Calling on Mr Abbott: More bicycle infrastructure funds, please!

Dear Prime Minister Tony Abbott,

As an Australian family who are committed to leaving a safer, better, greener world for our daughter, I was rather dismayed to discover that funding for bicycle paths was not included in the 2014/15 Infrastructure budget. We need more people on bikes now! Reasons for this include:

1 -  63% of Australians are inactive.

2 -  Inactivity costs us a staggering 13.8 billion every year (in health and associated costs).

3 -  59% of Australians want to ride a bike but they're concerned about cars and trucks.

4 -  Separated lanes will overcome that concern.

5 -  If 59% of people take up riding we'll save at least $8.1 billion - every single year.

6 -  $7.5 billion will buy 7500 kilometres of separated bike lanes and paths.

7 -  It will transform Australia into the most bike friendly and physically active country in the world!

8 - Once word gets around that Australia is the most bike friendly country in the world, the tourists will flock like crazy. Everybody loves a country full of cute bike riders. Just ask the Danish and the Dutch!

So on behalf of bike riders everywhere, I humbly ask that you reconsider the Infrastructure budget, and find some money for bikes. $7.5 billion should do the trick in not only making us the envy of the world, but will do wonders for reducing obesity, pollution and a huge range of lifestyle cancers (how much do we spend on that each year, huh?)

Yours sincerely,
Jorth

PS Imagine that you did spend the money on creating safe bicycle lanes for one and all. Every time a cute bike rider pedalled past, you could think "Hey! I did that!". I'll leave you with that thought, Tony.

You can follow the Bicycle Network's Please Tony campaign here.