Bicycle Network: Directory

Boroondara draft Budget 2013/14 available for public comment

08 May 2013. Boroondara Council's draft Budget 2013/14 is available for public comment until 29th May 2013, see council website here.

As a ratepayer and rider in the City of Boroondara now is the time for council to hear from you if you want more funding to improve the Boroondarra riding environment. We encourage you to make a submission to council.

Bicycle Network's own budget submission to Boroondara Council is available here.

Bicycle Network Victoria needs your membership support to continue to campaign for improving riding conditions for all riders. Become a member and receive crash cover and support, rider information and deals and help improve riding conditions.

Boroondara riders - drafting of council Budget 2013/14 underway

05 March 2013. As you read this Boroondara City Council is preparing its draft 2013/14 Budget. The time to act is now for more bike infrastructure funding!

Last financial year was a very lean year, with council only funding $4.34 per resident on bike related infrastructure. In comparison, surrounding councils spent an average $4.89.

Meanwhile, cycling participation in Boroondara is on the increase: On census day in 2011, 1,492 people rode to work by bicycle. In the 2006 census, this number was 1,155. (This is a +29.18% change).

Click here to tell your Council to invest in bike infrastructure (E-mail contacts for local Council and Councillors provided) in the 2013/14 Budget, to keep up with the increase in riders in Boroondara.

As a ratepayer and rider in the City of Boroondara now is the time for Council to hear from you if you want more funding to improve the Boroondara riding environment.

Bicycle Network Victoria needs your membership support to continue to campaign for improving riding conditions for all riders. Become a member and receive crash cover and support, rider information and deals and help improve riding conditions.

More information can be found in the Bicycle Expenditure Index (BiXE) report.

New map app for Boroondara

23 January 2013. The City of Boroondara is utilising advanced technology to help riders navigate the district. You can now get a map app for the the iPhone and iPad that shows recreational bicycle pathways and other information to help you find your way around Borooandara

Riders install the free Avenza map app and then download the free Boroondara map to their device.

The Boroondara map shows a simplified version of the municipality, allowing users to clearly identify routes along the network of shared and unsealed paths.

It also shows main roads as a reference point. Other visible local content includes water fill points, shopping precincts, playgrounds and train stations.

"This map provides our local riders with an excellent resource for navigating around our city", Sustainable Transport Officer Chris Hui said.

"It is easy to read and shows cyclists the shared-path routes in Boroondara. Riders can also pinpoint their location on the map if they have their GPS enabled and they can also measure distances between locations".

Users can pan and zoom the map using pinch and drag gestures and find points of interest using the Google search feature. The map is available offline, so there is no need for an internet connection while using the map.

The app is currently available from the Apple App Store, and Avenza are working on an Android version to be released in early 2013. A 'regular' PDF version of the map can be downloaded from the City of Boroondara website, but this version will not link with your device's GPS.

Bicycle Expenditure Index (BiXE) 2012

15 November 2012. The City of Boroondara’s BiXE rating for 2012 is $4.34. This is below the Middle Zone council average for 2012, which is $4.89. This is based upon council spending of $740,500 and population of 170,439.

Relevant bicycle related investment for the 2012/2013 financial year includes but is not necessarily limited to expenditure upon the following projects/programs:
• Bicycle strategy implementation
• Bike treatments/safety measures
• Integrated transport strategy implementation: Including bicycle parking and links
• Bicycle and pedestrian trails: Implementation of safety audit action plan
• Kew Traffic School: New bikes
• Crossing facilities: Main Yarra Trail at Belford Road, Anniversary Trail at Ferndale Trail
• Mont Albert Road bike lane improvements
• Schools promotion/travel planning, bike education challenge, design and feasibility studies
• Bike light promotion, bike education training, community bike education

Additional spending sourced from external grants and funds may apply, but that is outside the scope of BiXE reporting.

The City of Boroondara achieved a five-year BiXE average of $5.37. This is above the Middle Zone council five-year average for 2012, which is $5.12.

See full BiXE report available here.

See media here.

VoteBike - Local Council Elections 2012

27 October 2012. Local council elections are being held in Victoria on October 27 2012. Bicycle Network Victoria is once again running VoteBike that allows you to engage with potential candidates on local cycling issues. We will collect statements from candidates about their commitment to cycling in Boroondara and publish them on the VoteBike Facebook event page for you to comment on.

