Research apparently released on this date by the Road Safety Action Group Inner Melbourne reveals that 30 per cent of all car door crashes occurred on four major roads, one of which is St Kilda Road.
The City of Melbourne endorses The Bicycle Plan 2012–16, an "action plan for bicycle infrastructure and programs to make Melbourne safer and more attractive for current and future cyclists."
Statistics by VicRoads, updated to this date, reveal 15 "car-dooring" incidents on St Kilda Road in the past five years. This is the highest number of such incidents on any road in Melbourne throughout this period.
Transport councillor Cathy Oke announces the lane in a press release. "Anyone who has travelled along this stretch of road will know how hectic it can be with large numbers of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and tram commuters all sharing the space. Cars and cyclists in particular travel incredibly close to each other,” Cr Oke is says.
Community activist Anthony van der Craats publishes a long open letter to the council on his blog Melbourne City Council: Holding Them to Account. The letter calls for a deferral of the lane's construction, likening the proposal to the La Trobe street bike lane, which it says "has been a complete disaster".
A crowd-sourced "heat map" released by Facebook group "More bike lanes please" on this date indicates that at least five cycling crashes have occurred on St Kilda road in the past three months.
Several petitions in support of the bike lane, including a Facebook call to action by Melbourne BUG (Bicycle Users Group), appear online. A Facebook post by the Melbourne BUG predicts Cr Foster's move to defer the construction. "There's a real chance that the motion could be passed, and the projects could be abandoned," the post says.
Councillor Richard Foster's intention to move to defer the bike lane's construction is reported in The Age. Aisha Don writes that "[t]he motion will come before council on Tuesday night, but Cr Foster is unlikely to find a warm reception."
Construction works scheduled to begin on this date don't actually begin. Cr Richard Foster moves to defer the construction at the council's Future Committee Meeting, but the motion is voted down two to eight.
An article in The Age links the controversy over the St Kilda Road bike lane to coverage of the issue by several "shock jocks". Aisha Dow writes that "[r]adio broadcasters have been accused of running a pro-car campaign, fuelling community angst over Melbourne City Council's new separated bike lanes."
Councillor Cathy Okes says in a telephone interview that there were 90 submissions in support of the bicycle lane and describes the community reaction as "overwhelming support".
While construction on the project was originally scheduled to begin on 6 August, it becomes clear that such work has not started. Aisha Dow reports in The Age that "even though (Cr Foster's) motion was voted down nine to two, the possibility it could succeed was enough to make council staff change their plans late last week."
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