The council has tested peak-hour bicycle lanes, which have been painted on the existing traffic lanes, but Cr Leppert said they were not safe. "The brutal reality is that this just isn't working," he said. The plan would see two Copenhagen-style protected bike lanes installed along the length of Exhibition Street, between La Trobe and Flinders streets. It would remove paid parking in the middle of the street and replace it with trees. And one traffic lane in each direction would become space for on-street parallel parking, except during peak hour when those lanes would be open to traffic.

The council would lose $2.16 million a year it gets from parking fees on the street, along with $400,000 in annual revenue it reaps from hitting motorists on Exhibition Street with parking fines. The move follows a survey of cyclists by the council, which found that only 22 per cent of people who would consider cycling in the CBD felt confident to do so with just painted bike lanes, compared to 83 per cent who would ride if there was some form of physical separation from cars. The study found that 39 per cent of bicycle crashes would be avoided if continuous, physically separated bike lanes were installed along the full length of Exhibition Street. It will come at a cost for motorists, who will have between 60 and 90 seconds added to their journey each time they use the road to drive through the CBD.

On Tuesday night, Her Majesty's Theatre production services manager Matthew Peckham spoke at Town Hall, saying the theatre had been horrified when the bike lanes were first proposed. But he said managers at the theatre were now very comfortable that the bike lanes would in fact improve the amenity of the street, and be both good for the city and good for Her Majesty's. RACV's senior planner Stuart Outhred said the peak motoring group had advocated for key cycling corridors for "several years, as we know it provides a safe, cheap and active way for commuters to get around". "Investing in bicycle infrastructure will also help alleviate overcrowded public transport and ease congestion on our roads," he said. The bike lane design would change between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane - two north-bound traffic lanes would remain, while there would be three south-bound lanes.

The idea is to make Exhibition Street a "strategic cycling corridor", linking Rathdowne Street in the north and the Yarra Trails in the south. Council will now consult road users and complete the design, before giving the plan the final green light in the next financial year. It comes ahead of the release of Melbourne City Council's draft budget on Thursday, which will include $28 million on walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure outlined in its draft transport strategy. Lord mayor Sally Capp said the draft budget includes $2.1 million to improve the footpath on the southern end of Elizabeth Street, between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane, which has been referred as a neglected, forgotten section of the CBD. Works are set to start early next year. "More than 9300 pedestrians use footpaths on either side of this section of Elizabeth Street during the morning peak. The upgrade will include new bluestone paving, street furniture, lighting and street trees along an entire city block," Cr Capp said.