Perth Voice Interactive

VINCENT council approved a million-dollar bike path for Leederville’s Oxford Street Tuesday.

Oxford Street’s Tzanis Palioudakis submitted a 75-signature petition signed by himself and neighbours opposing the project, saying “there is a dedicated bike path along Britannia Reserve which is in place and working fine”.

He fears cyclists will end up under the cars of residents reversing out of their driveways.

Cafe owners Stuart Lofthouse and Debbie Saunders also oppose the plan (see front page).

But cyclist Geraldine Box is all for it, saying roads currently feel like “unwelcoming traffic-dominated corridors”.

Marti Hughes told councillors he’d recently been hit by a car and fully supported more bike lanes.

“I was riding on the road and I truly believe that if I was on a bike path that accident wouldn’t have happened. “I got two kids age nine and seven, and I want to be able to enable them, as they get older, to move around the Town of Vincent… without having to rely on mum’s taxi to get there.”

Jeremey Murray is CEO of Bicycling WA and he says the new lane “will have a dramatic impact on the level of cycling within the city”.

“I do accept that it’s a lot of money to spend on one kilometre of road,” Cr Josh Topelberg noted, but added it wasn’t going to get any cheaper.

The lane will be installed north of Vincent Street.

by DAVID BELL