Bicycle Network: Directory

Wangarratta riders - drafting of council Budget 2013/14 underway

05 March 2013. As you read this Council is preparing its draft 2013/14 Budget. The time to act is now for more bike infrastructure funding!

As a ratepayer and rider now is the time for Council to hear from you if you want more funding to improve the local riding environment.

Click here to tell your Council to invest in bike infrastructure (E-mail contact for Council provided) in the 2013/14 Budget.

Bicycle Expenditure Index (BiXE) 2012

15 November 2012. The Rural City of Wangaratta’s BiXE rating for 2012 is $20.30. This is above the Regional Zone council average for 2012, which is $6.47. This is based upon council spending of $589,000 and population of 29,018.

Relevant bicycle related investment for the 2012/2013 financial year includes but is not necessarily limited to expenditure upon the following projects/programs:
• Shared paths program (high priority links): New bike paths
• Bicycle path renewal
• Eldorado shared path and toilet block: New bike paths

Additional spending sourced from external grants and funds may apply, but that is outside the scope of BiXE reporting.

The Rural City of Wangaratta achieved a five-year BiXE average of $12.41. This is above the Regional Zone council five-year average for 2012, which is $5.95.

See full BiXE report available here.

See media here.

Wangaratta gets riders in the mood

The City of Wangaratta lived up to its reputation as a cycling mecca when the local council and community stepped out to welcome the 2006 VicRoads Great Victorian Bike Ride. The Ride started in Wangaratta on Saturday 25 November 2006, however with the encouragement and extra activities put on by the city, over half of the participants arrived in Wangaratta on either the Thursday or Friday night.
 
The town offered Ride participants free pre-ride camping and community groups served food and provided toilet and shower usage. The council also organised a mini-jazz festival at the King George Gardens especially for the VicRoads Great Victorian Bike Ride. There were specials for participants at the street markets and the local BUG group offered warm up rides to wineries in the region. Organisers of the Ride were extremely impressed with Wangaratta's efforts and appreciate all their hard work to make the most of the opportunity. It is great that riders were encouraged to be there early and explore the town, as arriving early is also great preparation for the bike ride. 

One Mile Creek path extension

March 06 Wangaratta will build 800m of off road path with $92 000 from the Principal Bicycle Network funds this year. The two projects are the One Mile Creek path which connects to the High School and a primary school, allowing car free access for students.

Bike Parking Breakthrough

Jun 05 Wangaratta BUG member Eric Bittner successfully negotiated with the Wangaratta Council to have bike parking installed in a corner of the BIG W car park.

Eric used plans and diagrams from Bicycle Network Victoria and the Aust-Roads guide together with planning codes and meeting with council officers.

Congratulations Eric!

If you would like to get something fixed in your community, visit our get it fixed page for a list of government contact details and start by writing an email. Also look at our resources on the Campaign for Cycling pages of the website.

Glenrowan seeks bike path connection to school

Jul 05. Residents of Glenrowan are keen to see a bike path constructed along the Old Hume Hwy and Warby Range Rd to link Glenrowan Primary School to housing at Hamilton Park north of the town.

Council has approved the 1.3 km path in principle, which is estimated to cost $280,000, but funding for the project will need to be sought from the state or federal government.

Currently students who ride to school have to ride along the edge of a 100 km p/h road and parents are concerned for their safety.

Bicycle User Group wins award

2003. The Wangaratta Bicycle Users Group (BUG) won the 2003 Bicyclling Achievement Award. It recognises the work the BUG has done in increasing the profile of cycling, lobbying for improvements to cycling in the region and helping to see the vision for the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail turned into reality.

In September 2002 the State Minister for Transport, Peter Batchelor, opened the new bridge over Reedy Creek outside Wangaratta and the new rest area at the Everton station site. The opening of the bridge eliminates a dangerous on-road section so that you can ride off-road from Wangaratta to Beechworth.