Melbourne cyclists are raising safety concerns about a bike path linked to the multi-billion dollar West Gate Tunnel project, saying women should have been consulted about the design.
Bike riders fear the elevated 2.5-kilometre pathway, which includes a stretch enclosed in a cage, will leave women vulnerable to physical attack with limited escape routes.
"As somebody who rides a lot, I don't want to go in an enclosed bikeway," cyclist Tina McCarthy said.
"When something happens, you need an exit point right there to be able to get away, or you need to be able to be in a position where you can attract somebody's attention."
The "veloway", planned as part of the state government's West Gate Tunnel project, has been promoted as a cycling highway connecting Footscray in Melbourne's west to Docklands.
Public information lists safety features including lighting, monitored CCTV, two emergency exit points and capability for emergency vehicle access.
It will also remove the need for cyclists to tackle a notoriously dangerous section of Footscray Road, along which cyclist Angus Collins, 22, died in a crash with a cement truck last month.
Ms McCarthy, who runs the Wheel Women Cycling Club, welcomed the concept of the separated cycleway but questioned whether women had been considered in the design.
"I want to be somewhere where there's passive surveillance, I don't want to be in a space where there's not an exit point quickly," she said.
Female cyclists are calling for a rethink of the caged cycleway's plans and better consultation with women more broadly about the planning of bike infrastructure.
"This is untenable, women aren't going to ride in that space," cyclist Elena Pereyra said.
She said it was inevitable some women would end up riding on dangerous roads instead of along the planned bike highway because of personal safety fears.
"You're forcing women to choose between two terrible scenarios and that just doesn't feel fair," she said.
Ms Pereyra is a member of Bike West, which advocates for cycling infrastructure in Melbourne's western suburbs. She also ran as a Greens candidate in last year's state election.
"This is a systemic issue … spaces being designed by men for men," Ms Pereyra said.
"Women are being forced out of those spaces so they perpetually get more and more dominated by male users and by the behaviour and culture that comes along with that."
Ms Pereyra — who rides a well-used bike decked out with a baby carrier and a basket — is a frequent cyclist.
"Male cyclists will come and ride on my tail and sometimes it's completely innocent and they just don't realise the experience that the female rider might actually be having," she said.
"I've had situations where I've sped up to try lose someone or I've slowed right down thinking that they'll go around and they just stay following you.
"Sometimes it does feel very, very uncomfortable."
Push to encourage cycling, while studies show women want safety
Around the world, governments are pushing to get more people riding bikes, including in Victoria.
In Melbourne, painted, on-road bike lanes make up 99 per cent of cycleways, according to Monash University.
A new study, led by Monash's Lauren Pearson, has found women in particular value protected bike lanes and off-road paths.
Separate Monash studies have also found women and diverse cyclists reported feeling more unsafe in areas with poor lighting, few other people around, bad lines of sight and where they felt trapped.
"The majority of design and planning for infrastructure for riding bikes comes from traffic engineers and only 15 per cent of those are women in Australia," Dr Pearson said.
Her research found 77 per cent of women were interested in riding a bike.
In reality, only about 14 per cent of women and girls ride, according to a 2021 study by Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand.
That compared to 23 per cent of males.
Dr Pearson said women faced considerations men did not when jumping on a bike, including the prospect of sexual harassment.
High-profile murders and attacks on women across Melbourne in recent years create a collective backdrop to the personal safety concerns held by many.
"Are they going to take a trip home that takes them through a dark and secluded underpass where there aren't many people?" Dr Pearson said.
Cycling group called off a ride out of safety concerns
Those safety considerations recently led the Wheel Women Cycling Club to cancel a group ride.
Tina McCarthy had to ride along the Capital Trail under the freeway to get to the starting point of the ride.
"It was dark and a few times I'd seen people hanging around and I just didn't feel comfortable with it," she said.
"I also started to feel like the other girls are coming through, I wasn't really prepared for them to go through those issues as well."
Bike West has made several submissions to the West Gate Tunnel Authority regarding concerns about the planned veloway, the group's president John Symons said.
"Those were unprompted submissions. They didn't come and speak to us and we received no response to those submissions," he said.
The West Gate Tunnel Authority have been approached by the ABC for comment.
In a statement provided after publication, the state government said stakeholders had been involved in the design and planning of the veloway.
"In developing the veloway design, and as part of the planning and environmental approvals for the project, extensive consultation was undertaken with community stakeholders and cycling groups," a spokesperson said.
