Rita Panahi: City of Melbourne’s bike path strategy is sheer absurdity

One cannot overstate the sheer absurdity of the City of Melbourne’s planning to introduce more bike paths as struggling traders plead for the opposite.

At some point the incompetence becomes so consistent and unambiguous that one wonders whether it’s deliberate.

Is Melbourne City Council determined to destroy what’s left of the CBD by doubling down on its flawed bike path strategy and making it even harder for motorists to shop or dine in the city?

One cannot overstate the sheer absurdity of the City of Melbourne planning to introduce more bike paths just as struggling restaurateurs, retailers and other traders plead with them to make the CBD more car friendly.

Under a new plan to create more bike lanes motorists will be banned from turning right into Bourke St from Spring St.

And, new bike lanes will also impact Nicholson St, Spring St and traffic lanes on Bourke St will be reduced from two to one on the approach to the Exhibition St intersection.

The council’s Transport Strategy 2030 plan is causing mayhem for motorists, residents and businesses alike.

The City of Melbourne is planning to introduce more bike paths. Picture: David Crosling

But rather than recognising that their policies are causing harm at a time when businesses are struggling to survive, the Leftist council has delusions of bikes, electric scooters and segways reinvigorating the CBD.

Renowned restaurateur Chris Lucas is aghast by the latest anti-car measures.

“Traders and businesses across the city are suffering huge losses, yet despite numerous pleas for a commonsense solution we have a plan to now extend those business destroying bike lanes,” he said.

“It’s just another blow to the thousands of small businesses already crushed by the world’s longest lockdown.”

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said was stunned that the council was engaging in further “disruptive policies” rather than “effective policies to bring our city back to life”.

Perhaps it would be useful for the Lord Mayor Sally Capp and her councillors to acquaint themselves with research published on their own website on January 28 this year which showed “74 per cent of city business owners are barely surviving or are under intense distress” and that “53 per cent (of city businesses) aren’t confident they can remain open for more than three months”.

The council will point to research claiming that about 40 per cent of car trips into the city add no economic benefit but what percentage of cyclists using bike lanes add any economic benefit?

Indeed, the bikes lanes appear to be empty whenever I’m in the CBD which remains a sad shadow of its former self.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the council is failing residents and businesses alike; after all this is the same mob who last year backed a drug injecting facility for the city.

It’s just one dumb idea after another.