ANOTHER inner city car lane will be sacrificed for cyclist safety under works that started today.

An upgrade of the existing southbound bike lane on St Kilda Rd had been due to begin earlier this month but was delayed while Melbourne City councillors considered a motion on traffic congestion impacts.

The council had earlier removed a northbound car lane on Princes Bridge in favour of cyclists under a three-month trial.

The St Kilda Rd bike lane going south will be widened from 1.4m to 2.2m, reducing the current three car lanes to two and leaving another lane for parking.

It will extend from Alexandra Gardens to the Linlithgow Ave and Southbank Blvd intersection.

"St Kilda Rd has the highest incidence of car door crashes in Victoria. The project is designed to improve the safety and movement of bicycles on one of the busiest cycling routes in Melbourne by separating cyclists from moving traffic and car doors," said a council statement released today.

The council insisted that motorists shouldn't experience significant travel delays because the existing two traffic lanes on Princes Bridge would filter into two lanes on St Kilda Rd, and five traffic lanes would be maintained at the Linlithgow Ave and Southbank Blvd intersection.

The RACV opposed the Princes Bridge lane closure claiming it added to congestion, but supports the St Kilda Rd change.

RACV general manager public policy Brian Negus said that although one car lane would be lost, there would still be two lanes taking traffic from the two lanes on Princes Bridge.

"It shouldn't have any dramatic effect on traffic and obviously it's going to be a bit safer," he

The works are expected to take 5 weeks.

john.masanauskas@news.com.au

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