Bicycle Network Victoria has identified the following key projects for the City of Boroondara that need the support of local councilors:

• Darebin Bridge - continue to campaign for this long-awaited link.
• Auburn Road (Rathmines Rd to Oxley Rd) - continue on-road lanes through this shopping precinct.
• Curb out parking in activity centres - get behind vibrant shopping strips by supporting on street bike parking.
• Links to Parkiteer stations - provide high quality cycling facilities to train stations, to maximise the benefits of Parkeiteer cages in Boroondara.
• Ride2School - continue to provide safe routes to schools foster healthy transport options for kids and reduce peak morning traffic congestion by up to 20%.
• Bicycle Expenditure Index (BiXE) - increase council spending on cycling facilities. In 2011 Boroondara spent $852,020 giving a BiXE index of $5.03. The average of surrounding councils was $5.28. The City of Boroondara achieved a five-year BiXE Average of $5.01.

To view candidate statements for Boroondara go to our Find a Candidate page. Or to comment on candidate statements as well as voice your support for particular local cycling projects, visit our Facebook events page for Boroondara.

VoteBike allows you to have your say and make sure your vote counts for improved cycling conditions in your local area.

No Jekyll in this Hyde

19 April 2012. The City of Boroondara has continued to improve a path in Kew where a thoughtless council mistake caused a cyclist to crash in 2010.

The Hyde Park path had been re-fenced with invisible black pipe across an entrance to a road. (See story below 'Rider felled by stealth fence'.

The council rapidly moved to fix the error.

But now it has gone further and invested in additional improvements to the path and the crossing.

What was once a goat track is now a fine local link appreciated by walkers and riders.

Playing chicane in Boroondara

15 June 2011. Traffic calming can make a bike rider's blood boil, especially chichanes designed to steer bikes into the gutter or worse.

But now the City of Boroondara is trying to set things right, with a new design that should calm careless drivers at the same time as preserving the life and limb of cyclists.

Boroondara has a number of roads in pleasant, once peaceful neigbourhoods where the amenity was ruined by speeding motor vehicles.

As a response traffic calming measures were introduced which used chicanes to reduced speed. Regrettably these designs also encouraged drivers to force cyclists off the road in the approaches to the device.

This made streets that should have been satisfactory for bike trips into risky routes.

The council has rethought the problem and produced a new chicane design.

As the photograph of Highfield Road, Camberwell shows, a low concrete separator has been installed which maintains a one meter wide bike lane through the chicane.

The council expects that this will result in drivers further reducing speed and also allowing space for the bike to continue though safely.

Council comes good over crash

2 June 2011. Boroondara Council is to rewrite its rules on working near bike paths after a rider crashed into a rope carelessly placed across the Gardiners Creek path by a contractor.

Workman had placed a crane on the shared path, with a rope lashed across the pavement to prevent riders going into the worksite.

However the rope was barely visible in the late afternoon and a rider crashed into it, his bike coming to an instant halt while the rider continued, fortunately without serious injury.

VicRoads and Bicycle Network Victoria have guidelines on how closures and diversions should be managed, but many contractors and councils are failing to use them.

In this case the rider sought Bicycle Network Victoria's assistance in approaching the council to ensure the problem was not repeated.

Boroondara's Manager of Parks and Gardens, Mark Dornau, has now responded in a very positive manner, apologising for the incident, and with Bicycle Network Victoria's help, is developing new practices.

"Officers have investigated the contractor and their site management. As you have identified the associated traffic management and signage with regard to the works being carried out near the trail did not sufficiently warn or manage bicycle traffic using the path.

"Officers have subsequently followed up with Bicycle Network Victoria and Vic Roads as to the applicable standards and practices that need to be implemented in future when these types of works occur near shared trails.

"To this end Council will be implementing a complete set of new standards and practices that will ensure cyclist and pedestrian safety at all times.
These will include improved signage and supervision of work areas including well advanced warnings identifying the works ahead and where applicable on site flagmen to manage traffic as applicable.

"Council takes its commitment to the safety of cyclists extremely seriously and has established these new practices to ensure the proper duty of care is carried at all times when working in such sensitive environments.

"To this end officers will educate and reinforce with our contractors an emphasis on their duty of care and all safety for the public when works are to be carried out in Councils Parks and Gardens. This will further help in creating a safe environment for both public and workers to use and should hopefully eliminate incidents such as yours occurring again."

This is a great response to this incident and sets a strong example for other councils and authorities to follow.

