Reflections from Melbourne’s Bike Paths: Part Two

Raised and separated crossings give people walking and riding bikes priority. Vehicle lanes are narrowed on the approach to roundabouts to slow drivers. The landscaping adds to visual amenity and soaks up stormwater (Images: Bicycle NSW)

The roundabouts felt very comfortable to use. This video demonstrates how to ride through and around the separated paths. However, the Moray Street roundabouts are still the only examples in Victoria, and many road users find them confusing to navigate. 

The shared crossings are yellow

And some have ‘stop’ signs!

Australian Standard 1742.10 has been updated recently with new advice about the signage and colours for pedestrian and cyclist priority crossings. Check out this video explainer. A standard set of colours should be used. Yellow is for a shared path crossing, green for a cycle crossing and black-and-white strips for a pedestrian crossing. A yellow shared crossing takes up less space than side by side bike and pedestrian crossings. 

These yellow crossings are on the Inner Circle Rail Trail. The ‘stop’ signs ensure that drivers approach very slowly and cautiously. A standard bike and pedestrian crossing (bottom right) takes up more space. These help everyone in the community understand the real level of activity on the cycleway and its importance in the transport system (Images: Bicycle NSW)

The streets are characterised by lot of greenery

The local streets of inner Melbourne are very leafy and green. Every opportunity has been taken to add landscaped kerb extensions, planted medians and street trees. These are very helpful tools to improve the amenity for people walking and cycling. Not only do they provide shade and look attractive – they also narrow vehicle lanes and intersections, reducing vehicle speeds.

Residential streets in South Melbourne have deep kerb extensions to define car parking, reduce the width of intersections and slow turning vehicles (top and bottom left). Extensive and very attractive landscaped medians make it easier for users of the Sandridge Rail Trail to cross intersecting roads (top and bottom right) (Images: Bicycle NSW)

Rail trails have very minimal fencing

It was amazing to see several examples of shared paths within rail corridors. These rail trails are popular, direct, traffic-free, low-stress routes. They are safely used by riders of all ages and abilities without the without the need for expensive fencing or other heavy infrastructure.

Sandridge Rail Trail in South Melbourne (top left), Upfield Trail near Royal Park Station, Parkville (top right, bottom left), Upfield Trail near Flemington Park Station (bottom right)
(Images: Bicycle NSW)

Why is this so hard in NSW?!

Despite years of strong advocacy, the Sutherland to Cronulla Active Transport Link (SCATL) - a critical 'spine' for the Shire's active transport network – is being built outside the rail corridor. Other proposals that would provide much-needed connectivity, such as the Bexley to Wolli Creek T8 corridor, are dismissed without any public transparency or debate.  

Are the historic reasons for Sydney Trains to continue to say ‘no’ to sharing their corridors still valid in today’s strategic context? TOD developments around train stations will bring huge numbers of new residents to our suburbs. High-capacity active transport routes connecting to trains and buses are essential to avoid 'carmageddon' in the future. 

There are obviously lessons that NSW can learn from Victoria.

Pedestrian priority is very clear everywhere

A great graphic shows who has priority on Little Collins Street (top right). Raised crossings – and sometimes raised intersections - paired with generous landscaped kerb extensions make walking very pleasant around Port Melbourne (top right). Continuous footpaths with attractive cobble detailing are a staple through the Inner North (bottom left). A roundabout near the Port Melbourne cruise terminal sees constant truck and coach traffic but still has raised pedestrian and cyclist crossings on all approach roads (bottom right) (Images: Bicycle NSW).

The big roads and motorways are awful 

Melbourne appears to suffer as much as – if not more than – Sydney from the impact of oversized roads. 

Freeway infrastructure crashes through delicate riverine environments. Presumably these creek corridors were low hanging fruit for the architects of the urban motorway system.

The M1 motorway sits alongside the Yarra and despite the parks and green spaces along the river, it is hard to escape the noise of speeding vehicles when riding on the Main Yarra Trail. Further along the Yarra Valley, the M3 is up to 12 lanes wide. To the west of the CBD, the Capital City Trail weaves under an incredible tangle of flyovers that march along Moonee Pond Creek. Ongoing construction in this area for the West Gate Tunnel project adding more overhead freeway structures. It’s Melbourne’s Rozelle Interchange – but it’s in the sky, not underground.