• Rob Wall, Alfie Wall, Tarky Wall, Brad Pettitt, Janine Marshall, Sam Wainwright (obscured) and Andrew Sullivan try out the new South Terrace bike lanes. Photo by Jeremy Dixon

FREMANTLE council has an ambitious plan to get one-third of residents on bikes by the year 2030.

Currently just three per cent of locals cycle, but it makes Fremantle bike-mad compared to a 1.2 per cent state average.

A long-awaited bike plan will go before council next month and mayor Brad Pettiit says it will ensure Fremantle has an integrated network of cycle lanes and facilities to make cycling both safe and pleasurable.

He hoped to double the rates of cycle-users every five years, with the aim to become similar to Copenhagen, the bike capital of Europe, which has a 36 per cent rate of bike-use.

“It has been amazing to see the huge resurgence in cycling the last few years and without a doubt Fremantle is leading the charge on this in WA,” he says.

“Cycling has up to now been the neglected tool in the chest of solutions for Perth’s transport problems. Far greater investment in bike lanes and more bike riding could see Perth become a more sustainable and less congested city.”

Part of the plan will see, “large physical networks necessary for the functioning of a well connected bicycle network”.

The plan aims:

• for everyone to have access to a bike;

• for facilities and end-of-trip stations;

• future bike-share

• on- and off-road paths;

• signage

“We would like to commend council for spending money on bike infrastructure,” Fremantle Bike Users Group convenor Rob Wall says.

“We are pleased to see the continuation of the bike lane from South Terrace to South Beach. And finally a continuation of the principal shared path from Fremantle to North Fremantle and Mosman Park.”

by BRENDAN FOSTER