By Cara Waters
The Liberal-endorsed candidate to be lord mayor of Melbourne is promising to get more cars into the CBD by ripping up the city’s bike lanes, claiming they cause traffic bottlenecks.
The party has backed management consultant and former state public servant Mariam Riza as its candidate for lord mayor, with business owner Luke Martin on the ticket for deputy lord mayor.
Mariam Riza (left), the Liberal Party’s candidate for lord mayor of Melbourne, and councillor candidate Owen Guest.Credit: Andrew Campbell
Their platform is to get Melbourne back in business and scrap the city’s bike lanes.
Riza, 34, said the city needed to be easier for people to access.
“The bike lanes in the last few years have accelerated quite a bit,” she said.
“It happened in COVID when the city was in lockdown. The Liberal Party wants to re-evaluate the policies of what is in place and put forward a future proposal with an integrated movement strategy for the future.”
Riza was unable to say how much it would cost to remove the bike lanes.
“The removal of bike lanes will happen, but it will be a measured and considered response,” she said.
“There will be a cost benefit analysis of how much it will cost.”
Riza said the Liberal Party would consult on how the bike paths should be replaced, including whether there should be more lanes for traffic or new parking spaces.
A cyclist rides on a bike lane along Exhibition Street, Melbourne.Credit: Paul Jeffers
Since June 2020, about 27 kilometres of bike lanes have been built in the City of Melbourne. However, the council paused construction of new bike lanes in the Hoddle Grid this year, and instead focused on routes into the city centre.
Separated bike lanes in Flinders, Bourke and Spring streets that were meant to be built this year have been delayed, and the Bourke and Spring street lanes have been postponed indefinitely.
The Liberal ticket also includes former state party treasurer Owen Guest and Chinese language teacher You Li Liston as councillor candidates.
It is the first time the Victorian Liberals have formally endorsed candidates for a seat on the City of Melbourne council, having previously shied away from allowing prospective councillors to use its official colours and logo.
The Liberals are the latest candidates to declare in the race for lord mayor that includes incumbent Nick Reece, former deputy lord mayor Arron Wood, the Greens’ Roxane Ingleton, Labor’s Phil Reed and independents Anthony Koutoufides and Jamal Hakim.
Reece, a Labor member, is running with Liberal member Roshena Campbell on an independent ticket.
Riza said her time working for the state government and the not-for-profit Brotherhood of St Laurence had given her experience in economic revitalisation, jobs, employment and social impact.
“As part of the state government, I was fortunate to work with incredible public servants,” she said.
“The Liberal Party has taught me the importance of fiscal responsibility and cutting to suit the cloth. If you look at a Venn diagram, I sit in the centre of it all.”
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