Council has received an “unprecedented” 2600 responses to a survey on its controversial plans to build a bicycle network through Belmont.
“We’ve never had a response so big for a survey of this kind,” Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood said.
“It’s clear that a lot of people in our community have an interest in this and we want to make sure that we’re fully aware of all the different views.”
Council surveyed the public on its four potential designs for a controversial section of its planned bicycle network passing through High Street, Belmont.
The network, especially its High Street section, has been the subject of fierce public debate between cycling advocates, traders and Belmont residents.
Council received a $4.7 million grant for the network from TAC, which designated the route for its proposed southern link through High Street.
TAC earlier this year warned council would lose the funding if it changed the route.
Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy in August promised he would allow council to change the route without losing the funding, if the coalition won November’s state election.
Council’s first option for the High Street stretch involves road treatments and a 40km/h speed limit to allow bikes and cars to share the road.
City Hall’s other three options propose separated or protected bike lanes, which would see council remove between 30 and 83 car parks.
Council would release the results of the survey in coming weeks, Cr Harwood said.
“Given the unprecedented number of responses, it will take some time to go through all the comments and analyse the data.”
Council would vote on a design option later this year based on the collected data, Cr Harwood said.
Meanwhile, council began advertising for tender for construction of the network’s western link over the weekend.
“It’s great to see the western link project progressing to the tender stage,” Cr Harwood said.
“I look forward to seeing bike travel being made safer and easier for those living in the city’s west.”
The western link will connect central Geelong, Geelong West and Herne Hill, using Villamanta Street, Gertrude Street and Sydenham Avenue.
As part of the design bikes and cars would share the road with treatments such as speed humps to slow car traffic, a council spokesperson said.
The link would include new and modified signalised crossings at Latrobe Terrace, Pakington Street and Shannon Avenue, they said.
