Plans to build safe bike lanes along St Kilda Road have been deferred by the Andrews government because of concern that giving more road space to cyclists might inconvenience motorists.

The delay in putting forward a solution to the high number of bike crashes along the inner-city thoroughfare has aggrieved cycling advocates, who've campaigned for years for safer bike lanes there.

Bicycle Victoria chief executive Craig Richards on St Kilda Road. Credit:Eddie Jim

Melbourne's grand boulevard is also one of the city's most treacherous for cyclists. According to VicRoads crash data, there were 122 crashes involving cyclists – many of them doorings – and 74 involving pedestrians between 2011 and 2015.

St Kilda Road is also one of the busiest cycling corridors into the CBD, with about 3000 people riding along it each day. It is also used by 41,000 motorists and 200,000 tram passengers.