Work will soon begin on the first stage of the Kingston Cycleway, connecting the Inner South to the City, Tara Cheyne, ACT Minister for City Services, announced.

In coming weeks, a quick-build (temporary) two-way protected cycle lane will be constructed on Bowen Drive between the Kings Avenue Bridge and the Bowen Park carpark. It will take two months to complete.

The government will then begin the second stage of the Kingston Cycleway, connecting Bowen Park with Cunningham Street via Eastlake Parade.

“We want more Canberrans to walk and ride more often across our extensive path network,” Ms Cheyne said. “Providing new infrastructure and enhancing our existing network to make it safer and more attractive is a key deliverable in achieving this.”

The protected cycle lane would offer extra space for cyclists, which is greatly needed due to the high volume of cyclists using the route from Lake Burley Griffin to the Kingston Foreshore.

Community and advocacy groups have told the government that separated cycling infrastructure is necessary to improve safety and accessibility and to encourage more people to choose active travel.

A recycled separation kerb will keep cyclists apart from both motorists on the road and pedestrians on the path.

The pop-up cycleway is made from temporary materials and is less expensive and faster to build, so the government can assess its effectiveness and determine whether to make the infrastructure permanent.

“The trial of this infrastructure will influence future decision-making about the roll-out of similar infrastructure in other areas of Canberra,” Ms Cheyne said.

The government is considering more pop-up and quick-build projects; a consultancy tender is out to market.

Cycling advocacy group Pedal Power welcomed the start of works.

“This is much-needed infrastructure,” a spokesperson said. “Pop-up cycle lanes have been effectively used around the world as quick solutions to increase cycling participation rates. We really look forward to this being the first of many more improvements like this being implemented around town in the near future.

“We do, however, question why the Government has felt the need to announce this project again, as it has been in the pipeline for two years now. We certainly hope this is the last time this project gets announced, and we see works actually start soon, here and in other parts of Canberra.”

Pedal Power will hold a mass protest ride next Saturday calling for separated bike-only paths along Northbourne Avenue and for safe, convenient cycling infrastructure all over Canberra. This marks the twentieth anniversary of Canberra’s first on-road cycle lanes, on Northbourne Avenue.

“The ACT has some of the best cycling infrastructure in the country, and this is being expanded after a big boost in active travel investment at the 2023-24 ACT Budget,” Ms Cheyne said.

The government has invested more than $30 million in active travel improvements, bringing forward estimates to more than $94 million, Ms Cheyne said. This includes more than $26 million to make the ACT’s walking and cycling infrastructure safer, more accessible, and more convenient.

Under the Active Travel Plan 2024-30, released last month, the ACT Government will convert on-road cycle lanes on priority routes to safe separated facilities, including both permanent infrastructure and the use of quick-build infrastructure, Ms Cheyne said.

In the 2023-24 ACT Budget, the ACT Government provided $2.1 million to fund feasibility and design initiatives for innovative trials, including quick-build projects. The Kingston Cycleway is the first of these.

Northbourne Avenue will be upgraded as part of network expansions, and might be considered for a future quick-build trial, Ms Cheyne said.

“Given the complexity of the Northbourne Avenue Corridor, with multiple intersection and speed zones, light rail, and National Capital Authority approval oversight, it is essential that learnings from these trials and other feasibility and design initiatives are considered.

“However, any investment to improve conditions on Northbourne Avenue would not include removing a lane of traffic from one of Canberra’s main arterial roads.”

In the meantime, the government will build the new Garden City Cycle Route which will run through Watson, Downer, Hackett, Dickson, Ainslie and Braddon through to the city cycle loop on Bunda and Allara streets; the new Kingston Cycleway between the Bowen Park carpark and the Canberra Avenue service road; improvements to active travel infrastructure in the Gungahlin Town Centre; a new shared path along Sulwood Drive between Drakeford Drive and Athllon Drive; and a new nearly seven-kilometre, three-metre-wide asphalt off-road shared path along William Hovell Drive between Drake-Brockman Drive and Bindubi Street.

The ACT Government is committed to the Safe Systems Approach and Vision Zero, national road safety frameworks aiming for zero deaths and serious injuries across Australia by 2050. It emphasises safe speeds, roads, vehicles, and behaviours, including infrastructure design, to create a safe system for road travel.