Mayor of Maribyrnong, Councillor Janet Rice, has won the Cycling Promotion Fund’s national ‘Award for Contribution to Cycling by a Politician’ for her efforts to promote and practice cycling as an alternative to car travel. This award was presented on 14 October at Cycling Australia’s 2006 Bicycling Achievement Awards dinner held in Melbourne.
The City of Maribyrnong is located in Melbourne’s inner west.
The awards are given for a project, initiative, organisation or individual which has made a difference in advancing cycling at the local, state or national level.
“It’s such a privilege to receive this award and so special because I’ve received it for doing something that’s really important to me,” Councillor Rice said.
Mayor Rice’s commitment to cycling was put in to practice early on in her Mayoral term, when she gave up the six cylinder Mayoral car and opted instead for a Mayoral bike – a first for Maribyrnong Council. On average, Councillor Rice rides 40 kilometres a week on Council related business, and has covered around 1400 kilometres since she commenced her term in November 2005.
“I’ve been a commuter cyclist for over 20 years, and I can’t recommend it enough,” she said. “It helps keep me healthy, it’s often faster than travelling by car in traffic clogged streets, and it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps the environment.”
Councillor Rice is also a founding member of the Maribyrnong Bicycle Users Group, and was instrumental in Maribyrnong’s successful nomination as one of Victoria’s two largest scale TravelSmart programs. This program has successfully promoted the benefits of cycling to local residents, schools and workplaces.
Councillor Rice said Maribyrnong Council has working very hard to make cycling easier and safer for residents and visitors.
“Over the last three years, we’ve installed multiple bike lanes and bike parking racks across the city,” she said. “We’ve also committed $820,000 for on and off road paths this financial year.” Council has also amended its planning requirements for new housing developments that support sustainable transport.
“I’ve also been very busy spreading the word about the fantastic cycling advances overseas, which I learnt about first hand from my Municipal Association of Victoria fellowship study tour this year. The highlight of my trip was visiting and cycling in Amsterdam, Groningen and Copenhagen which are among the world’s top cycling cities,” she said. “Since returning home, I’ve given eight public presentations about best practice sustainable transport planning, including two presentations to 150-200 people at transport forums at the Melbourne Town Hall and the Melbourne Museum, and a presentation to Councillors from across Victoria at a MAV conference.”
