A Metre Finally Matters in Victoria Too!
After years of lagging behind the rest of Australia, on 7th October 2020 the Victorian government has finally announced that it pass safe passing distance laws. Ironically Victoria is the home state of the Amy Gillett Foundation, which has worked solidly for 10 years to get their ‘metre matters’ campaign enshrined in legislation across every Australian state and territory.
Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll also announced a major investment in making the choice to ride a bike in Melbourne easier and safer with 100km of pop up bike lanes to be delivered over the next two years.
Working with local governments, the investment of $13 million will deliver congestion busting pop up lanes across key inner Melbourne suburbs, help relieve congestion and provide safe routes for people who would like to choose active travel to work in the CBD.
Minister Carroll, in announcing the plan to adopt safe passing distance and invest to build 100km of new bike lanes said, “The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way we move around Melbourne – that’s why we’re building over 100km of pop-up bike lanes, providing an alternative for shorter trips and making it easier and safer to get to and from the CBD.”
“We also know that giving people cycling that little bit of extra space can help us all get home safely – so we’re introducing minimum passing distances, to keep cars and cyclists safely apart and save lives on our roads.”
You can see a report about the announcement on the Amy Gillett Foundation website here that includes the live reaction from Amy’s mother Mary Safe when she hears the news.