Bellarine Ti Times mes
Tuesday 6 September 2011
VOL 4. No 36
www.bellarinetimes.com.au
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Barwon Heads residents opposed to the widening of 13th Beach Road for bike paths, from left, Ross Harrison, Elissa Ashton-Smith and Shane Johns.
BIKE SAFETY BY DAVID FINLAYSON
BIKE SAFE’S push to widen Barwon Heads’ 13th Beach Road and rename it in honour of Cadel Evans looks certain to reignite a fierce debate over the adjacent sand dune environment. The widening of the road is part of a Bike Safe plan for a high-grade bike path to run from Ocean Grove to Apollo Bay, in a bid to market the region as a cycling tourist mecca and to improve safety for cyclists and cars. Bike Safe says the proposal already has the backing of local politicians, Barwon Coast Committee, Barwon Heads traders and local tourism bodies. Barwon Coast Committee minutes show in excess of $4 million would be needed to widen the road by a minimum of three metres.
Su rf Forecast
Sensitive coastal moonah woodlands of national conservation significance and unstable dunes adjacent to the road would need to be bulldozed. Barwon Heads conservationist Elissa AshtonSmith said Barwon Coast recently won an award for its booklet on coastal moonah woodland. “The booklet said how endangered it is and outlined how it can be rehabilitated. Now they are proposing to bulldoze a three-metre strip of it. I find it outrageous they could accept that award.” Barwon Heads resident Ross Harrison said widening the road “flies in the face of everything the council and Barwon Coast has said about the significance of the strip of coast”. “I can’t see Cadel Evans wanting his name associated with this. He comes down here because of the environment and I can’t imagine he’d want to
destroy it to make the road wider.” Local cyclist Shane Johns said he’d never had safety issues riding along the road and widening the road was “absolutely unnecessary”. But Bike Safe president Barton van Laar said the road had been identified as one of about 12 in the region that were ‘cyclist hazard roads’. Local resident Steve Wickham said claims the road was dangerous were not supported by VicRoads accident data which showed no car-cycle accidents on the road. Mr van Laar said the community might “shoot itself in the foot” if it didn’t take advantage of possible government funding to widen the road and capitalise on tourism and road safety benefits on the back of Evans’ success. He said the decision would ultimately rest with Evans as to whether he supported
the proposal, saying Evans would have “thousands of proposals” put to him. He also said Bike Safe had been talking with local politicians who had taken the matter to the premier’s department. Local member for South Barwon Andrew Katos confirmed the State government would speak with Evans. “If he is (happy with the proposal) and would like to see something progress we’ll do that,” Mr Katos said, adding that funding applications and environmental studies would then begin. CoGG ward councillor Andy Richards said council had yet to take a position, but its priority was bike safety within Barwon Heads proper. A Barwon Heads Association public forum on the 13th Beach precinct will be held at Barwon Heads hall at 7.30pm, September 12.
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