UPDATE: Burwood Highway Pedestrian Bridge construction

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I went for a quick ride around the west side of Knox this afternoon just to check some progress on a few things, and one thing I saw was a mobile electronic road sign notifying motorists the Burwood Highway will be closed at the pedestrian bridge site from 8:00 pm Friday May 29 to 11:00 am Saturday May 30. This full closure will allow for the erection of the pedestrian bridge over Mountain Highway. This is a major milestone which is a long time coming. Also, according to the VicRoads road updates section of their website, construction on the bridge is set to cease on June 19, so if all goes well, we should see the bridge being open before the end of this financial year!

Melbourne Bike Routes is now on Twitter!

I have come up with a solution for my infrequent updates on this blog. I have now set up a Twitter account for this blog. This enables me to post 140 character or less updates, which keeps my news and views short and sweet whilst keeping this blog as active as I possibly can at this present time. Enjoy!

Oh, and I have also removed the poll section of my blog for the time being (it will hopefully be back soon) and have replaced it with Twitter updates, so you have one destination for my updates, either through blogger or twitter!

Sorry for the lack of activity

While I hold high importance for this blog, Melbourne Bike Routes will sometimes be inactive for periods of time. As much as I would like to generate and post material on here for Melbourne cyclists to read about, I am becoming increasingly busy with my personal life including work, study and social. Remember if there is something you want to ask me about Melbourne's bicycle network or this site in general, feel free to leave a comment and I will try to follow it up. I try to keep posts to a strict minimum of at least one post per calender month, just to show that this site is still active and will not drift into cyberspace.

I will also try to push some new posts out in the near future. A bit over a month ago, I decided to ride the whole of the Darebin Creek Trail, that is, from the Heidelberg Road bridge, roughing it along the edge of the creek through the missing gap around Bundoora Park, right up to Epping North. I will post about that soon.

A couple of local (for me) projects that are keeping me interested is how the hell is the Burwood Highway Pedestrian Bridge taking forever to build?! At the rate this is being built, the Maroondah Highway one will be finished before this! There will also be a new shared path along Mountain Highway under EastLink on the northern side to link with the EastLink Trail at the entrance to Koomba Park which is currently seeking VicRoads approval and construction should start any day now.

I also hate the disorganisation of the Bicycle Victoria site. Everything is all over the place. They need a 'latest updates' page to highlight which pages new information has been added to. I hate going through individual pages to see if someone might have added some more information about a path or project.

Plan to build cycle path on West Gate Bridge

I have received information that I am quite estatic about. As part of the VicRoads West Gate Bridge Strengthening Project, an "international quality" cycle path will be built on the northern side of the bridge, with the four metre wide path being joined onto the existing deck structure by revelutionary 'tack on' technology which adds virtually no extra stress onto the existing structure. Bicycle Victoria released a statement earlier today stating that "Even though the Victorian Cycling Strategy was a large boost to the cycling movement across the state, we cannot thank the state government and VicRoads enough for this late, but very impresssive gift to the cyclists of Victoria."

The path will only be open to cyclists, with control points at each end where you must obtain a new 'cycle pass' card to allow access. The control points will also be closed during times of high wind. Instead, riders with a 'cycle pass' will receive a free trip on the cycle punt raft across the Yarra River, which will only operate when the bridge cycle path is closed when the path is completed. Along with high unscalable fencing along the whole of the path, it will be impossible to leave the path once on the bridge. The total cost of this project has been estimated at $30 million dollars and should be completed by 2011, along with the strengthening works.

I believe that this project will result in Melbourne being put on every cycle tourist's list right at the very top. Those who ride in events such as "Around the Bay in a Day" relish the opportunity to cycle on the bridge. Being able to ride on it to work or for leisure whenever you want is something totally different altogether.

MAJOR NEWS: Victorian Cycling Strategy released!

