Final news writing assignment

This story almost found its way into the local paper, until the council worker had a change of heart and went off the record. Ah well them's the breaks.

Cyclists in Darebin say they were disappointed but not surprised by the Darebin City Council’s plan to dramatically reduce funding for bicycle works in the council area.

The council’s proposed budget, released earlier this month, allocated $0.9 million for the maintenance and renewal of bicycle works, down from the $1.4 million that was allocated last year.

Darebin Bicycle Users Group spokesperson Robin Gallagher said that while they were disappointed to find that funding had been cut, it came in the context of  “a council that hasn’t been good at providing consistent funding for cyclists for some time.”

“Darebin has a number of councillors that are fairly hostile to cyclists,” said Mr Gallagher. “Old fashioned councillors, bit behind the times.”

Mr Gallagher described the $7500 allocation for new bicycle projects, out of a total capital works budget of $32.1 million, as “pretty paltry”.

“When I saw very little money for new on-road projects, I wasn’t surprised at all. Darebin does very little new stuff, when there’s a new bike lane there is kind of a celebration.

“The council should be focussing on providing a consistent amount of funding that enables a lot of stuff to be done. It would be great if they could create a kind of portfolio with consistent funds.

“Part of the problem is the [council] officers might want to do something but there is no money for it.”

A Darebin Council officer, who declined to be named, said that the budget figures were a bit misleading. Last year’s budget had included grants and contributions from external sources, which were not available this year.

The officer also said that some areas of bicycle funding had been increased, and that the establishment of the Darebin Bicycle Advisory Committee highlighted the council’s commitment to cycling in Darebin.

In its most recent council meeting, the council approved a motion to allocate an additional $188,000 towards cycling works in Darebin, although where the money was to come from was unspecified. The council also offered to review the addition of bicycle lanes in Charles Street, Northcote.

Mr Gallagher welcomed the additional funds, but said he wouldn’t believe until “it’s ticked off”.

“I never believe in anything unless I can touch it. It’s not a kings ransom, but it’s better than nothing for the time being.”

A study conducted by the council showed that cyclist numbers have increased in Darebin by 170 per cent since 2005.