I hope it's just spin, otherwise I expect it will be a disaster and end at the first fatality. (It's only public money after all, always available in plenty, with no regard at all to value for the taxpayer. /sarc)

Our CBD is not bicycle friendly, nor do I want it to be - the bicycle couriers and lycra warriors now are completely feral, let's not encourage more. I don't care about talk of "educating" people, after all these years of talk, bicycle riders still do not obey the laws, are a complete danger to everyone around them in the city.

So to this mix we want to add complete amateurs on heavy bicycles, it's a recipe for disaster.

Other cities of the world who have such features, also have wide footpaths and often, dedicated bicycle lanes on the footpath, not on the over-congested and narrow roads like Melbourne has. (e.g. Paris, Vienna)

Do the people who come up with these ideas for Melbourne have such little idea of the conditions?

On the other hand maybe they do, so OK, let's do it, and when enough people have died or been maimed and sued the city, then we can ban bicycles from the CBD forever!

That works for me.

I agree, Amicus, that bikes only work in cities that are designed for them. I'm a cyclist, and I'm fortunate enough to live in a city with wide roads and dedicated bikeways the length and breadth of the town. The thought of riding through the CBD of a major city makes me shudder!

Interestingly, despite the generally courteous nature of cyclists in Townsville (and that is a generalisation - there are idiots on bikes here, just as there are idiots on bikes everywhere else), we are faced with an increasingly hostile driving public. Even when I am riding in the shoulder or in a bike lane, it isn't uncommon for drivers to shout abuse for no apparent reason. I wear a helmet, I ride with lights at night and I always keep out of the way of drivers. The reality is that there are idiots in cars as well as idiots on bikes. If they're offended (as so many seem to be) by the cycling community's love of lycra, then they should probably be more considerate of our eyes when they hoick their blubbery behinds and lovely muffin-tops out of their cars, cigarette in hand (if it hasn't been flung out the window already). I'll stick to muscles rippling through lycra over fat bulging through stretchy jeans any day!