With Victorian workplaces switching to 75% capacity next Monday and thousands of workers set to head back to the office, now is the best time to get back on the bike.
Newsroom
for
February 2021
Tassie Bike News Bites
This edition of Bike News Bites includes North East Rail Trail progress, Elizabeth St dining trial, parking woes alongside shared path in Hobart and work starting on a new intersection at Sandfly Rd and Huon Hwy.
Jail sentence for hit-run truck driver
In January 2019 Bicycle Network member Daryl Adams was killed in a hit-run crash on the Princes Highway in South Australia while he was riding with a friend to the Tour Down Under.
Outer Circle trail gap fixed
The gap in the Outer Circle Rail Trail near Camberwell High School has finally been bridged with a nice piece of new path through Riversdale Park.
High-quality cycleways prioritised in new Transport for NSW guidelines
Transport for NSW have published a suite of new policies and frameworks to help guide the creation of comfortable, connected and accessible places for people to ride and walk.
A cycling survey for Wagga
Wagga Wagga City Council is keen to hear from residents about their thoughts on all things bike riding. Share your thoughts via the online survey.
Police patrolling the Promenade
Victoria Police are being asked to use common sense during their upcoming patrol of Southbank Promenade in Melbourne.
Victorian MTB strategy underway
Mountain bike riders have been asked to contribute ideas to the planning and improvement of current and future mountain bike networks around the state.
A new tool against bike theft
A new online community tool is helping connect bikes to their rightful owners, while making life harder for prospective thieves.
Bikes can make big impact on climate crisis
An in depth study of the carbon-reducing impact of city-based lifestyle changes revealed that swapping just one trip from car to bike can significantly lower a populations' carbon footprint.
Tunnel works narrow Laurens Street
The bike lanes in Laurens Street, North Melbourne, will be slimmer as the street is narrowed for works on the new Arden Station as part of the Metro Tunnel project.
The longest bike bridge in Europe
For a neat $10M the towns of Winschoten to Blauwestad are now connected by the longest bike bridge in Europe, spanning 800 metres across a canal, freeway and nature reserve.
Drop dead! Not if you ride a bike.
A new study from Europe found that if you engaged in regular physical activity your risk of instant death from a heart attack goes down as much as 45 per cent.
Quarter Two – member report
Here’s a quick summary on what we got up to in quarter two and how we’re tracking as we work to make it easier for everyone to ride.
RACV and councils join forces to help people get riding
RACV, City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip and Yarra City Council have joined to launch Let’s Ride Melbourne!, a new program aiming to help more people start riding bikes.
Cash flows for Boulie boost
Major safety upgrades to the popular Kew Boulevard circuit will roll out mid-year following the release of funding from the Federal Government.
Upcoming social rides (non Bike Week ones!)
As well as our Bike Week Women on Wheels and family rides in Devonport and Hobart, we have several of our normal social rides also operating including one in Margate, Claremont to city, city to Cascade and three routes out of Wynyard.
It’s all about the family this Bike Week
Last year’s COVID restrictions reminded so many people across the state of the joys of riding a bike and so this year’s Bike Week is celebrating the families who are riding together more often.
Kingborough Bike Committee get active
Kingborough Council’s Bicycle Advisory Committee has been hard at work on a draft bike plan for the area, with a bigger committee and new members signed off by the council last week.
Can I still ride my bike outdoors?
Bicycle Network has advice about when, where and who you can ride with during coronavirus restrictions. Advice was last updated on 17 February 2021.
Parliament report recommends more bike lanes
A Victorian parliamentary committee report into the state's coronavirus response has confirmed that bikes are an integral part of helping us reach a new normal.
Get more zip with less bikes (video)
This intriguing new innovation could create more space in your garage at the same time as getting you more roads to ride on.
New plan welcomes bikes in the ranges
Yarra Ranges has a new Integrated Transport Strategy that envisages bikes as a key partner in the quest to make the municipality easier to access.
