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
NEW SOUTH WALES
SYDNEY
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 and that reputation is fast disappearing.
These four inner-city locations are ones that should be part of our largest city’s continuing bike friendly evolution. All the photos were taken before 2019 but accurately represent the bike riding infrastructure at that location in 2019.
We have described why we have included each location and what can be done to improve it. We’ll go back every two years to check on the progress.
The Harbour Bridge Steps should be replaced with a graduated bridge.
Photo 1: Harbour Bridge Steps
Why: Every day, hundreds of riders from Sydney’s north head into the CBD across Australia’s most famous human made landmark. Contending with the stairs is the ultimate pain point and the cause of hundreds more leaving their bike at home and joining the car conga line.
What: A graduated bridge that enables riders to stay in the saddle and keep pedalling.
Oxford Street needs separated lanes where people on bikes are away from vehicles.
Photo 2: Oxford Street
Why: It’s heart-in-the-mouth stuff watching brave commuters dance with the buses and trucks as they make their way into the city from the east along one of Sydney’s most famous streets.
What: Separated lanes where people on bikes are away from vehicles.
The College Street separated bike lane should be returned.
Photo 3: College Street
Why: One of those terrible places where politics lead to back-pedalling and a separated bike lane was ‘ripped out’.
What: Bring back the separated bike lane.
The Market Street separated lane should be continued along the full length of the street.
Photo 4: Market and Clarence Streets
Why: People riding in from the west cross the Pyrmont Bridge come up the hill on a comfortable separated lane on Market Street, then suddenly, it stops.
What: Continue the separated lane along the rest of Market Street.
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.
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.
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 allows footpath riding. However, there are still many gains to be made, including improvements to four important bike routes.