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Community facilities | February 22, 2018

Members Statements Electric Bicycles

Victorian Parliament - 22 February 2018 - Ms KEALY — I wish to raise a matter regarding e‑bikes in the community of Halls Gap. We have an issue where e‑bikes are travelling along the shared path for bikes and pedestrians, and there have been a number of bikes which are travelling over 25 kilometres per hour and putting young people’s lives at risk. Last Sunday week an eight‑year‑old girl was hit by one of these bikes.

Unfortunately we have got a situation where the council cannot put in a by‑law because state rules regarding bikes overrule it. The police cannot police it because it is not a public road. Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning are also finding it difficult to find a solution. I spoke to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change last night about this, and she agreed that she would work with us to try to find a solution. We are looking forward to trying to get some resolution on this so that we can provide a safe environment for our local community.