Streets Alive Yarra supports any increased budget for active transport, and even better would be to see the budget for that service area increased further to $10 million per year, as we’ve consistently recommended in previous submissions.
We note that the City of Sydney, with an area of 25 km2, is only slightly larger than Yarra’s 20 km2, yet has adopted a bike budget that is an order of magnitude larger than Yarra’s.
Similarly, as we stated in our submission to the draft 2023/24 budget, if we’re going to achieve the outcomes described in the Transport Strategy by 2032, then we need allocate enough funding to deliver an additional 3 km of ‘compliant’ protected bike lanes each year – the draft budget doesn’t do that.
Extra revenue to fund this expenditure can easily be raised by charging commuters to park in Yarra, i.e. by defining a Ticket Zone on one side of most streets, with the other side retained as a Permit Zone.
Together, these actions would represent a progressive budget that delivers freedom of safe movement for people who can’t drive, including children, some seniors, and some people with disabilities.
Posted 19 May 2025.