Victoria’s Transport Workers Union call for bike lanes to be removed from Melbourne’s CBD

There are calls for the City of Melbourne to remove dedicated bike lanes as anger grows from traders, motorists and the state’s transport union.

Key new bike lanes across the City of Melbourne should be ripped up and the experiment declared a failure, a councillor and major restauranter say.

Roshena Campbell, who leads the CBD activation program, said the City of Melbourne needed to recognise Melbourne was not a European city and bike lanes, such as the one on Exhibition St, should be pulled out.

The call to axe key new bike lanes comes as the City of Melbourne announced it was set to hit pause on the further rollout of bike lanes amid backlash from traders, motorists and, most recently, the state’s transport union.

But while the council has said it will “consider pausing” building new bike lanes, it has also said it remains dedicated to building more than 40km of new protected lanes by 2030.

“Ratepayer dollars are being spent on more than 100 improvements to solve the problem when we should accept Exhibition Street is flawed and pull it up,” Cr Campbell said.

A cyclist makes use of the Exhibition St bike lane. Picture: David Caird

“Melbourne’s CBD simply doesn’t have the wide boulevards of European cities, where bike lanes have been successfully rolled out.

“Cramming them into city streets by forcing motorists out is like putting up a giant ‘Go home’ sign to anyone who lives more than 5km out or isn’t well served by public transport.

“Bike lanes are locking cars out of the Melbourne CBD when we most need workers and visitors to return. City businesses are begging us to get people back but we are only making it easy for those who live close enough to ride or have good public transport links.”

The comments highlight a rift within council with Cr Campbell at odds with the wider council over the bike lane program. Cr Campbell’s comments do not reflect council policy.

Cr Campbell said the City of Melbourne Transport Strategy 2030 showed the bike lane push was based around the goal of reducing the number of cars entering the city by as much as 45 per cent in key points such as Exhibition St.

“The reality is these cars have nowhere else to go,” she said.

“For some people the only way you can get from Fitzroy to Malvern is by going through the city. We simply don’t have the arterial roads for people not to travel through the city.

“You don’t see Ballarat or Geelong say you can’t come through here. Unless the state government wants to develop a series of ring roads that allows people to get around and make their through traffic trips without entering the Hoddle Grid it’s not up to the council to say go home, you are not welcome.

Melbourne restauranter Chris Lucas, whose empire included Chin Chin, Society and Grill Americano, said the bike lanes needed to go.

Mr Lucas said the lanes were blocking access for delivery vehicles which was causing key headaches for the city’s prized restaurant scene.”I’m encouraged by the decision today to review the roll out of the permanent bike lanes that have caused so many issues for businesses and visitors to Melbourne,” Mr Lucas said.

“I would strongly urge the government and city council to remove the  permanent bike lanes that have chocked access for many users including delivery vehicles and the enter into a dialogue with all key stakeholders where can work together to strike the right balance that will support and reinvigorate our city.”

Meanwhile, a City of Melbourne survey into the protected bike lanes found a large portion of people thought driving around the city had become more difficult.

As part of its work to decide whether to pause its contentious bike lane program, the council surveyed 1370 people across metropolitan Melbourne.

The study showed 57 per cent of respondents thought the new lanes made driving around the CBD more difficult.

About 38 per cent said the lanes made them less likely to drive to the city but 47 per cent disagreed and said the new lanes did not effect this decision.

Another 15 per cent were unsure.

The study also found 55 per cent of those surveyed supported installing protected bike lanes in the city as a concept and support for this grew to 59 per cent among inner Melbourne residents.

Just over half of the people interviewed said they were more likely to drive into the CBD compared to before the pandemic.

The other 49 per cent said they were more likely to either scoot, cycle or catch public transport.

Why union wants CBD bike lanes scrapped

Victoria’s Transport Workers Union called on the government and council to wind back the hotly debated bike lanes in Melbourne’s CBD to help truckies and improve the economy.

Some workers are being urged by the union not to deliver on Exhibition St because of safety concerns created by new lanes.

In a surprise move from the Labor-affiliated union, TWU Victoria and Tasmania boss Mike McNess will on Friday push for the number of safe loading zones in the city to be doubled and for a return of all loading zones that have been removed in favour of bike lanes.

There are safety concerns over the Exhibition St bike lanes. Picture: David Crosling

They will call on the Andrews government to act on their concerns and push for more safe “shared zones” on city streets, which could be used by trucks, rideshare and other road users.

The union wants a loading zone for “each building block between each street” and hit out at the City of Melbourne’s bike lanes program, which has reduced traffic to one lane in some areas.

The proposal is part one part of an eight-point plan to improve safety to be unveiled at their state Victoria and Tasmania on Friday.

Assistant secretary Mem Suleyman said authorities should rewrite their bike plan, which he said had been put together with little consultation from the industry.

“It’s not working, they should admit they got it wrong and start again” he said.

“They need to get rid of the bicycle lanes and provide a safe working environment for truck drivers, rideshare and gig workers.

“At the moment, you can’t drive or park in Exhibition St and this has been very poorly designed and is not working for the public and transport workers.

“We considered protesting on the street but we don’t need to because its at a standstill.

“If they want people back in the city, they can start with giving people the roads back.”

The union wants fewer bike lanes in Melbourne’s CBD to help truckies. Picture: David Crosling

The TWU wants more consideration given to furniture removalists, armoured vehicles servicing banks and jewellers, parcel delivery, rideshare, gig workers and other groups who have struggled.

Other parts of their eight-point plan are a call to introduce half price rego for truck owner drivers, free heavy vehicle licences for drivers under 40 and the rollout new minimum standards for the trucking industry.

Bus drivers should be free from ticketing requirements that lead to assaults and bus services massively expanded in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the TWU says.

A special police task force would be set up handle assaults on cabin crew and bus drivers.

“Transport can and should be made safer by ensuring truckies have plenty of opportunity to rest and get a nutritious meal, the city has safe loading zones, worker shortage pressures are eased, and bus drivers aren’t acting as gatekeepers rife for abuse,” Mr McNess said.

“Transport workers in Australia’s deadliest industry are exposed to horrific road trauma events, bus drivers are in constant fear of being assaulted, cabin crew are aviation’s first responders, while gig workers are exploited and denied basic rights, with the constant threat of termination hanging over them.

“We need to make transport jobs safer and healthier.”