Residents throughout Greater Bendigo have embraced walking and cycling as ways to get their daily exercise during COVID19 restrictions.
Automated counters installed on each of the City's key walking and cycling corridors - Bendigo Creek Trail in Golden Square and White Hills, Back Creek Trail in Flora Hill and White Hills and the O'Keefe Rail Trail in Junortoun have shown a 100 to 120 per cent increase in usage during April 2020 compared to the same time last year.
City of Greater Bendigo Active and Healthy Manager Lincoln Fitzgerald said walking and cycling have proven to be a great way for residents to get outside and enjoy some safe physical activity during the COVID19 restrictions.
"Many residents are enjoying the benefits of walking and cycling during the restrictions and discovering that Greater Bendigo has a great network of walking and cycling paths, trails and cycleways," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"More than 12,600 people were recorded crossing the Back Creek counter by foot or by bike in April which is a new record for trail counters across the City.
"The first data has also been received from the counter on the University to City Centre protected cycleway in Ellis Street. In the first week of data collection 64 (448 total) bicycles per day were recorded crossing the counter. This is comparable to early counts on the Back Creek Trail.
"This is a strong start for Bendigo's first protected cycleway considering the main trip generators, the University and school, are currently closed. It's a new concept for our residents and it will take time for them to adjust to the new setup.
"It is encouraging to see more people walking and cycling across the City by finding safe and comfortable places to do this.
"The restrictions have proven a good opportunity for residents to try out walking and cycling and hopefully this will continue when life returns to normal."
