BUG tests out Ord Street bike lanes and Attfield Street local route

Gavin Giles
City of Fremantle
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Back in June this year we posted on the completion of the north bound bike lane on Ord Street. The bike lane has been put to the test by the City of Fremantle’s Bicycle User Group.

The protected bike lane has been designed to improve safety for cyclists through the installation of a series of traffic islands along the southbound cycle lane to create greater separation between cyclists and cars.

Most of the work was carried out in July in conjunction with scheduled road resurfacing works between High Street and Knutsford Street.

The finishing touches were added by the City earlier this week following the completion of line marking by Main Roads WA.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt, councilors and City staff tried out the new bike lane with members of the Bicycle User Group (BUG) during a test ride on Tuesday.

“The City is keen to promote cycling as a healthy, fun and environmentally-friendly mode of transport,” Mayor Pettitt said.

“The BUG is a group of bicycle enthusiasts in our Fremantle community who the City regularly engages with to discuss and identify possible improvements to our bicycle infrastructure.

“During COVID-19 we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people getting out there and riding a bike, and that’s something we want to continue to build on.

“Ord Street is identified as a key bike route in the City’s Fremantle Bike Plan so it’s terrific that we’ve been able to improve safety for cyclists along that stretch by installing the protected bike lane.

“People generally feel a lot safer riding a bike when there is a physical barrier between them and the traffic, so over time we plan to do more upgrades like this to encourage more people to take up cycling.”

Other works undertaken on Ord Street included widening the bike lane on the northbound carriageway through a minor relocation of the existing traffic lights at High Street, and improving the pedestrian crossing points near Knutsford Street by increasing the size of the refuge islands.

The BUG ride also included the Attfield Street local route between Fremantle Primary School and South Fremantle - to get ideas on how to improve and promote the route as a quiet, safe and attractive route. The route is part of a Safe Active Street design project underway with help from Department of Transport.

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James (Your Move)

Perfect timing just before bike month! I've very happy to see Fremantle raising the bar for bike infrastructure, and great to see the involvement of the elected members and staff (that has earned you 10 bonus points on top of the 10 for giving us another 'Gav good read'!). I also see you haven't previously received points for supporting a BUG in Freo - so that's another 25 points winging its way to you. Have a great weekend!

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Gavin

Thanks James - all credit to our engineer Dwight who organised the ride (flouro bike next to Mayor Pettitt)

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