The Hoppers Crossing Parkiteer cage. Picture: PAUL JEFFERS
FRUSTRATED cyclists have called on the State Government to focus funding on Melbourne’s northwest.
Limited space and a lack of bicycle cages at train stations are contributing to bike crime and hindering commuters.
Parkiteer bike cages, safe cages for bike parking, which can only be entered with the use of an access card, are overflowing, with just 10 of the 49 cages at Melbourne stations in the West.
Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Laverton South and Watergardens are considered the highest used cages in Melbourne, according to Bicycles Victoria data.
Some commuters are risking the safety of their bikes by chaining them to the outside of the cages and surrounding areas, due to lack of available spaces in the existing cages or no cages at all.
St Albans resident Maggie Magee has had two bikes stolen from separate stations in the West.
Ms Magee rides her bike to Broadmeadows five days a week, sometimes taking the train to North Melbourne or heading further north.
But after having a bike stolen at Ginifer station and another bike stolen at Footscray, she has chosen to take her bike on the train rather than leave it chained up at the station.
Ms Magee said the lack of facilities available for cyclists was “fairly typical” of the availability of all services in the West.
Parkiteer bicycle cages can be found at Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Laverton, Newport, Sunshine, Watergardens, Glenroy, Broadmeadows, Coolaroo and Roxburgh Park in Melbourne’s northwest.
Bicycle Victoria statistics revealed Hoppers Crossing exceeded its limit of 26 bicycles per weekday, while Footscray and Albion railway stations were voted most in need of a Parkiteer cage on an online poll conducted by Bicycle Victoria.
Ms Magee said councils also needed to do more for cyclists.
“They’ve (Brimbank City Council) been promising bike infrastructure for so long it’s ridiculous,” she said.
“Nobody listens.”
Bicycle Victoria’s Jason De Hollander said new cage locations were based on cyclist demand.
“We are looking forward to new cages at Williams Landing, the Regional Rail Link stations and would love to see existing cages expanded at Laverton South, Werribee and Hoppers Crossing, where their success has been outstanding,” Mr De Hollander said.
He said Bicycle Victoria had asked the Department of Transport (DOT) for another $2 million for the Parkiteer program.
A DOT spokesperson said the government would continue to roll out new bike cages on the network, with Sunbury and Diggers Rest already planned.
More than 2800 people have registered to use Parkiteer facilities across metropolitan and regional Victoria.
