Education and infrastructure improvements are two of the measures that will be used to increase Geelong's appeal as a cycling friendly city.

On Tuesday night City of Greater Geelong Council adopted the Greater Geelong Cycle Strategy which contains a variety of recommendations aimed at fostering bicycle use in Geelong.

Council's Sport and Recreation portfolio holder Cr John Mitchell said the cycle strategy included a prioritised works plan to improve the existing network of cycle paths.

"The Greater Geelong Cycle Strategy recommends that further efforts be made to link existing on and off road cycle paths to create a fully connected network," said Cr Mitchell.

"The strategy found that Geelong is quite well served with off road recreational trails, and that the next phase of development should concentrate on building better links between paths, improving signage and developing safe crossing points.

"An education program is included in the strategy aimed at schools and workplaces to encourage greater use of bicycles for daily commuting.

A maintenance program is also recommended to ensure bike paths and road edges are regularly cleared of debris and other hazards," Cr Mitchell said.

The cycle strategy acknowledged that Geelong is home to a large sport cycling community and undertook a feasibility study into the development of a dedicated home for cycling.

Cr Mitchell said the strategy recommends the construction of an amalgamated home for cycling containing a criterium circuit, for road racing and training, plus a mountain bike trail and BMX facilities.

The strategy recommends that a new velodrome not be included at this stage but that the demand for a velodrome be reassessed in 2011.

In the meantime the existing velodrome at Western Oval should be resurfaced with a view to extending the life of the track for five years, the strategy recommends.

"Geelong has a long and proud history in the sport of cycling which includes legends such as Sir Hubert Opperman and dual Olympic gold medallist Russell Mockridge, more recently, we've hosted the UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup and in 2010 will be the venue for the World Road Cycling Championships," said Cr Mitchell.

"The adoption of the Greater Geelong Cycle Strategy is very timely given the approach of this major cycling event to the Geelong region, and gives more impetus to our to bid to establish Geelong as a major cycling city."

Cr Mitchell said the City made a draft version of the Greater Geelong Cycle Strategy available for public comment late last year.

"Extensive consultation with cyclists and other road and trail users was carried out during the preparation of the strategy."

Consultation methods included a questionnaire which drew more than 650 responses; a public workshop attended by approximately 80 people; surveys completed by more than half of all schools in Geelong; two saddle surveys involving cyclists, Councillors and City Managers and numerous meetings with relevant agencies and departments.

In the lead up to the public exhibition period of the draft strategy (March 07-November 07) there were 1870 visits to the Cycle Strategy webpage. 707 hits were recorded during the four week consultation period.