Lord Mayor Robert Doyle voted down a proposal by Cr Richard Foster to defer the development of a segmented lane in St Kilda road and hold an open public review.
Less than 10 people tuned up to debate the proposal for a pause and review with all the others in attendance being Council staff
In what was one of the best debates of the year. The bike lobby turned out with a small contingent and spoke passionately about the general principles and need for safe bike paths in the City.
No one opposed bike paths per-say. All speakers recognized the need to address safety concerns.
However they failed to address details of design implementation issues and the resulting negative impacts on elderly and disabled commuter safety. Whilst cyclist safety was a concern, commuter safety was ignored or came a distant second. Someone will get hurt and Robert Doyle will be held responsible.At risk the most is the elderly, disabled and bus patrons who park in the area.
Robert Doyle refused to undertake a review of the Latrobe Street bike lane design, saying that the path was in place and can not be removed. Doyle admitted that the Latrobe Street bike path implementation was flawed but was unwilling to conduct a public review.
Latrobe Street has only been in place for less than a month. the City
Council has not considered the success and failures of the development
If Robert Doyle wont hold the review we will. Business on Latrobe Street will be surveyed and the results will be published. Questions will be asked why these issues were not addressed.
The proposed bike lane along St Kilda Road is based on the same design as Latrobe Street., It will have the same problems.
Stephen Mayne spoke in favour of a review but voted against his own argument.
This issue is not over - Robert Doyle's refusal to hold an open public review will not be the end of it it is just the beginning
The City Council's efforts to deny a public review will only add to community resentment and frustration
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