Stonnington Mayor Kate Hely reveals bike riding fears as plan to ditch council car flops

A mayor who loves the idea of bike riding — but who doesn’t ride herself — has fought off a proposal to ditch the mayoral car in favour of a bike as she doesn’t feel safe on the streets.

Stonnington mayor Kate Hely has shared concerns of bike riding in the municipality. Picture: Stonnington Council website.

An inner city mayor says she’s a “nervous Nellie” on a bike and feels unsafe riding in her neighbourhood as she defends using a council-supplied car.

Stonnington Mayor Kate Hely shared her thoughts on bike riding in the municipality on Monday night, as a radical bid to dump a dedicated council car was shut down.

Liberal councillor Alex Lew called for the council’s mayoral car, believed to be a $60,000 Volkswagen Tiguan, to be retired from November, after the council declared a climate change emergency last year.

Cr Lew pushed for the car to be taken out of the councillor expenses policy, and for the mayor to instead receive a fully maintained bike, a yearly myki ticket and cash for taxis and ride-sharing on the job.

“When we stand up and say we must doing everything for the emergency … we must live the rules we dictate to others,” he said.

His motion fell flat, with councillors voting 8-1 to keep the car and existing arrangements.

Cr Matthew Koce described Cr Lew’s pitch as an “extremist and narrow interpretation of council’s environment policy”, while Greens councillor Mike Scott said he was “shocked an unendorsed Liberal councillor would be so passionate about the climate emergency”.

Cr Hely welcomed Cr Lew’s out of the box idea but felt personal safety and having the best “tool of time efficiency” in the mayoral role should be prioritised.

She also said she would not feel safe riding a bike, taking public transport or waiting for an Uber while visiting residents or attending functions at night.

“I need to be able to get around the community safely, quickly and effectively,” Cr Hely said.
“I love the idea of bike riding, but I don’t own a bike and don’t ride, and I am too nervous to ride on the streets of Stonnington.

“It’s important that we begin to improve cycling safety in our area so that I, and aspirational nervous Nellie cyclists like me, can feel more confident to give it a go.”

Cr Marcia Griffin asked council staff to prepare a report on use of the mayoral car for future discussion.

Earlier, Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston said he felt Cr Lew’s mayoral bike idea had merit but needed fine tuning.

“The pressures of inner city council means councillors must consider all options to address their climate emergency,” he said.

“As publicly elected people, they should be demonstrating leadership in this area and open to finding a reasonable solution for all future mayors.

“Council should take the time to develop an inclusive solution for all genders, preferences, disabilities and abilities, and it's the right conversation to be having and its setting a good example.”

The council did not respond to Leader’s queries about the running costs of the mayoral car.