{"id":543311,"date":"2026-03-16T04:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T04:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/543311\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T04:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T04:20:13","slug":"controversial-richmond-cycling-corridor-works-begin-for-more-car-spaces-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/543311\/","title":{"rendered":"Controversial Richmond cycling corridor works begin for more car spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rachael<\/p>\n

March 16, 2026 \u2014 12:07pm<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

Save this article for later<\/p>\n

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n

Got it<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Tempers flared in North Richmond on Monday morning as cyclists gathered to protest a controversial move to narrow bike lanes on a main thoroughfare and reintroduce 48 car parking spaces.<\/p>\n

The project, described by the City of Yarra as a \u201cglow-up\u201d, involves road resurfacing and the relocation of existing bike lane bollards between Hoddle and Church streets.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe bikelane infrastructure being ripped up on Monday morning.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

The work marks the end of a five-year trial of wide, protected lanes that have become a focal point of local political division.<\/p>\n

Mayor Stephen Jolly defended the works on Monday, saying the current infrastructure was a \u201cbike superhighway that\u2019s not used that much\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about sharing and not listening to just one interest group,\u201d Jolly said. \u201cThese changes will make the bike lane the same width it is on Albert Street that it continues from, while allowing locals better access to their Buddhist Temple, homes and businesses and also get some parking back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone will now get a share of the street, not just one group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Bicycle Network, the nation\u2019s largest rider organisation, had been urgently requesting state intervention from Roads Minister Melissa Horne to halt the works, but on Monday council contractors began tearing up protective barriers along the strip.<\/p>\n

Cyclists and supporters \u2013 including the Greens \u2013 claim the new design, which reduces riding space to approximately 1.5 metres, including gutters, is \u201cfar too narrow\u201d and fails to meet safety standards for a \u201cstrategic cycling corridor\u201d into the CBD that is used by thousands of riders weekly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City of Yarra once regarded itself as a leader in the design and delivery of bike lanes, but sadly, it has lost its way,\u201d Bicycle Network chief executive Alison McCormack said.<\/p>\n

The council\u2019s \u201cYarra For All\u201d independent bloc, led by Jolly, approved the plan last year following a highly charged debate<\/a> in which the mayor labelled complaints from safety advocates a sense of \u201cwhite privilege\u201d as many complaints about the loss of carparking came from attendees of the Buddhist Temple on the strip. The temple has since been demolished and is being redeveloped.<\/p>\n

\"CyclistCyclist protesters on Monday morning. The campaign has so far been unsuccessful in convincing authorities to backtrack.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

A number of protestors opposed to the downgrade \u2013 including Greens Richmond MP Gabrielle de Vietri and Greens councillor Sophie Wade \u2013 attended the site this morning with placards.<\/p>\n

While an independent road safety audit commissioned by the council warned that reinstalling the car parks posed a \u201csignificant risk\u201d due to dangerously reduced sight lines for drivers, a majority of councillors voted to proceed with the narrowed design.<\/p>\n

Wade and Deputy Mayor Sarah McKenzie, who is now Labor\u2019s nominated candidate for the seat of Richmond in the November state election, opposed the plan, with McKenzie citing personal safety concerns after recently being hit by a car while cycling nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stand by my vote. Safer bike lanes get more people cycling,\u201d she said. \u201cNarrowing them makes it harder to move through our increasingly dense area. Hundreds of locals wrote to me asking that they be kept as they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

But despite this, McKenzie aligned with the state government\u2019s position that the final authority rests with local officials. \u201cIt\u2019s appropriate the decision is made by council,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Allan government has distanced itself from the dispute, despite a letter seen by The Age which indicated the Department of Transport and Planning had expressed a lack of support for the downgrade.<\/p>\n

A Victorian government spokesperson said Elizabeth Street is a council-managed road and \u201cdecisions about the design of the bike lanes sit with Yarra City Council\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand Yarra City Council\u2019s decision will be disappointing for some members of the community, and we encourage anyone concerned about the designs to raise it directly with council,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"YarraYarra City Council decided to commence roadworks to narrow the protected bike lanes on Elizabeth Street in Richmond.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

Under current legislation, the state\u2019s role is limited to ensuring designs meet Australian standards; it cannot direct a council to change a design if those minimum requirements are met.<\/p>\n

Works are scheduled to continue for four to five weeks, with night road closures in place between 6pm and 5am from March 25 to March 31.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"RachaelRachael Dexter<\/a> is a journalist in the City team at The Age. Contact her at rachael.dexter@theage.com.au, rachaeldexter@protonmail.com, or via Signal at @rachaeldexter.58Connect via Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 16, 2026 \u2014 12:07pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-543311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}