After the release of this plan was delayed in Feburary due to the bushfires, Brumby (premier) and Pallas (minister for roads and ports) today jointly released the "Victorian Cycling Strategy" (not the "Victorian Bicycle Plan" name I was using) at some park I could not identify when I saw footage on Ten News!


I have briefly read the plan and have summarised the planned improvements which are only relevant to "Melbourne Bike Routes" If you are looking for regional bike route improvements and other aspects of the plan which are non-route based (such as school education programs etc. etc., you should look at the plan yourself)


Whilst I think the statistics and graphs and tables are good analysis to the current cycling situation in Victoria, like yourself, I am only interested in what they are actually going to do in terms of cycling infrastructure in Melbourne. I will now start my comprehensive list of planned improvements relevant to MBR.


CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY OR WILL COMMENCE IN 2009/2010

• Federation Trail extension: Off-road bicycle path from Millers Road, Altona to Williamstown Road, Yarraville.
  
  
• Merri Creek Pipe Bridge – Merri Creek Trail re-alignment path as part of upgrade of pipe bridge by Melbourne Water.
  
  
• Bicycle crossing: At the intersection of Willsmere Road and the Anniversary Trail, Kew.
  
  Google Street View
  
  
• Gardiners Creek Trail upgrade: Widening and general improvement works between Glenferrie Road and Toorak Road.
  
  
• Fitzroy Street path: Off-road bicycle path between Acland Street to Albert Park, St Kilda.
  
  
• Mount Alexander Road lanes: On-road bicycle lanes at the Shamrock Street/Grice Crescent intersection.
  
  Google Street View
  
• Maribyrnong River Trail extension: Off-road bicycle path along Hyde Street, Somerville Road and Whitehall Street to Footscray Road.
  
  
• Cecil Street lanes upgrade: Upgrade of on-road bicycle lanes along between Albert Road and Whiteman Street, South Melbourne.
  
  
• Maroondah Highway footbridge: Construction of a new bridge over the Maroondah Highway in Lilydale to form an extension of the Lilydale - Warburton Rail Trail from Maroondah Highway to Lilydale Railway Station.
  
  
• York Road traffic lights: Provision of a signalised crossing on the Lilydale-Warburton Rail Tail to provide access across York Road, Mt. Evelyn.
  
  
• Bulleen Road lanes: New on-road bicycle lanes between the Koonung Creek (the creek bridge, not the trail) to Golden Way.

PRIORITY ACTIONS AND PROJECTS MENTIONED IN THE VICTORIAN TRANSPORT PLAN TO BE COMPLETED BY 2021

• 10km radius priority cycle routes: The routes highighted in blue on the map below show routes (both on and off road) which will receive priority attention to help make inner city cycling faster and more comfortable.

• Federation Trail - Maribyrnong River Trail link: Off-road bicycle path from Williamstown Road to Hyde Street, Yarraville.
  
  
• Balwyn Road facilities: Provide on-road bicycle facilities on Balwyn Road, Balwyn.
  
  
• Fitzroy bicycle priority traffic lights: Installation of bicycle priority signals at selected intersections in Fitzroy.
  
  
• Williamstown - Docklands/CBD link: Connect Williamstown to the Melbourne CBD and Docklands.
  
  
• Inner east route upgrade/extension: Upgrade the cycle route to the east, extending the existing route to Kew/Camberwell North.
  Note: I am not sure what this route actually is. If anyone knows, please leave a comment.
  
• Gardiners Creek Trail further upgrades: Further upgrades (suggesting it will occur in sections other than Glenferrie - Toorak Roads as mentioned above) for the trail.
  
  
• Maribyrnong River Trail upgrade: Suggests that it is just a general upgrade of existing sections of trail.
  
  
• North inner city link upgrade: Link and possibly upgrade the link from Queens Parade to Albert Street.
  
  
• Yarra Bend Park / Eastern Freeway link: Link the Chandler Highway to Wellington Street.
  
  
• CBD on-road lanes: Improve bicycle facilities along William Street and Latrobe Street as primary routes into and through the CBD.
  
