CENTRAL Victorians want political leaders to tear down barriers that make walking harder, an advocacy group says as it releases the results of a new poll.
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Victoria Walks has found 68 per cent of central Victorians wanted poorly maintained footpaths fixed, well above the 59 per cent concerned about such issues statewide.
More than half of central Victorian pedestrians surveyed complained of difficulty crossing main roads, traffic moving too fast and too little shade.
Could Commonwealth Games provide the answer?
The survey could be a boon as the City of Greater Bendigo seizes on the 2026 Commonwealth Games to argue it wants millions of dollars for walking tracks.
The council is racing to lock in state funding for new paths to get huge throngs of tourists, athletes and officials off Bendigo roads.
It wants to avoid traffic congestion wreaking havoc in key parts of Bendigo over two weeks of sporting events.
The council has already used closed-door talks to consider a pedestrian "superhighway" connecting games venues.
It was yet to fund almost $11 million worth of projects when approached by Victoria Walks last March.
It was not immediately clear on Friday whether new announcements for an athletes' village and temporary cycling velodrome might change the council's footpath calculous.
The state government revealed the venues would be located in Flora Hill and at the Bendigo showgrounds, respectively.
But Greater Bendigo was already talking about its pedestrian superhighway after earlier venue confirmations at the city centre's Bendigo Bowls Club and West Bendigo's Red Energy Arena.
It has also been playing a key role in closed-door discussions with games organisers for half a year.
Victoria Walks eyes path to election promises
The advocacy group has added all those projects to a newly released statewide election wish list, including new paths to help reimagine the Bendigo Creek, plugged gaps in the footpath networks, new crossings and underpasses at 13 sites and a new walking strategy.
Victoria Walks has declared whoever forms government after November's election must commit to driving up the number of trips people make on foot.
"Each week there are over five million car trips in Victoria under one kilometre," they said.
"This is unsustainable and misses an opportunity to address a leading cause of preventable illness in Victoria, where almost 70 per cent of adults and one quarter of children are overweight or obese."
Victorians do not want streets that throw up barriers to walking, Victoria Walks said.
"The recent ... survey found 89 per cent of Victorians want a combination of government actions to help them walk more in their local area," it told politicians vying for election.
The poll also suggests there could be support for reducing speed limits on some roads throughout central Victoria and into Swan Hill.
A total of 58 per cent of those respondents wanted safer speeds on main roads, while 60 per cent wanted default 40km/hour residential limits.
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I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
