8 Infrastructure Australia

Bicycle Network submission to Infrastructure Australia

30 March 2010. Bike riding is experiencing unprecedented growth in Australia. Once viewed by policy makers as a fringe activity, bike riding is now recognised as an important part of an integrated response to the transport challenges facing our urban centres.

State Governments in Queensland and Victoria for example are writing bicycle transport infrastructure into their transport policies and project specifications.

Local governments in Sydney and Brisbane, to pick the leaders, are spending $20m a year on bicycle infrastructure. It is not unusual for a metropolitan municipality in Melbourne to spend a million dollars a year on bicycle infrastructure.

The Commonwealth record is not so consistent. In 1993, when Bob Brown was Minister for Land Transport, the Commonwealth committed $10m to bicycle infrastructure. In Melbourne this money went to the Footscray Road path, the St Kilda Road bicycle lanes and a re-sheet of Sydney Road.

In the intervening years, the Federal Government, through its regional development responsibilities, funded rail trails. However, in regard to bicycle transportation infrastructure, the 1993 program was the last Federal contribution until the recent National Stimulus Package when $40m was committed to projects that deliver new or improved bike path facilities with an emphasis on commuter bike paths, and on-road bike lanes as well as new or improved bicycle parking facilities. The projects funded by this Package are listed here.

This one-off funding support is welcome. However, a more strategic approach to the planning of and investment in bike riding infrastructure is required, consistent with the approach fostered by Infrastructure Australia. This means implementing a systematic approach to planning of bike riding infrastructure, which is based on objective criteria (such as distance to major employment centres and public transport hubs). This would ensure that there is a clear strategy for investment in bike riding infrastructure, which is underpinned by an understanding of the requirements of transport riders.

Critically this approach would give Governments the necessary confidence to invest in bike riding infrastructure. Consistent with this, where appropriate, bike riding infrastructure should be incorporated into road and passenger rail projects which are funded by the Federal Government, as currently occurs in Queensland and Victoria.

These points are emphasised in the Infrastructure Australia submission. Click the image to download (437KB). Also highlighted are some of the complementary regulatory reforms that would support these investments, and the importance of developing a Benefit Cost Ratio for bicycle transport infrastructure that has widespread support and use.

The Commonwealth needs to play a strong role in what is still an emerging policy area for all governments. A top down alignment of policy, planning and investment is essential if the benefits of bike riding are to be optimised.

Write to your local Federal member in support of the submission, Bicycle Victoria members and Friends will find the contact details of their local member in Blink.
 

Write in support of the submission

We encourage you to write to your local Federal member in support of the submission, Bicycle Victoria members and Friends will find the contact details of their local member in Blink. The link is under the pink strap in the bottom right hand corner of the Blink Home page. Click My Representatives.

Infrastructure Australia

From the Government website

The Australian Government has announced a new, national approach to planning, funding and implementing the nation's future infrastructure needs.

Infrastructure Australia will develop a strategic blueprint for our nation's future infrastructure needs and - in partnership with the states, territories, local government and the private sector - facilitate its implementation.

It will provide advice to Australian governments about infrastructure gaps and bottlenecks that hinder economic growth and prosperity. It will also identify investment priorities and policy and regulatory reforms that will be necessary to enable timely and coordinated delivery of national infrastructure investment.

Infrastructure Australia will be supported by an Infrastructure Coordinator, who will lead a small professional Office of Infrastructure Coordination within the Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government portfolio.
 

The role of Infrastructure Australia is to advise governments, investors and owners of infrastructure concerning:

* nationally significant infrastructure priorities;
* policy and regulatory reforms desirable to improve the efficient utilisation of national infrastructure networks;
* options to address impediments to the development and provision of efficient national infrastructure;
* the needs of users; and
* possible financing mechanisms.

Infrastructure Australia will conduct regular audits to determine the adequacy, capacity and condition of nationally significant infrastructure, taking into account forecast growth and the adequacy of the infrastructure to meet that growth. From analysis of this information, it will develop a national infrastructure priority list for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to consider.

Nationally significant infrastructure investment will be monitored and reported to COAG. Other functions will include:

* evaluating the business case for new infrastructure, when commissioned to do so;
* reviewing and providing advice on measures that would improve harmonisation of policy and regulatory regimes that facilitate infrastructure development and investment; and
* identifying barriers, or disincentives, to invest in nationally significant infrastructure.

Infrastructure Australia will also be asked to review the extent to which the governments can facilitate infrastructure investment, including improving guidelines for public-private-partnerships, project appraisal techniques and planning and approval processes.