Calls for change as deteriorating roads expose big 'risk' to Aussies
Aussie road users are growing increasingly fed up with the deteriorating state of the tarmac across the country. New data reveals reports of sub-par roads and bike paths have tripled in the past three years, with "no signs of slowing down".
While the number of reports correlates with an uptick in Aussies opting to travel on their bikes, the state of roads poses an "increasing risk" to the wellbeing of cyclists, according to Danny Gorog, CEO of council reporting app Snap Send Solve.
Cycling advocacy group Bicycle NSW's CEO Peter McLean has called on authorities to pay attention to the complaints, telling Yahoo it's critically important "all three tiers" of government acknowledge that there are more cyclists than ever on the roads.
"We need to evolve and react to managing our assets and infrastructure more appropriately," he said. "People want better, more consistent infrastructure, and where they're not seeing it, they are reporting it," he said.
Since 2020, cycling has seen a "massive uptake", according to McLean. Now, over five million Australians are riding a bike every week, particularly with the advent of e-bikes.
With that, has come a rise in complaints on the state of infrastructure meant to serve cyclists. Last year, there was a "record-breaking" 5,235 reports of issues in bike paths including crumbling tarmac, regular debris in the way, as well as overgrown nature strips across the country, according to Snap Send Solve data.
2025 looks like it's going to be even worse with 3,153 reports already recorded between January and May this year.
"This rapid growth strongly suggests that conditions on the ground are deteriorating year over year," Gorog told Yahoo News Australia.
While the Snap Send Solve app itself is increasing in popularity among responsible citizens, he believes the rise in complaints is "unlikely" to be explained simply by reporting behaviour alone.
"It signals worsening infrastructure conditions, poor repairs, ageing bike lanes, and potentially inadequate maintenance cycles," he said.
He warns the current pace of deterioration could "undermine broader mobility goals and pose increasing risks to cyclists." Gorog hopes the insights will guide smarter investments and ongoing upgrades from authorities.
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It's not just the quality of the roads putting cyclists at risk, but also fellow road users like car drivers. A disproportionate amount of crashes involve cyclists on Australian roads despite them being a small percentage of overall road users.
Last year, cyclist deaths jumped from 34 in 2023 to 38 in 2024, an 11.8% increase, with motor vehicles involved in the majority of crashes.
Footage shared earlier this year shows a scary near-miss between a driver and a cyclist in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.
Cyclist Rory Meister told Yahoo News he thought it was "absurd" the driver didn't see him despite having flashing lights on his bike. He said incidents with drivers are alarmingly frequent.
McLean previously told Yahoo education and awareness are the first port of call for improving safety for cyclists. "Fundamentally, we need better awareness at an early stage of when people are getting their licenses," he said.
"There's lots of great drivers out there and we just need to equalise everyone on the road."
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