  
• Inner north - south routes: Improve bicycle facilities on key north-south routes, including Royal Parade, St Georges Road and Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.
  
  
• CBD North bike bypass: Create a northern CBD bicycle bypass to the west to connect with the Maribyrnong River Trail.
  
  
• Merri Creek Trail upgrade: Upgrade of the Merri Creek trail around Rushall Station.
  
  
• Capital City Trail / Main Yarra Trail - Melb. Uni. link: Link Melbourne University with the Capital City Trail / Main Yarra Trail in the east.
  
  
• Maribyrnong area links: Provide links outlined in the Maribyrnong Cycling Strategy, possibly including a link between Footscray and Sunshine.
  
  
• Capital City Trail / Main Yarra Trail access upgrade: Improve access to the Capital City Trail on the south bank of the Yarra River near Alexandra Avenue at Yarra Street in South Yarra.
  
  
• Footscray Road improvements: Improve cycling access along Footscray Road to the CBD.
  
  
• Other links improvements: Improve key links in the Prahran area and Eastern suburbs.
  
  
• Albert Street / Elizabeth Street improvements: Improve links in Albert Street and Elizabeth Street in line with works to be undertaken by Melbourne City Council.

OTHER PROJECTS

• 
  
  Diamond Creek Trail extension: Off-road path between Diamond Creek and Hurstbridge stations.
• 
  
  Freeway paths: Off-road paths alongside the Frankston Bypass (Peninsula Link) and the Dingley Arterial (between Westall Road Extension and Dandenong Bypass).
• 
  
  Cycle route planning website: Development of a cycle route planning website with information about different types of cycle routes in the network and links to public transport. This website may be incorporated in or linked to the State Government’s journey planning website for public transport (Metlink).
• 
  
  Public bike hire scheme: This program, provided for under the Victorian Transport Plan, will establish a system for Melbourne based on successful systems in Paris and other parts of Europe. It will promote greater usage of existing cycling infrastructure in central Melbourne, and promote cycling for short trips in and around the CBD. The system will extend the reach of public transport at the destination, as cycling is faster than walking and more flexible than route-based public transport, and it will build on current strategic efforts by the State to develop safer and more accessible cycling infrastructure. The system will exist within central Melbourne providing access to the inner Melbourne cycling network. The proposed first stage will include at least 50 bicycle stations within central Melbourne, spaced approximately 500 m apart, with capacity for at least 600 bicycles at start-up and the option for quick expansion. The state will work in close consultation with the City of Melbourne and intends to issue a Request for Tender in 2009.
  Note: I want to know how they are going to stop people from stealing the bikes!
  
  UPDATE: I have found more information about this scheme. It should be up and running by 2010 and will offer memberships in the form of either daily, weekly or yearly periods. The first half hour of all trips are free as well with additional fees after that. It looks like you pay a fee to have access to the bikes, then you can ride around for free for half an hour, but if you return a bike to a station after that time, you will pay a fee.
• 
  
  Railway station bike cages: 26 bikes in each, with ability to expand, 18 already installed at metro stations, 10 more in future. Then case by case basis afterwards.

And finally here is the link to the plan.

There it is folks. Feel free to comment. More posts to come in the future.

Bicycle Route Directions anyone?

Here is something I wish to share with you that you may have been wanting for a long time. There has long been a push for Google to provide cycling directions to complement it's vehicle, walking and public transport directions. Even though, the Google attempt at the walking directions is kind of simple to do (it's simply the same coding as vehicle directions, but lets you walk down one way roads and not freeways).

Now a UK company called CouldMade, which acts as a commercial application front for OpenStreetMap, which features frequently in my posts on this site, has developed cycling directions for OpenStreetMap data.

Simply select the crosshair button (the address system doesn't really work so I don't recommend using it) and place the crosshairs for your original location and your destinations (you can have more than one). Make sure you select the cycling button and this will give you a suitable cycling route to your destination(s). The routing algorithms are not perfect and CloudMade are still trying to make them more accurate, but it is a start.