Trails to show ID

18 May 2011. Boroondara City has developed an innovative signage system to help riders on recreational paths navigate their way through unfamiliar territory by following unique visual IDs painted on the paths.

It has embarked on an extension of their route signing program with a program to install 30 new signs underway complemented by path logos. 

Bicycle Network Victoria has recently completed a Good Design Guide page that provides comprehensive advice on directional and route signage.

Underpass Signs

Cyclists often complain about the difficulty in determining their location on Trails which pass under major roads. To solve this problem Boroondara has permission from VicRoads to instal new signs on bridges which cross over Boroondara’s network of trails.

The underpass signs [at right] will assist cyclists navigation, particularly when out riding in less familiar localities.

VicRoads required black text for the road name rather than white on blue commonly used for signing on off road paths. However, the signs will have the new coloured path logos and the Council logo – see right.

These signs will be on all of the underpasses along Boroondara's shared paths (MYT, Koonung, GCT, OCT/AT).

Logos

New path logos have been developed to identify the main trails and have been or will be painted on:

• Gardiners Creek Trail
• Main Yarra Trail from Fairfield to Koonung Trail
• Koonung Trail
• Outer Circle/ Anniversary Trail, (example shown is on Anniversary Trail north of East Camberwell Station)

The logos will help path users know which path they are on and, with the new signs, help people navigate by reassuring them, between signs that they are on the correct trail or path. Having the new trail logo is a very useful bonus and having the council logo is good also to show who is doing the work!

Directional Signs

The City of Boroondara also has a program to extend the white -on- blue directional signs which give information for on-road cyclists to assist in locating:

• Routes to the City
• Links to off-road shared paths such as the Anniversary Trail
• Shopping Centres
• Recreational Facilities
• Education Facilities

Congratulation to Boroondara for undertaking this initiative which will make the path network more usable for people riding and walking alike.

The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads publication A guide to signing cycle networks (2009) gives five stages in signing and network or route that can be used as a step by step guide:
1. “Prepare the cycle network focal point map which identifies all destination points and key decision points for each route;
2. Assess the current physical condition of the route via a pre-signage and risk assessment survey;
3. Determine the level of signing, the route numbering or branding required for each route to be signed;
4. Prepare a signing schedule specifying all signs, their locations and mounting; and,
5. Install the signs and inspect after installation to correct any errors and omissions. 

See the signage page for more.

Council quickly derails hazard

9 November 2010. Boroondara City moved quickly to remove the 'invisible' black pipe rail from the path of riders in Hyde Park, Kew, after a rider suffered injuries in a collision with the barrier.

A council officer has told Bicycle Network Victoria that Boroondara immediately arranged for the fence to be moved to improve visibility and safety for all cyclists when it was made aware of the problem.

"On Sunday 10 October, the day after the hazard was brought to Council's attention, Parks and Gardens moved the black pipe onto the new fence to ensure easier access through the park and, a visible bollard was installed," the officer said.

"The black pipe, as seen in the attached picture provided, has been completely removed so cyclists now have wide and clear entrance to the park.

"The City of Boroondara values highly its shared paths, walking trails, parks, gardens, reserves and amenities provided for our community. These are many of the reasons why residents choose to live in Boroondara. Council also provides regular maintenance and upgrading to service all facilities and improve safety.

"The Council is exploring options for installing a proper shared path through Hyde Park to formalise the off-road link between the Yarra Trail and Outer Circle shared paths."

Rider felled by 'stealth' fence

13 October 2010. Earlier this year American scientists announced they had created a material that could bend light and make an object disappear. Now, in a flash of one-upmanship, Boroondara Council has built an near-invisible fence across a bike route.

One can see from the photograph that a black painted pipe has been installed across the path of riders leaving / entering Hyde Park, Kew, via the pram ramp installed recently to guide riders to the path.

The horizontal steel bar had hardly been installed when a rider collided with it in low light, sustaining a severe laceration requiring stitches, and multiple bruises.

The path through Hyde park connects the end of the Victoria Park shared path to the Willsmere billabong, through the Eastern freeway underpass. Although currently dirt single track, the Council has plans to construct a proper link between the two.

Welcome reception at Leonda

28 September 2010. A useful connection along the Yarra at Hawthorn has been opened with the completion of the boardwalk around the Leonda Reception Centre. This link opens up routes to Hawthorn Railway Station and Scotch College.

