The Office of the Auditor General has reported on the reactions of entities to the recommendations from its 2015 Safe and Viable Cycling in the Perth Metropolitan Area Audit, finding they had improved cycling for the community.
Auditor General, Caroline Spencer said the entities promoting cycling and safe road use had added 85km to the cycling network.
“They have also planned for the future, including for other forms of active transport, such as scooters and e-bikes,” Ms Spencer said.
“However, it’s disappointing that some recommendations from the 2015 Audit are still not finished,” she said.
Ms Spencer said the Audit found the network of principal paths was still incomplete and the remaining 100km would take time, with only 21km planned to be built by 2025.
“There has been little progress to develop a centralised crash and hazard tool to better inform planning, and key guidance documents to support Local Government entities are not published,” she said.
“In addition, the Department of Transport did not document how it would evaluate its seven-year, $21 million program of innovation projects, until five years after it had started.”
The Auditor General said there was also a lack of transparent decision-making in the Department’s assessment of cycling grants.
She said it was encouraging to find that the four Local Government entities audited all had plans to improve cycling conditions for their communities.
“However, many paths built by Local Government entities since 2016 are narrower than widths recommended by better practice guidance,” Ms Spencer said.
“This is important as changes to the Road Traffic Code in 2016 allowed all cyclists to ride on footpaths.”
Ms Spencer said further improvements to how paths were planned and delivered, and promotion of the benefits of cycling, would help make cycling more viable for the community.
The Audit team was Aloha Morrissey, Adam Dias, Matthew Monkhouse, Jacqueline Richards, Justin Fairhead and Lyndsay Fairclough.
The Auditor General’s 26-page Report, Viable Cycling in the Perth Area, can be accessed at this PS News link.