Moreland makes moves on better transport
The City of Moreland is searching for the answers to a hard question – and you can help provide them.
Is bike theft on the rise in Tassie?
Tasmanian media has picked up on a spate of recent bicycle thefts in the state, warning that it could mean criminals are targeting high-end bikes.
Riding Everest 100 times
A humble Aussie doctor recently completed a feat of such extreme endurance and dedication on the bike that it will most likely never be attempted again, let alone bested.
NSW food delivery guidelines
The NSW joint taskforce for food delivery rider safety has released draft guidelines for the industry to create safer working conditions.
An update on Peaks Challenge training rides
An update from Bicycle Network about Peaks Challenge training rides following last weekend's tragic crash on the Great Ocean Road.
Great Southern Rail Trail extension starts
Gippsland’s picturesque Great Southern Rail Trail is about to be even greater, with work starting this week on a major extension of the trail.
Exercise: even better than we thought!
There is no limit to the benefits of bike riding and other moderate and vigorous exercise, Oxford University has found. The more, the better.
It’s time to build a new bike bridge in Perth
The Western Australian state government is pushing ahead with plans to build an iconic new Causeway Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge across the Swan River.
Brisbane to host BMX World Champs
Brisbane is set to welcome the worlds best BMX riders in 2026 when Sleeman Sports Complex hosts the UCI BMX World Championships.
Exhibition Street lanes to go further
Melbourne City has moved to the next stage of it major Exhibition Street bike lane upgrade with work starting next week between Bourke and Little Lonsdale Street.
Bikes win lanes on infamous Brooklyn Bridge
The New York horror show for bike riders crossing Brooklyn Bridge to and from Manhattan on a bike could finally be at an end.
St Kilda Road lanes upgrade
Riders heading out of the city on St Kilda Road will benefit from an additional section of separated bike lane as far as the Shrine of Remembrance.
New bike tunnel under Helsinki
The Finns are sinking a massive new tunnel under central Helsinki to connect its planned bike network to the capital city's main railway station.
Disruptions continue through Bonbeach, Chelsea and Edithvale
Riders on the Nepean Highway and Station Street through Bonbeach, Chelsea and Edithvale should continue to be on the alert for changed road conditions.
Help choose a colour for this bridge
Melbourne’s riders are being offered a say on the paint job for the cable towers on the Blaxland Avenue Overpass on the Western Ring Road.
Tassie Bike News Bites
This edition's Tassie Bike News Bites features plans to brighten the Intercity Cycleway, George Town MTB progress, Channel Hwy resurfacing, and riding events in the south.
Spring Street gets the treatment
Melbourne’s Spring Street is next on the list of CBD streets to gain new and more attractive bike lane upgrades.
Tragic crash at Peaks Challenge training ride in Otways
A person was tragically killed and another injured while riding in a Peaks Challenge Falls Creek training ride on the Great Ocean Road yesterday.
The Gong gets UCI Bike City label
Wollongong has joined a list of elite bike riding destinations overnight, after the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) awarded the coastal city the prestigious UCI Bike City Label.
Social Rides to increase with new leaders
We had a Social Rides Leader workshop on Sunday 31 January to train new leaders and are looking forward to the rides they come up with in coming weeks.
Big prune to wrinkle Main Yarra Trail
The City of Yarra is coming to the rescue along the Main Yarra Trail with a ten day pruning blitz from Burnley to Dights Falls to keep those creeping branches at bay.
Bay Trail detour alert
The Bay Trail at St Kilda Beach will be detoured around a major worksite for the next year as Melbourne Water start construction on replacing the Shakespeare Grove main drain.
Elizabeth Street South construction starts
Work on the new layout for the southern end of Elizabeth Street in the CBD will get rolling this week.
Hobart defers Mac Point cycleway extension
The City of Hobart has decided to defer the extension of the Intercity Cycleway to the Macquarie Point boundary, following a decision by the Macquarie Point Corporation to pull out its temporary cycleway to Evans Street and restrict access on the remaining path and new road.