Phillip Island Cyclists member Owen Bentley has started a petition calling for a path between Cowes and Ventnor.
An online petition calling for a path between Cowes and Ventnor has been signed by up to 200 people.
The petition, on change.org, was started at the beginning of the month and will run for another fortnight before being presented to Bass Coast Shire Council.
It calls for a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists between the two towns and was started by long-term local and dedicated cyclist Owen Bentley with his friend Lisa Bendtsen.
Owen said a path between Cowes and Ventnor had been flagged by the shire several years ago, but “then buried”, adding it was more urgent now than ever.
“There’s no off-road path the whole way, with many parts of the route requiring cyclists to mix with traffic,” he said.
“Church Street is a nightmare because of the amount of cars and there’s no shoulder.”
He envisaged the path would be about eight kilometres long and three metres wide, running ideally along the coastline, but more realistically along Ventnor Road.
Owen is one of the original members of Phillip Island Cyclists, which has 700 members and sees rides around the island on weekends – and in summer during the week – of about 50km.
“The group is more about road riding. We do some trails and tracks so the path would be for all the public to enjoy.
“I’m a big supporter of active transport, that we should make it easy for people to ride or walk if they can.
“Most people are happy to ride five to 10km if you give them a safe place to ride where they’re not hassled by traffic, or hassle traffic.”
Those who have signed the petition already agree with Owen.
Andrew Degorski wrote: “I’m signing because I do not feel safe riding between Ventnor and Cowes, especially with children”.
Rohan Bowers said roads were too narrow to ride for adults and kids “and it’s busy all year round on them now”.
Julia Mascitelli agreed.
“I don’t feel safe riding on the roads during peak tourist times. The island is becoming busier and busier and this bike path would provide another option for cyclists who feel unsafe sharing roads with motorists.”
www.change.org/p/bass-coast-shire-council-build-a-path-from-ventnor-to-cowes
