Could Melbourne Be Getting a Bicycle Highway in the Sky?

Cyclists in the city could soon find themselves with their heads in the clouds, with the State Government's chief infrastructure adviser examining plans for a bicycle highway in the sky. The radical proposal, which is being considered by Infrastructure Victoria, would aim to decrease congestion and free up room for public transport via the construction of an 'elevated veloway' that would allow cyclists to travel above the traffic. Sounds great right? Maybe so. But don't go investing in Lycra just yet.

The advantages of the proposal are fairly straightforward. In addition to freeing up space on the roads, separating cyclists and motor vehicles would (you'd imagine) reduce the number of collisions between the two. Melbourne's cycling infrastructure isn't too crash hot at the moment — and obviously, the more we can do to encourage people to give up their cars for a healthier, more environmentally friendly form of transportation, the better.

Those are the pros. The big con, unfortunately, is the price tag. According to The Herald Sun, the proposal would run the government up a bill of $100 million (take a guess from their headline, 'Bicycle highway plan for Melbourne would be very costly, report warns', as to whether they're for or against the idea). Furthermore, an assessment commissioned by Infrastructure Victoria found that while the long shot plan had its benefits, it would be unlikely to make a significant contribution to the state's overall transport needs.

According to Sacha Fenton, a spokesperson for Roads Minister Luke Donnellan, Infrastructure Victoria is yet to make any final recommendations to the government. "While [Infrastructure Victoria] looks at options, we're focused on our priorities," she said. "We're establishing the $100 million Safer Cyclists and Pedestrians Fund to invest in new, dedicated cycling and walking facilities across Victoria to help keep bikes and pedestrians away from traffic.

"This investment will see an increase in separate bike paths and lanes on principal priority bicycle networks and routes to help protect cyclists from traffic."

Via The Herald Sun. Image: Yarra River Business Association.