The Victorian Government has announced grants to Councils, offered via the TAC, of up to $100k, to make streets safer for walking and cycling, conditional upon matched 1:1 funding from Council.
The Victorian Government is giving local councils across Victoria the chance to receive up to $100,000 for projects focussed on making local roads safer, through a Transport Accident Commission grants program.
https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/grants-program-to-help-councils-improve-road-safety/
Streets Alive Yarra welcomes these grants, and even better would be make them large enough to be able to deliver effective networks of safe travel infrastructure. A $100k grant, matched with $100k from Council, is enough for a couple of new pedestrian crossings. Even if the grants are offered each year, it isn’t enough for Council to deliver safe, cohesive networks for walking and cycling across the municipality, by 2030.
The City of Yarra needs to spend at least $10m each year on improved infrastructure for walking and cycling. This is equivalent to $100 per year for each of our approximately 100,000 residents, and matches the expenditure on walking and cycling planned by Greater Manchester in the UK.
To fund this, we recommend that Federal, State and Local Governments each contribute $33 per resident per year, to all Local Government Councils. In other words, Federal and State Government should each offer grants of up to $3.3 million to the City of Yarra, each year, for road safety improvements for walking and cycling.
Published 16th July 2020.