Have a look at an example I have created of cycling route directions from Ringwood to Frankston. Remember that this is OpenStreetMap data, which means it is a work in progress and not all data exists yet, but it is getting there. So be forgiving if your street is not yet there or it is there but has no name. You can even add the info yourself by visiting OpenStreetMap if you wish! Have fun and tell me of your cycle route directions which have been made using this site!

Knox Festival 2009: Knox Bicycle Plan Public Release

Sorry it took a little while to report this, but on Saturday March 3, I visited the annual Knox Festival, which is held at the Ferntree Gully Recreation Reserve on the first weekend of every March. This reserve is in an excellent location, as the Ferny Creek Trail runs right through the north of the reserve.

I arrived from the west and did not encounter any controlled entry points along the path in this direction (but it didn't matter, because if you rode a bike to the festival, you got in for free). I parked my bike and locked it up to the unusual bicycle parking (which I forgot to take a picture of). The parking was right next to the Bicycle Plan stand, but it wasn't just a stand. I saw something that did quite impress me. A giant Melway cycle map, which is featured in the newly created Knox City Council Cycling in Knox TravelSmart map. (This new map is currently not available online, but should soon. If you pop into the Civic Centre in Wantirna South, they should be able to give you one)

This reminds me that I really should follow up on my no-response email to Melissa Sparrow of Knox City Council. This time, I shall send my concerns about the Knox Bike Network to the generic council email address and see if this gets a response.

Here are a couple of photos of the giant map!

Darebin Road Underpass and gap closer opened!

OK, this might not be as exciting as for example, news that the Darebin Creek Trail extension to the Main Yarra Trail being given the green light (this decision to this problem is currently being made by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)) but it is still fantastic news for Darebin Creek Trail users.

The trail is now continuous from just north of the Heidelberg Road bridge in Alphington right up to Darebin Creek Reserve in Reservoir. This photo from the Bicycle Victoria website was taken looking south towards the bridge in October 2008, when the underpass was nearing completion, but the gap closer path was still under construction. Before the works, you would have to exit the trail at Darebin Road, cross the road, then travel down Ford Crescent for a few hundred metres to rejoin the trail. Now you can just go under the bridge and behind the back of the factories, all on the new expected standard for all major Melbourne trails, 3 metre wide concrete.

I have yet to have ride the Darebin Creek Trail, but a plan of action to ride it all myself would maybe consist of a train trip to East Camberwell Station. Yes it is a crappy station, but it is right next to the Outer Circle Trail, which I will then travel up north on to Chandler Highway, cross the shockingly narrow bridge (it used to be a rail bridge before it was converted to a vehicle bridge), travel east along Heidelberg Road, then somehow reach the start of the trail and zip up it, somehow bridge the gap in Bundoora, then travel right to the end at Epping North, then returning by train. If I do take this ride sometime, I will report it on this blog.

More information on the opening of the underpass and gap closing path can be found in the Victorian Government Media Release.

Route Improvement Update: Mullum Mullum Creek Trail - Tindals Road to Park Road

The Mullum Mullum Creek Trail has the potiental to become a major trail in the near future. It is currently split into two sections, with difficult terrain and land to conquer in the middle gap area. At the moment you can ride from Croydon North through Ringwood and to the Mullum Mullum Park to connect with the Koonung Creek Trail which takes you along the Eastern Freeway to the city. There is also the forgotten section. This section of the trail gets minimum usage due to lack of access, especially from the southern end, although alot of Templestowe residents use it to get to the Main Yarra Trail, which leads to the Diamond Creek Trail and Westerfolds Park. I have tried three alternatives to reach the trail from the Mullum Mullum Creek Trail from Mullum Mullum Park, which I will detail below.

