Most bike lanes in inner Melbourne have less than 40% tree cover – that'll get worse, new maps show

Walking and cycling is good for people and the planet. But hot sunny days can make footpaths, bike lanes and city streets unbearable. Climate change will only make matters worse.

So city planners and decision-makers need to provide adequate shade for walking, cycling and other forms of active transport – including from good tree canopy cover. Unfortunately, our recent research reveals Melbourne's transport strategy and its separate strategy to increase canopy cover from 22% to 40% by 2040 aren't currently working together. Our research found most bicycle lanes in inner Melbourne today have less than 40% canopy cover.



And as the maps below show, future bicycle lanes will have even less. There's plenty of room for improvement. Searching for shady lanes We used the City of Melbourne as a case study to explore bikeability, tree cover and health.

The city council area covers 37 square kilometres, taking in suburbs from leafy Parkville to industrial Fishermans Bend. When we mapped tree canopy cover against the active transport network, we found most bicycle lanes have less than 40% canopy cover. Some cycling corridors – such as along Royal Parade and parts of St Kilda Road – stand out with relatively high canopy cover.

But they are few and far between. Existing bike lanes And it's about to get worse. Bicycle lanes proposed for construction have lower overall tree canopy coverage than existing lanes, particularly in urban renewal areas in post-industrial precincts such as Fishermans Bend and Docklands.

Along Royal Parade and St Kilda Road corridors, additional bicycle lanes are proposed next to existing lanes. However, in current conditions, the proposed new bicycle lanes have lower canopy coverage than existing bicycle lanes along the same corridor. Proposed bike lanes The city's.

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