Bike Week 2008
Cycling in Brisbane is an increasingly popular way to travel.
We have 760 kilometres of bikepaths along roads, scenic waterways and through parklands.
I am committed to more cycling for Brisbane. I have a vision of Brisbane as a city of cycles. Cycling as a greener way to travel, as an active leisure pursuit, and as a way to sightsee.
One of the major initiatives Council supports is Bicycle Queensland's Bike Week, which helps get more people active and more people saving the environment.
This year, I am pleased to welcome an exciting new event, the Brisbane Coot-tha Challenge.
Developed by Bicycle Queensland and Brisbane Marketing's Major Events, the Coot-tha Challenge will be Brisbane's "cycle marathon". It will be a mass-participation cycling event attracting thousands of cyclists, both amateur and professional, from all over the country. The event will help boost our national profile and our local economy.
And when the Australian first King George Square Cycle Centre opens as part of the Inner Northern Busway, cyclists will get a world-class end-of-trip facility with secure bike parking, showers and lockers - right here in the heart of the city.
For those without a bike of their own, my newest initiative is Brisbane's bikeshare scheme - based on a European model and one of the first in this country. Through the scheme, people can hire bikes for short trips across the city.
Bikeshare is aimed at keeping Brisbane moving and will become a real alternative to driving or catching a cab across town.
It is another step toward making Brisbane Australia's cycle city - and the greenest city in Australia.
Campbell Newman
Lord Mayor