The first option had me leaving the Koonung Creek Trail at Mitcham Road and travelling on the shared path north west to Springvale Road, which I then went north up, before taking a right turn down Old Warrandyte Road (which had fairly recently been reconstructed with bike lanes :) ) to the trail entrance. This was the easiest way by far but the Springvale Road section was annoying since the two lane road with no proper shoulders forced me to follow the rough gravel path alongside the road and on some grass at some points.

The second option I will NEVER do again. I left the Koonung Creek Trail at Park Road, soon after leaving the Mullum Mullum Park and headed north. Park road is wider and has much less traffic which meant I could actually ride on the road here and I enjoyed the downhill to the tight corner, which just before this corner you will notice a short section of bike track and a car park. This is where the Mullum Mullum Creek Trail will eventually cross Park Road. I continued north through the corner and then turned left down McIntyres Road (Melways Ref 35 A12) and headed north. I spotted this route on the Melway and although it had "Steep" written next to the road, because it seemed to be a direct route to the trail entrance, I decided to give it a crack. I'm not the fittest cyclist (I also ride a MTB and don't wear lycra!) so it was abit of a struggle, even in low gear. There was a nice downhill in the middle, but the road surface changed from asphalt to gravel half way down the hill so I had to slow down :( . Then, when I thought I had reached Tindals Road, I had another steep hill ahead of me. I eventually got there, but then I had to turn left and travel west past Donvale Christian College. I got to the trail after all that.

Then there was the third option, which I took before taking the above second option. I decided to go down the incomplete Mullum Mullum Creek Trail section which started from the car park I talked about above on Park Road. The Manningham Council had a sign erected saying that there was no access to Tindals Road via the incomplete trail, but I naturally ignored it! The path was formed and gravel had been laid ready for asphalt to go on the top, a completed bridge allowed me to cross the creek once, and a small section already had been asphalted which was heaven to ride upon. The path then quickly turned back to grave and I approached a dilapidated wire fence with a "Private Property" sign as well as another Manningham Council sign, the same one as at the car park. I climbed my bike over the somewhat broken wire fence to have a peek. I got about 100m on natural earth before I had to stop. There was a roughly 3 metre cliff drop to the creek below. A footbridge is going to be constructed here. When I visited, the path supports on both sides of the creek had been constructed but that was it. I assessed possible options for me to cross the creek. I could have possibly done it by leaving my bike behind, but I decided against it. It would have been impossible with a bike so I had to abandon my curiosity trip and turn back. There was an adjoining natural earth trail which went up a hill between the wire fence and the cliff, but since I was on private property, it probably went to a residence so it would not be the right thing to do.


View Larger Map

Note: Map may be buggy. Pressing the zoom out (minus) button three times should fix it.

So that concludes my little trip out to Park Orchards / Donvale way. The section of path should be completed by the end of 2009. After that, only the section from Park Road to the Mullum Mullum Park to go, then we will have a handy link to the Yarra River from Ringwood!

Parts of the new "Victorian Bicycle Plan" are dripping through

This is exciting. The government is currently completing it's first major bicycle infrastructure review in over two decades. It was meant to be released this month but because of the tragic bushfires, this has now been pushed to March. Luckily, The Age has some leaked details which include

• Bicycle lanes on William and La Trobe Streets
• CBD blanket speed limit of 40 km/h to increase safety for cyclists
• Bicycle infrastructure to become mandatory for ALL new road projects.

While these leaked details are great, we need bicycle lanes on more inner city streets, plus a double bicycle lane (2 bike lanes side by side in one direction like a two lane carriageway) between St. Kilda and the Capital City Trail in North Fitzroy. We also need the Capital City Trail to be upgraded so the entire length is free of stairs (the ones near CityLink are being bypassed as we speak) and is 3 metres wide at all points except where it is unfeasible to do so. And every major break in the currently constructed off-road network needs the gaps removed.

Keep an eye on my blog in the near future for more updates as the release of the plan gets closer.

Source: Melbourne to get more bike lanes from The Age.