The $11.7 million dollar Active Travel Plan will connect 43 kilometres of roads and paths from Charles Sturt University, through Estella, into the CBD, Kooringal, Forest Hill and on to Kapooka.

It is a plan that is welcomed by lifelong cyclist Andrew Treloar.

“These kinds of things are very welcomed, especially if they include segregation areas. It means confidence for riders and drivers, that they’re in their own zones where they’re safe,” Mr Treloar said.

“It’s especially important for commuter cyclists who are riding on the main roads right now. It could even encourage people to cycle to work, which would then even reduce traffic congestion.”

Council’s Strategic Asset Planner Ben Creighton is confident the plan will mean minimal disruption to traffic flow through the CBD, despite the acquisition of lane space along Fox, Morrow, Baylis, Forsyth and Morris streets.

“There will be no loss of parking along these roads, and what we found is that these roads had wide reserves that can accommodate the [additional] lane without slowing traffic,” Mr Creighton said.

RG Burkinshaw Transport operations manager Colin Champion worries the already congested lanes will become a problem for wide vehicles if the lanes are slimmed further to allow for cyclists.

“These vehicles are about 2.4 metres wide, so they definitely need that extra space to give the bikes a safe space.

The problem with taking away that extra room is there is that there will be nowhere to pull over if there’s a breakdown,” Mr Champion said.

“Most of the time it’ll be alright but that one time you need it that’s when you won’t have it. That extra few metres saves lives.

“Those who make these decisions to take away the lane width have obviously never driven a truck down the main road,” he said.

Public submissions on the Active Travel Plan will only be open until Wednesday June 13, due to time pressures to have the project in completion by 2020.