Submission to Darebin Council’s Budget 2024 - 2025
We are a Darebin resident & ratepayer action group with a vision for thriving neighbourhoods where streets are used by people of all ages, irrespective of whether they choose to walk, cycle, use public transport or drive.
Streets Alive Darebin exists to create the Darebin of the future, that is fit for purpose for high-density living to accommodate future population growth, centred around the concept of the 20-minute city. To achieve this, infrastructure investment should focus on social, health and environmental benefits of living in the City of Darebin, including:
Attractive, safe and direct access to key amenities including shopping, healthcare, education and recreation that prioritises walking, cycling and rolling.
Public spaces that support social interaction outside of the home that are welcoming and sustainable, with appropriate infrastructure such as street furniture and lighting to support people of all ages and abilities to move freely and safely for the enjoyment of those who live, work and study in Darebin.
Provide safe and easy access to footpaths and cycleways that are well-connected through a strategically designed network, to provide easy access throughout Darebin for people of all ages and abilities.
Increase people’s connection with their local environment through trees and built environment.
In response to the Draft Darebin Budget 2024-2025 consultation, we note the leadership that Darebin has shown in being the first Council to declare a Climate Emergency.
We note that one of its goals is to move towards zero-emissions transport, reducing congestion and dependence on cars. We consider that Darebin Council can act now to achieve this goal through the following actions which should be reflected in its draft Budget:
Accessible tram stops: Enable easy access to trams for users of all ages and abilities, including those using mobility aids as well as pushers & prams.
Separation - for safety: Separated bike lanes provide a safety buffer between parked cars (or moving traffic) and bicycle lane users, preventing cyclist deaths from dangerous 'dooring' crashes.
Wider footpaths on High Street: Provides an opportunity for re-planting this important economic and social corridor. Street trees provide shade, increase biodiversity and reduce on-street temperatures on hot days.
Pedestrian friendly design: Traffic reduction and reallocation of on-street parking provides a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape.
Intersection safety: Intersections along High Street urgently need safety upgrades to prevent crashes and pedestrian deaths.
Specific comments on the Budget
We note that Darebin's sustainable transport expenditure has fallen below its forecast for the last 2 years. In 2022-23 Council spent only $219,000 on footpaths and cycleways from a forecast of $1.3 million. Expenditure is expected to increase to $3.1 million in 2023-24 against a forecast of $2.75 million, but there is still a shortfall of $73,000 in expenditure on footpaths and cycleways over the 2-year period 2022-24. What has been the cause of this and what is council doing to get this back on track?
Footpaths and cycleways budget since 2020-21:
The draft 2024-25 budget has reduced the proposed budget for footpaths and cycleways by $50,000 compared to what was forecast in last year's budget papers, while the forecast for roads has gone up from $4.5 million to $5.9 million. How does this reflect Council’s policies for giving people more options to walk, ride and scoot?
We note that the 'Footpaths and Cycleways' component of the budget encompasses all activities related to these assets. This includes maintenance and renewal, which appears to make up the significant majority of this budget.
Further, we note that the 'draft capital works program' document provides a breakdown of this amount, with $44,499 allocated for the new Kendall/Harding Bridge and a proposed $100,000 for Your Street Your Say Group B projects (as noted in the addendum). While we welcome the additional $100,000 being allocated to Your Street Your Say Group B, we are concerned this is woefully inadequate in the context of a capital works budget of $31 million and calls into question Council’s stated commitment to sustainable transport and transport mode shift.
Your Street Your Say combines safety initiatives for both residents who walk and residents who cycle, and yet there is no information about what funding is allocated specifically for residents who cycle out of its $3 million ‘footpaths and cycleways’ budget. Could Council be specific about what new cycleways it is committed to? Is Council committed to installing separated bike lanes on Cramer Street Preston, as per its Streets for People commitments, and also in line with community requests from Your Street Your Say Group A?
In considering pedestrian infrastructure we note that there are a couple of pedestrian improvement projects but these are also very small in number and add up to only about $575,000 for construction and $75,000 for designs.
For comparison, the City of Yarra is proposing to spend $1.46 million on cycling capital projects and $500,000 on walking capital projects, together with $770,000 for cycling infrastructure design and $110,000 on walking infrastructure. We are concerned that Darebin is falling behind neighbouring Councils on cycling and walking infrastructure.
Finally, we note that the 2024/25 budget allocation for footpaths and cycleways is less than half that allocated for roads, and that parks open space & streetscapes is less than one-fifth of the roads budget. Why is Council proposing to increase road funding while at the same time reducing footpaths & cycleways, and parks, open space & streetscape funding in the 2024/25 budget?
What could Council do?
We are calling upon Darebin Council, through its budget and through grants from the Victorian Government, to invest in safe separated bike lanes along High Street and reinstate the Streets for People investment program (see the Streets for People Report by the Hansen Partnership and Martyn Group 2018) to deliver safe cycling across Darebin. The Streets for People report lists the top eight cycling routes and steps to improve safety and connectivity for residents who ride.
Council also has a great opportunity to align its budget with the Victorian Government’s upgrades of the Route 86 tram stops. Separated bike lanes can be incorporated into the tram stop design and provide a safety buffer between parked cars and bicycle lane users, preventing cyclist deaths from dangerous "dooring" crashes.
Council could also prioritise spending on pedestrian crossings. What work is Council undertaking to assess the worst intersections for pedestrian safety and what does Council propose to address safety at these crossings? Council can work with the Department of Transport and Planning to improve pedestrian safety – particularly at intersections and crossing points near schools and shops.
Leveraging funding from the Victorian Government
Darebin Council can’t expect the Victorian Government to invest in active transport if it does not have a program of investment in key cycling routes itself. By abandoning the Streets for People plan that identified 8 designated sustainable transport corridors that traverse the municipality and its grid network (2 north-south aligned corridors and 6 aligned east-west corridors), Council is unable to offer any strategic investment plan or advocacy vision to the Victorian Government. How is Darebin intending to effectively advocate to the Victorian Government if it has not made a meaningful commitment in this space in order to leverage State action and/or funding?
Behaviour change programs
In Council’s draft Climate Emergency Plan it states that Council will:
2.2.1 Create a program that provides tailored household support and a financing mechanism to support electrification and renewable energy, with a target of engaging 1000 Darebin households per year.
We consider that Darebin’s award-winning solar saver program should be expanded to include the purchase of e-bikes. A pilot program could be run in the first instance. There is also an opportunity to provide more cargo bike parking at key locations in Darebin (cargo bikes need longer bike hoops) – such as outside schools, grocery stores, childcare centres and recreation centres.
Darebin’s streets (within the confines of the road reserve) are more than ever before under pressure to support private vehicle movements, alongside other more environmentally sustainable modes of movement where conflicts can be serious – in particular for residents who ride bikes and walk. Given the well-acknowledged climate, sustainability and health and wellbeing benefits of these ‘people powered’ modes of movement, Council needs to do more to accommodate them within the road reservation.
We would be happy to discuss any aspect of our submission with Council.