A report into the improvement of cycling infrastructure around the Perth metropolitan area has been tabled by the Auditor General in Parliament today.

The Viable Cycling in the Perth Area report looked at what WA state and local governments have done in response to reccomendations from the Auditor General in 2015.

State Auditor General, Caroline Spencer, told Oliver Peterson the state is falling short.

“Planning for the joined up network is really important,” she said. “What we want to see is really comprehensive planning and implementation of that.”

The audit looked at the Department of Transport, MainRoads and the Road Safety Commission – as well as four local governments; Cockburn, Perth, Kalamunda and Bayswater.

“We were really pleased to see Cockburn is doing some good promotion and engagement and planning around some of it’s new paths,” she said. “What we found though is that a lot of paths in local government don’t meet the recommended widths.”

85 kilometers of paths have been built since the last 2015 audit, but Ms Spencer says this isn’t enough.

“It’s long been identified we need a hundred kilometers to link some of those major destinations and some of those key spots where paths drop off,” she said.

Ms Spencer believes changes to cycling infrastructure will promote the benefits of cycling, and will make cycling more viable for the community.

“It’s about safety and it’s also about good planning for the future.”

Press PLAY to hear the full interview