Many people who walk or cycle through West Hawthorn will be aware of the useful underpass at the Wallen Road Bridge (eastern end of Swan Street). This underpass provides a means of avoiding crossing this very busy road or detouring a considerable distance to the nearest traffic lights. It provides a pleasant off-road link between Morang Reserve and Wallen Road Reserve, which in turn connects to Fairview Park.

Many years ago under pressure from local cyclists and residents the Hawthorn City Council (now Boroondara) purchased a parcel of land on the north side of Wallen Road. The lot was subdivided, part kept for a shared path and the balance sold.  The resulting path and boardwalk provided the link from Hawthorn Railway station area, described above. The only deficiency was a short length of path and a pram ramp into Leonda car park.

Riders have long lobbied to have a connecting path built but Melbourne Water had reservations about a river bank route and the Leonda lessee and Boroondara Council had trouble in agreeing on a solution through or around the car park. Some history can be read at http://boroondarabug.org/wiki/Leonda_Path 

BiXE 2009: City of Boroondara

Boroondara City Council has a BiXE 2009 of $6.55 which is a 47% improvement on its BiXE 2008 of $4.45 and represents a significant improvement on its BiXE 2007 of $2.53. This year’s result places Boroondara above the Middle Councils' average BiXE 2009 of $5.95.

Boroondara City Council has opportunities to invest these funds into cycling infrastructure such as:
• The Missing Gardiners Creek Trail Link east of Solway Bridge to Warrigal Road.
• The Darebin Bridge
• Upgrade of Main Yarra Trail
• The Anniversary Trail
• Providing more on road bike lanes on Council-maintained roads, particularly around schools.

New Councillor for Cotham Ward

Jul 07 Long-time Boroondara resident Phil Meggs is the newly elected Councillor for the City of Boroondara’s Cotham Ward. The election result was announced on Saturday 21 July.

Please see the Boroondara website for more information.

Cotham Ward By-Election

Jul 07 Bicycle Network Victoria has contacted each candidate in the City of Boroondara's Cotham Ward by-election and asked them to complete a survey related to riding in Boroondara. 

8 candidates completed the survey. Please see the results below.

Jun 07 The City of Boroondara's Cotham Ward Councillor Lachlan Williams gave Council notice of his intention to resign as a Councillor at a Council meeting on 16 April.

A by-election will be held for the Cotham Ward on 21 July 2007.

The Darebin Bridge is reaching a critical stage and is likely to be an issue in the Cotham Ward by-election. If you would like to let the councillors know how important the Darebin Bridge is to you then please send them an email. The contact details of each councillor are below.

New lanes on Wellington St, Kew

May 07 Boroondara City Council are currently putting the finishing touches to new bike lanes along Wellington St, Kew. This road acts as a good alternative to the Kew Junction and goes past the front door of Trinity Grammar. There 
is still a section missing just east of Charles St, however the transport team at Council are working to complete this gap.

Developer sees the light and improves bike parking 

Dec 06 Good news; the developer of the Homemaker Centre at 742 Toorak Rd, Hawthorn East has decided to provide bike parking that will meet the Boroondara planning provisions and will even locate some parking near the Gardiners Creek Trail as suggested by Bicycle Network Victoria.

The revised proposal, which also has a new cafe located near the Trail, was passed by council on the 11th Dec 2006. See below for the history of this planning application. 

Developer does not want adequate bike parking

Oct 06 Bicycle Network Victoria recently attended a stakeholder meeting to review an application for a Homemaker Centre at 742 Toorak Rd, Hawthorn East. The site abutts the Gardiners Creek Trail. Whilst members of BoroondaraBUG were relieved to discover that adequate provision has been incorporated for a realigned path along the south boundary of the property, Bicycle Network Victoria has strongly voiced our opposition to the applicant's desire not to provide adequate parking for the 2,400m site which will have high levels of staff and visitor numbers attending 7 days a week.

The application seeks exemption from Clause 52.34 of the Boroondara Planning Scheme
and proposes a greatly reduced number of bicycle parking spaces. We strongly urge council not to issue the permit that would enable a reduced bicycle parking requirement.

Bicycle Network Victoria does not agree with the assertion in the application that ‘the large floor area / low employee density’ warrants a reduction in employee bike parking spaces.

Clause 52.34 suggests that the relevance of bike parking facilities should consider ‘users of the land and their opportunities for bicycle travel’. Therefore it is incorrect to consider floor area / employee density in isolation. If a ‘large floor area / low employee density’ can be proven it does not justify a reduction in bike parking facilities. In fact it is more likely that this would be outweighed by the relatively high number of staff that will be able to access the Homemaker Centre by bicycle (counts have shown over 2,000 people per day using the Gardiners Creek Trail near the site).

