Major bike link to connect Cairns CBD to southern suburbs

Cairns bike riders will be the big winners with plans to build a dedicated 20 kilometre off-road cycleway, connecting Cairns CBD to the southern suburb of Gordonvale.

Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister Michael McCormack said the cycleway was a huge boost for the community. 

“This is a key section in a series of new cycleway infrastructure being built along the Cairns Southern Access Corridor as part of the Cairns Bruce Highway Upgrade Masterplan,” Mr McCormack said.

“It’s an important step towards achieving our vison to build a sustainable, high-quality multi-modal transport network.”

Federal Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch said the Cairns Southern Access Cycleway will connect to new cycleways which are being built as part of the Bruce Highway – Cairns Southern Access Corridor – Stage 3: Edmonton to Gordonvale and Stage 4: Kate Street to Aumuller Street projects.

“Once these projects are complete, this cycleway will be one of the largest regional cycleways in Queensland,” Mr Entsch said.

Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the cycleway would be funded through the reinvestment of savings from the jointly funded $58 million Bruce Highway – Cairns Southern Access Corridor – Stage 2: Robert Road to Foster Road project.

"We completed that project about three months ahead of schedule, and we’re putting the savings from it back into the local community to build new recreational infrastructure,” Mr Bailey said. 

“We want Queenslanders to ride bikes more often and this off-road cycleway will provide a safe route for riders of all abilities and skills, including children and commuters to use for inter-suburb journeys.”

Speaker of the Queensland Parliament and State Member for Mulgrave Curtis Pitt said the project would deliver important health and safety benefits for Cairns residents.

“By providing a dedicated off-road bike riding option for commuting and recreation activity, we can support Far North Queenslanders with a safer environment that encourages people to be more active and swap their car trip for a bike ride,” Mr Pitt said.

“We have a $219 million budget over four years to build new bike paths and infrastructure across Queensland, so additional projects like this will add more kilometres to our bike networks for locals and visitors to the region.”

Works will start in 2020 and are expected to finish in mid-2021, weather permitting.

ENDS

Media contact: Francis Dela Cruz - 0420 592 078