in the most dangerous part of … of Melbourne, in North Richmond, that is a sense of white entitlement, of white privilege.
“Tone-deaf. Absolutely tone-deaf.”
Those comments drew backlash on the night, with one person in the crowd calling out “I’m not white, Jolly”.
Chris Starr, a member of the Yarra Bicycle Users Group, told listeners on radio station 3CR this week the Mayor’s “tub-thumping” at the meeting had an air of “populism”.
“Apparently we’re the managerial, white class of people who want bike lanes,” she said.
“I can tell you a lot of people who ride around Yarra are not managerial. They’re gig workers, they’re mums and dads, they’re kids riding to school.
“It’s not some ideological beat, it’s just people trying to get from A to B.”
Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Jolly said the council had doubled funding for cycle lanes this year but even that was “not good enough” for “politically-motivated” opponents who protested outside the meeting on April 8 led by the Greens.
“They’re bad faith actors,” he said.
“We could literally put a bike lane on every street in Yarra tomorrow and they would say ‘that’s not good enough’.
“That’s why I don’t take these people seriously, because it’s politically motivated.”
The plan put forward by Mr Jolly, and approved by the council, said the narrowed path would allow for the “reinstatement of as many car parking spaces as possible”.
During the council meeting, those who supported keeping the bike lane as it was argued changes would create an unsafe environment for cyclists.
Many of those who spoke said they had been “doored” by motorists in the past and that the Elizabeth St lane was one of the safest around due to its width.
“The reintroduction of car parking is basically prioritising the convenience for a few people over the safety of hundreds of cyclists,” Anna Lindstad said.
Others, however, noted the loss of parking had impacted elderly residents, people with a disability and business owners in the area.
“My question is, when are you going to restore my parking?” Glenda Ruby asked at the meeting.
“I’m legally blind and sometimes I have to walk around the corner and everything to get to my home.”
Yarra Greens Councillor Sophie Wade this week shared an experiment she did while riding a bike down a cycle track, with a car door opening into the lane.
“Obviously, this was staged, and so I was able to avoid the door. But you can still see how tight it was. And this was with a small car,” she wrote.
Greens MP for Richmond Gabrielle de Vietri also campaigned against narrowing the path.
Mr Jolly’ motion was carried six votes to three. The final design still needs to be approved by the Victorian government.
Originally published as Melbourne mayor slams cyclists’ ‘white privilege’ over bike lane saga
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