Princes Bridge after...

By building a safe, connected bike network, the Victorian government could achieve a 10 per cent cycling mode share by 2030.

About 40 per cent of all car trips are less than five kilometres. To reach its target, the government would only need to shift a quarter of these trips to bicycle.

This would reduce cars on our roads and make the most of limited space, bikes being far more space-efficient than cars. It would extend the reach of our public transport system, through short trips to the station. And it would slash the costs of physical inactivity to the health system, estimated to cost the Victorian health budget $375 million per year.

These benefits can be achieved relatively quickly, because bike infrastructure is quicker and cheaper to build than large road and public transport projects.

The Victorian government should join leaders in New York, Paris and London, who are taking substantial and pragmatic steps to transform their cities for cycling. New York, under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, added bike lanes rapidly, nearly doubling its bike network.

In London, a number of new and improved "cycle superhighways" are proposed throughout the city. Paris recently announced a plan to triple the share of all trips made by bike from 5 to 15 per cent. In the next five years, it aims to double its network of bike lanes to 1400 kilometres and drop speed limits on many streets to 30km/h.

The Victorian government has made a start by committing $122.5 million over six years to support safer cycling and walking, better than the previous government, but far more is needed.

The state government should create a dedicated fund to support a substantial cycling agenda. In the Netherlands, already a successful cycling city, about $36 euros a head is spent on cycling, or 0.09 per cent of the annual GDP per head. Victoria will need to spend at least as much as that to catch up - 0.09 per cent of Victoria's GDP would mean around $315 million a year, or $54 per head.

Even more important than funding is the way we allocate limited road space. State roads authority Vicroads, in particular, has often obstructed or overlooked cycling infrastructure, for example, many CBD bike lanes disappear at signalled intersections because Vicroads won't approve reduced car capacity there:

Elizabeth Street north and Queensberry Street. The new separated bike lane ends, leaving bike riders to contend with turning cars.

Further up on Elizabeth Street north, at the corner of Victoria Street, the bike lane disappears entirely.

The government has established a new entity , Active Transport Victoria, to lead cycling and walking policy. To support its role, politicians must provide strong direction to government agencies and stakeholders that cycling is to be prioritised where there are trade-offs with car use.

While the broader cycling strategy is reviewed, there are steps that can be taken immediately. Firstly, the government should fund and build the priority arterial bicycle routes proposed in the Vicroads Principal Bike Network:

Vicroads Principal Bike Network for City of Melbourne - find images of other areas here.

​It could start by building safe, separated bike lanes along St Kilda Road, Flemington Road and Royal Parade/Sydney Road. Safe bike facilities should be included in all new projects – for example, cycling and walking routes should be an integral part of the Metro Rail project. This could be done by building safe bike routes from the five Metro stations to connect them with other destinations, bike routes and train stations, and providing secure bike parking at stations, as has happened overseas:

Utrecht indoor bike parking facility, the Netherlands. Photo by Marc Wagenbuur

Bikes parked outside Flinders Street station, which has no dedicated bike parking.

Bike lanes also need to be built to a high standard, or they won't attract new riders. Research shows that a significant number of people would welcome a healthy, enjoyable alternative to being stuck in traffic, but won't currently ride as they feel unsafe. To assess whether bike lanes are adequate, a good test is whether they are built to a high enough standard to attract a broad range of users, including children, older people and women.

Good lane...

Research shows that on busy roads, most everyday riders need separation to feel safe, such as on the lane on La Trobe Street.

Bad lane...

Exhibition St, Melbourne CBD. This is a part-time unprotected bike lane (peak hour only) on a busy road, that only exists in certain blocks of the road, and ends at intersections. Green paint is ineffective in keeping cars out. Exhibition Street needs a separated bike lane all the way along.

But not all roads even need dedicated bike lanes. In successful cycling countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, separated bike lanes are generally provided where speeds are over 30km/h, below which sharing the road is acceptable. Much of the Netherlands' fantastic bike network consists of local roads that encourage low speeds and discourage through traffic. Residential streets, shopping centres, and schools are places where we should all feel safe to walk and cycle without special infrastructure. This can be done by reducing speed limits, designing roads to encourage slower driving, and reducing traffic.

A residential street in Zurich. While there is car parking, the speed limit is 30km/h, which means pedestrians and cyclists can share the street with cars, which makes it better for the residents. Entering such a residential zone from a main road you will see signs telling you that you are entering a residential zone and should behave accordingly.

Canning Street in North Carlton. The road is blocked off at several points, making it inconvenient for through-traffic, and safer for bikes and pedestrians.

Laws around liability for crashes involving vulnerable road users should also be reformed to provide greater protection for cyclists and pedestrians, and to provide significant and consistently enforced penalties for endangering these vulnerable road users. These legal measures should be complemented with education programs that start at primary school and continue into driver education and licence testing.

Decades of road-oriented transport policy and longstanding neglect of public transport and cycling have created a population of car drivers.

This has led to a congestion problem that sees Victorians stuck in traffic and costs the Victorian economy over $4 billion a year. The problem is set to set to intensify, with daily trips throughout Melbourne's transport system predicted to increase 75 per cent by 2050.

It's delusional to think we can fix the congestion problem with the same approach that caused it. Studies in the US and Europe indicate that building more roads only increases congestion by encouraging more people to drive. The only solution is to make alternatives to driving more compelling.

The Andrews government has taken a step in the right direction by cancelling the East West link and announcing the $10 billion Metro Rail tunnel route. What if a similar attitude and scale of ambition were applied to Victorian cycling policy?

Cycling leadership requires political courage, because those who stand to benefit from this change – future bike riders – don't exist yet, while there can be active opposition from the much larger group who are temporarily inconvenienced. But leadership means riding this out, where long-term public benefit can be achieved. Habits are hard to break, but the story of most contested bike lanes – Princes Bridge for example – shows that opposition generally dies down once change happens.

Making Victoria a cycling state will be a challenge, but it's achievable, and worth it.

Raili Simojoki is a writer and editor with experience in law and policy, and a spokesperson for Melbourne Bicycle User Group. @raili_sim

Alexander Sheko is a research associate at the School of Design at the University of Melbourne, and the co-editor of Melbourne What Next? @alexandersheko