Cyclists concerned about potential for a collision due to placement of new on-road cycling lane in Flemington

A CYCLING lane in Flemington is drawing the ire of the cycling community, with fears it’s only a matter of time before a collision between a car and a bike.

A CYCLING lane in Flemington is drawing the ire of the cycling community, with fears it’s only a matter of time before a collision between a car and a bike.

The State Government upgraded the Flemington Rd interchange in early 2017, with a new cyclist pedestrian footbridge to separate traffic and bikes, but the on-road cycling lane has some cyclists worried for their safety.

Rose Iser, from Travancore, uses the lane regularly and worries cyclists are putting their lives at the mercy of traffic travelling at 60km/h.

“I’ve regularly been cut off by cars crossing the bike path to turn left into Elliot Ave,” Ms Iser said.

Augustus Brown, a Melbourne cyclist and urban rural and environmental planning student, said there was little point telling people to ride a bike instead of driving if the lanes were not safe.

“I fear it will only be a matter of time before a distracted driver or truckie in a vehicle with poor visibility collides with a cyclist,” he said.

VicRoads spokesman Michael McCarthy said positioning the bike path in its current location was considered the safest option as it avoided potential conflict between cyclists continuing straight along Flemington Rd and turning vehicles.

VicRoads conducted a road safety audit on the design and an independent safety audit after the interchange was reopened.

These audits identified some minor issues, which Mr McCarthy said had been addressed.