Fewer than one in four homes across Greater Melbourne are connected to their local public school by a safe cycling route, a new study has found.
Melbourne is often considered one of Australia's most bike-friendly cities, with its relatively flat landscape and conditions favourable to cycling. But a new study suggests having cycling infrastructure does not necessarily mean residents - particularly children - can safely use it to reach everyday destinations.
The study, published in the Journal of Transport Geography, found fewer than one in four homes across Greater Melbourne are connected to their local public school by a safe cycling route.
Access was low across almost every socioeconomic group. While safe cycling infrastructure was relatively evenly distributed, the researchers found this apparent equity largely reflected a city-wide shortage of continuous safe cycling routes.
The study, led by Dr Zehua Zhang from UNSW's City Futures Research Centre, assessed whether homes across Greater Melbourne were connected to their designated public primary or secondary school by continuous cycling routes.
Identifying safe cycling routes
Researchers mapped different types of cycling infrastructure and assessed whether children could travel continuously using infrastructure such as separated bike paths, shared paths, quiet ways and painted bike lanes.
The research team developed a classification system using OpenStreetMap data and checked the results against street-view imagery. They then identified homes connected to their designated public primary or secondary school by general or safe cycling routes.
Their analysis found the issue was not simply whether a cycling path existed near a home or school, but whether it formed part of a continuous network.
"Local governments spend a lot of money to build more space for cyclists, but these are often road segments. They do not form a connecting network," says Dr Zhang.
Bikeability cannot be measured simply by counting cycle paths or measuring the distance between a home and a school, he says.
"A route may appear close to a school on a map but still be unsuitable if it is disconnected or requires children to ride alongside fast-moving traffic," says Dr Zhang.
In the study, bikeability was defined as continuous access to a destination via high-quality cycling infrastructure.
For school trips, the researchers assessed bikeability from a child's perspective. A route considered safe generally had to provide continuous access using infrastructure such as physically separated bike paths, shared paths or quiet, low-speed streets. A painted line on the road did not offer the same level of separation from motor vehicles.
"Safety in our research means that students have access to a bike lane that is separated from motor vehicles," says Dr Zhang. "It needs to be physically separated and protected - for example, by a curb or another form of physical separation, not just paint."
Low access across socioeconomic groups
When the researchers compared access across socioeconomic groups, they found safe cycling access was relatively evenly distributed.
"This apparent equity is primarily driven by a general lack of bikeability throughout the city," says Dr Zhang. "Our analysis showed that cycling access to public schools is statistically even but low across different socioeconomic groups."
The apparent equity therefore did not reflect good access across communities. Most communities had similarly limited access.
Areas with the highest proportions of households without vehicles were also among those with the lowest levels of safe cycling access. Together, these areas accounted for around 80% of all dwellings across Greater Melbourne.
"It looks like those people are double disadvantaged," says Dr Zhang. "They do not have access to a car, and they also do not have access to connected cycling pathways."
Areas with more families with children generally had better access to cycling routes, but these areas represented a relatively small proportion of the city.
Many middle-suburban areas had poor access, suggesting these communities may be overlooked by investment that focuses either on central cycling networks or outer-suburban growth areas, says Dr Zhang.
The study also found safe cycling infrastructure generally provided better access to secondary schools than primary schools, because high school students were considered safe to use painted bike lanes whereas younger children needed even greater protection from traffic.
Connecting the network
The researchers say future investment should assess whether cycling networks provide continuous, safe connections to everyday destinations - not simply whether a cycle path exists nearby.
"The framework we've developed in this study could also be used to assess access to other important destinations, including parks, shopping centres, and health services," says Dr Zhang.
"Cycling has well-recognised health and environmental benefits.
"Melbourne has a lot of cycling infrastructure, but improving how it connects could help more people use cycling as a practical form of transport."
