Cycling in Melbourne Australia
Moreland City Council want to spend big $ on bicycles
LOTS here - http://moreland-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/bike-strategy-p...
inc. our very own 'Green Wave'
Upfield Path:
What: A 10km, largely off-road, shared path running adjacent to the Upfield railway line from Parkville to Fawkner.
Estimated cost: $8.4 million
Highlights: Link to Western Ring Rd Trail; widen path to 3m create bypass lanes; install public lighting and pedestrian-controlled lights programmed for a `wave’ of green lights for cyclists.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by AlexZ on -
Great find Cory!
I remember a few roadside 'questionnaires' on the side of Sydney road during peak hour 6 months or so ago (before the new Green lanes were put in), so from the looks of the works proposed, some of the feedback has gone to good use.
Moreland's my home turf, and I ride a suprising amount of the mentioned tracks (the Merri Creek/Ring Road/Moonee Ponds Creek/Capital Citry trail is a favorite pseudo road loop right now (about 43km), and commute regularly on both Sydney Road and Upfield tracks. The latter two both need serious work, so good to see some funds there; personally they would be the higher priorities purely on rider numbers.
Note that these are all just proposed, so not sure how the prioritization/ranking of these will occur. Note the Sydney road improvements is mostly in the hands of Vicroads; how much of the $88K if for 'lobbying' would be interesting to know.
'Green wave' will need a 'recommended speed' for users, but I'm doubtful... Bugger if you are too slow.... ;P
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Permalink Reply by Cory on -
The thing is, with a route such as the Upfield path, the early parts are pretty-much speed zoned anyway. Limited space for overtaking. Can't really get up to speed much before the next crossing/lights.
So, to have it so that you could ride at an 'appropriate' pace and not have to stop would be awesome, and if done well, the tortoise may well outpace the hare.
But lots of those other highlighted spots look great too!
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Permalink Reply by Will Satur on -
Wonder if there is a way I can send this to Stonnington Council. It might make them change their mind from the $0 that they currently spend on Cycling Infrastructure.
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Permalink Reply by Will Satur on
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Thanks Cory email has been sent.
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Permalink Reply by Adrian Wal on -
In Stonnington, the philosophy "every road is a bike road" applies, versus a council like Moreland or Yarra. Hopefully Stonnington BUG gets started soon, which is being worked on by Boroondara BUG.
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Permalink Reply by Will Satur on
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"Every road is a bike road" not according to the drivers around here. Had to have a bit of a chuckle though. Biggest cop out I have heard so as not to have to spend on cycling.
I hope your right about the BUG but time will tell.
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Permalink Reply by Cory on
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The reply is, so spend $ on education, so that all road users know that. (Of course, they'll say that's the State's issue, but really, if they defer the spend b/c of that, they need to inform the ratepayers).
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Permalink Reply by Adrian Wal on
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I attended one meeting of the Boroondara BUG and met one bloke who has done a logo and working on the framework for a Stonnington BUG. Boroondara BUG meeting minutes indicate there has been no additional information since that meeting.
The only reason I don't complain too much about the area is that High Street is wide enough to ride, either shared left lane clearway times or as a parking lane off-peak. Also, there's lots of local streets, which can connect with some creative use of pedestrian crossings (legality of some things you must do to stay safe are a problem though).
Streets with bike lanes in Stonnington could be counted on one hand.
After attending a fair few CBD BUG meetings in Brisbane, I have come to the conclusion that they are very influential if you have the numbers. Different turf in Brisbane though, 1 gigantic council with a huge boundary, versus Melbourne, where you have little councils fighting for bread crumbs like seagulls. So unless we have super super councils in Melbourne, it will be hard to change the Stonnington area without cyclist numbers banding together.
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Permalink Reply by Adrian Wal on
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Dotted bike lanes are so dangerous and should be banned from the engineering manuals. And yes so much space in the burbs, either in the centre traffic island or on the side of the road for a dedicated bike path. But whenever these off road paths get built, they are no more than a metre or 2 wide, they have more curves than Kim Kardashian, enough bumps to flatten a slick road tyre in 5 minutes, you have to get paranoid at every driveway, and more than likely you have to walk your bike to legally cross any intersection (after pressing button to "apply" to cross).
Funniest example I know of, Hume Freeway trail, half the path was done with cement trowl gaps and road tyres just go bump-bump-bump at more than 20km/h. Someone complained, and the other half was finished with more smoother angle grinder gaps.
Some of the dotted lane I know on Swan St, Bridge Rd and Burwood Rd in Burnley/Richmond/Hawthorn leave no safe passing distance. Have to try to take the lane in these situations, to the anger of motorists who think it's OK to leave 1 inch between their mirror and your handlebar.
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