Big money given to bike plan

However, the grant amount of $332,330 fell short of the $409,165 the City was hoping for, and is not enough to contribute towards all of Fremantle’s proposed projects.

Skipped in the funding were the High Street bike study and the Carrington Street shared-use path. Neither of these met the Department of Transport funding criteria, despite the City having already put aside 50 per cent of the Carrington Street project costs ($169,300) in the recently announced 2014-15 budget.

Conversely, the City received more than $100,000 for the South Beach path upgrade and almost $7000 for the Connecting Schools project for John Curtin College of the Arts and White Gum Valley Primary School but had not allocated any funding for those projects in the recent budget.

At Wednesday’s Strategic and General Services Committee meeting, councillors agreed to reallocate City funds, moving $169,300 from the plans that did not receive grant funding and putting it towards the previously unbudgeted-for South Beach and Connection Schools projects.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said the grant would play a significant role in being able to expand and improve Fremantle’s bicycle network.

‘The fact that we got $300,000 out of the Department of Transport’s total pool of $1.33 million for cycling infrastructure reflects the merit of our local bike plan,’ he said.

‘Fremantle has really taken the lead on creating a bike-friendly city in Perth and it’s great to see other local governments join us in this transformation of Perth into a more sustainable and healthy city.

‘Global evidence shows that the best way to get more people to ride more often is to make cycling safer and more convenient.’