Peddling pedals: Horsham Rural City Council announces Hamilton-Firebrace Street upgrades for cyclists

Tuesday: The chair of Horsham Bicycle Advisory Committee says there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people riding around the city since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

It comes as one of Horsham's busiest intersections is about to be upgraded to be safer for cyclists and motorists.

"I use bike tracks every day, and there are more people on bike paths," he said. "You can't buy bikes at the moment, and the second hand bike market has gone through the roof, because so many people are cycling, and it's the same in Horsham: I've seen a massive increase in the last six months of COVID.

"Horsham is a beautiful town to cycle in, it's as flat as the proverbial night carter's hat, and we would encourage more people to get out."

Horsham Cyclery owner Damien Cook told the Mail-Times he'd seen an increase in bicycle sales since the pandemic and associated restrictions began in the Wimmera, and suppliers couldn't keep up with the demand.

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"Ninety per cent of our brands get bikes from China these days," he said.

"A major brand told us to get things moving better in factory they are not putting gears or brakes on the bikes: we're basically going to get a box of bits where normally we would receive bikes 60 to 70 per cent assembled."

Mr Cook said while gym closures had initially spurred a surge in sales of adult bicycles, children's bikes were now just as popular leading in to Christmas.

"We are being told we might not see kids bikes before christmas," he said. "They're saying late November or early December (they might receive some) but there are no guarantees.

"This time of year we normally start doing lay bys, but we can't guarantee going ot have the bikes. We don't want to disappoint people: We are definitely going to get them, we just don't know when they will turn up."

Horsham Rural City Council has announced safety upgrades will soon start at the Hamilton-Firebrace Street intersection, to install green on-road lanes for bicycles only.

A spokesman said these would be completed by the end of 2020, and the design had been approved by the Transport Accident Commission safety auditor.

Chief executive Sunil Bhalla said: "Due to the number of community facilities located on Hamilton Street and its role as a connector to off and on road paths, the bicycle committee has identified this route as a priority.

"This is first step in Council's goal to have more visible cycling pathways around the city as identified in the Horsham Urban Transport Plan."

Changes to the roundabout's central island and kerb design are also part of the project.

The project is being jointly funding by the council and the TAC.

Mr Holmes said the committee's vision was a network of safe cycling lanes throughout Horsham CBD.

"Our ultimate goal as a comittee is to improve cycling facilities and safety in Horsham for all our bike users. This is one of the first projects that's come up on a whole list of priorities we want to get done across the municipality," he said.

"With a lot more people are using the infrastructure around Horsham now, it's a great opportunity for us to identify where gaps are in the cycling network and start filling them in."

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