Above: Cardinia mayor Bill Ronald, atop a penny farthing cycle, is keen to improve conditions for cyclists in Pakenham. By Paul Dunlop
POWER to the pedal – that’s the pledge from Cardinia Shire mayor Bill Ronald.
On the back of a successful Ride to Work day yesterday (Wednesday), Cr Ronald announced plans for a significant infrastructure upgrade for cyclists in Pakenham.
The mayor said the council should be doing more to encourage people to leave cars at home and get out on their bikes more often.
Cr Ronald vowed to take a lead in delivering initiatives outlined in a bike strategy prepared by council some years ago.
He said the strategy had produced plenty of good ideas but had been left to languish “in the bottom drawer”.
Rising fuel prices, growing concerns about poor health and obesity and the ever-increasing traffic through the town were just some of the reasons why the council should encourage cycling in the town, Cr Ronald said.
“I want to bring all the keen cyclists and the bike groups together with a view to go through the council’s bike strategy and start getting things happening,” he said.
“Some of the things in the strategy can be achieved quite easily.
“It might just take a few extra metres of pavement to connect a couple of existing bike paths together and open a new area.”
Cr Ronald said many Ride to Work day participants had raised cycling-related issues with him while enjoying a community breakfast at the Pakenham Plaza.
“Better linkages around town was one issue,” he said.
“There a quite a few paths that run into dead ends that are dangerous.
“People are also saying there is a lot of broken glass on footpaths.
“Hoons smashing a bottle on a footpath can cause major problems for bike riders with punctures. Maybe we could be doing more there.”
Cr Ronald said he wanted to establish a committee that would review the strategy and help take a lead in its implementation.
“This is not going to just be another talkfest,” he said.
“We’ve already got the strategy, I want to get the local experts together to help identify which aspects of the strategy are more important than others.”
Cr Ronald praised the initiative of the organisers of the Ride to Work day.
A keen cyclist, the mayor presented quite a sight as he zipped around Main Street on a penny farthing.
Organisers were pleased with the response to the event and are already planning for next year.
