Four Photos
Is it getting easier to ride a bike in Australia?
Four Photos tracks the progress of important bike routes in our cities.
#FourPhotos
Queensland
BRISBANE
Brisbane is becoming a bike friendly city – in 2019 it has a successful share bike program, a mayor who wants to relax mandatory helmet laws and you can ride on the footpath. However, there are still many gains to be made, including improvements to four important bike routes.
Photo 1: Albert Street
Why: This location in the Brisbane CBD has good access from shared paths in the Botanic Gardens, however access ends and there are poor connections to Albert Street, Mary Street and Margaret Street.
What: Cross River Rail is building a new underground station on Albert Street and we’d like to see the bike lanes also upgraded.
Photo taken November 2019.
Photo 2: Boundary Road (West End)
Why: Albert Street is a retail and dining area in the up and coming neighbourhood of West End. It has an inadequate bike lane.
What: protected bike lanes.
Photo taken November 2019.
Photo 3: Bicentennial Bikeway
Why: the Bicentennial Bikeway is Brisbane’s busiest bike route, but this section near the City Botanic Gardens underpass has a massive pinch point where routes connect.
What: simpler intersections and more space to ride.
Photo taken November 2019.
Photo 4: Kendron Brook Road (Wilston Village)
Why: Kendron Brook Road at Wilston Village is a major commuter route from Brisbane’s north-west. It doesn’t have a proper bike lane, but still gets a lot of riders. Proper bike lanes would help reach a greater potential.
What: protected bike lanes.
Photo taken November 2019.
Four Photos
The cities
We've picked spots in Adelaide where the current bike infrastructure is not up to scratch, or bike lanes could be developed to connect missing links.
We've picked four spots in Perth that are popular and existing bike routes but aren't quite up to scratch. With a bit of extra love they can become gold-class riding routes.
Ballarat is a city experiencing significant population growth. It has a golden opportunity to become a livable city where people have more choices about how they move around.
More people want to ride in Bendigo, but the bike network needs to be improved with better connections and bike lanes. We've chosen four places and recommended improvements.
Darwin has some bike friendly laws, but there are some areas that desperately need upgrading to help more people get riding.
For years, Sydney had the reputation as the toughest city in Australia to ride a bike. But many hard won, giant strides have been made recently.
Hobart can become one of Australia's great bike cities, but there are some dead ends in the network and not one protected bike lane.
Launceston could be an easy town to ride around, but there are missing links and poor quality trails and not one protected on-road bike lane.
Melbourne is known as one of Australia's most bike friendly cities, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.