Bicycle Network: Support & Promote

Around the world cities are opening up a new type of bike riding opportunity. Sunday circuits are part of a world wide movement.

Parisians have access to car-free riding on roads on Sundays and public holidays when temporary traffic closures operate on streets around the city. The streets are then opened to pedestrians, bike riders and roller-bladers. The project is called Paris Respire or ‘Paris Breathes’. They describe Paris Respire as a ‘calmer, more convivial and pleasant way to rediscover the city’ - see the link.

Columbia hosts a number of Ciclovia vents. In cities such as Bogota, Cali and Medellin, 120km of roads are closed every Sunday and on public holidays from 7 am to 1 pm. It is claimed that one third of the population, around 2.2 million people ride and walk on the 'open' streets. Ciclovias were started in Bogota by Mayor Antanas Mockus.

Each year there are four Car Free Days in Centennial Park Sydney on the last Sunday of every season. The Park gates are closed to vehicles from 9am to 5pm and given over to cyclists, rollerbladers and pedestrians.

Bicycle Network Victoria is working to establish similar opportunities. Imagine car free riding around Albert Park, along the Boulevard or on the roads around the Tan. These are places people are riding on today but they would become very popular if they were car free on, for example, the first Sunday of the month.

The old Waverley Football Ground carpark offered a similar experience.

Higher speed riding takes place today in places such as Beach Road, Operations Road around the Airport and on signed routes out of regional centres such as Bendigo and Ballarat.

We support these informal routes and think they should be improved for riding. We also believe Sunday circuits would encourage many others out to ride.

Sunday circuits would help reduce conflict on the shared paths where high speed riding is inappropriate.

We will keep you up to date on this page on our progress. If you think you can help us get a Sunday circuit going in your area, please contact the Cycling Development team at Bicycle Network Victoria.