Given that few goods bought at such establishments are actually driven away by customers on the day, but delivered afterwards, it would seem that the needs of people arriving by bike or foot along the Gardiners Creek Trail should warrant higher significance.

After hearing from a representative of the applicant, Leighton Properties, said that they had never been seriously challenged over recent years due to their ability to work through issues with stakeholders on other similar projects. We outlined our strong opposition to their request for not providing adequate parking provisions to which the response was - "See you in VCAT!"

Bicycle Network Victoria formal opposition to Homemaker Centre application (pdf 100KB)

Keep up to date on this issue by clicking on 'Email me updates' (above) so we can tell you when and how to show your support  

Boroondara Bicycle Strategy

July 06 Boroondara Council have this year budgeted to review their Bicycle Strategy to help further improve cycling in their municipality. Bicycle Network Victoria looks forward to working with the council on this initiative. Register (on right) for updates so when we find out the process is beginning we can let you know automatically. 

Kilby Road – How important is 30 seconds to you?

Bicycle Network Victoria is in favour of the retention of the 50km/hr speed limit on Kilby Road in Kew.

We believe that by reducing speeds on local roads such as Kilby Road, cyclists will feel more comfortable riding on the road in bicycle lanes and consequently more riders will be encouraged to use this road in the future.

Lower speed limits make the road environment safer for everyone, in particular vulnerable road users like pedestrians. Research shows that small reductions in vehicle speeds dramatically increase the chance of a pedestrian surviving a crash. A pedestrian who is struck by a car travelling at 60 km/h has little chance of survival. At 50 km/h the chance of survival is 60 per cent. (Source: http://www.arrivealive.vic.gov.au/c_speedAS.html)

Sure, driving at 50km/hr and not 60km/hr along the 2.5km of Kilby Road will add approximately 30 seconds to your journey. It depends on how important that 30 seconds really is to you, your fellow road users and your community.

Chandler Hwy

Aug 05 Funding has been announced for bike lanes in the northbound direction from the Yarra River to Heidelberg Rd. Works are expected to start in mid 2006.

In June 2005 new bike lanes were marked on the Chandler Hwy between Princes St, Kew and the bridge over the Yarra River.

They significantly improve the visibility and safety of cyclists using this section of road, particularly at the slip lanes where cars are entering and exiting the Eastern Freeway.

Kew residential services site: Public consultation

July 05 Boroondara Council has recently finished receiving submissions for their response to the State Government’s proposed development plan for the Kew Residential Services Site.

Bicycle Network Victoria made a submission to Boroondara recommending the following:

• That the shared path built along these routes be of sufficient width to allow pedestrians / cyclists to co-exist (3m path constructed from saw cut concrete would achieve this, however the path should be no narrower than 2.5m);
• Princess Street is on the Principal Bicycle Network (lanes not constructed as yet), so there should be good links to the future facility (ie ramps etc);
• Quality, legible links to the Main Yarra Trail with directional signage encouraging people to use this link;
• Yarra Blvd is also a popular training / commuter and recreational route. A good link to this is also desirable.
• That speeds be limited to 40km/h maximum and not 50km/h to encourage a lower speed environment.
• That end of trip facilities be considered with bike parking an essential part of the residential component and also facilities installed in public open space areas.

Submissions regarding the Kew Residential Services site closed on 01 July 2005.

Gardiners Creek Trail – Dunlop St signals switched on

Jun 05 The Dunlop Street pedestrian signals west of Francis Crescent for the Gardiners Creek shared path in Ashburton (near Darling Park) were switched on on Monday afternoon 16 May 2005.

This will enable cyclists to safely cross this road at grade on their journey along the Gardiners Creek shared path.

Send a thank you to

Boroondara City Council.

Bulleen Rd

May 05 Bulleen Road and Leonis Ave, North Balwyn. A simple letter from one of our members to Boroondara City Council will see line markings and a 'cyclists ahead' sign installed across Leonis Ave indicating to road users that they must stop before entering Bullen Road.

2004 Council Elections

Nov 04. The Boroondara City Council elections has seen a majority of councillors elected who support vital cycling projects. With such a pro-cycling council there is a real promise that further progress will be made to making Boroondara more cycle friendly. Congratulations to

The responses of elected councillors to the survey questions are given below. Candidates were asked if they supported:

Q1. Completion of the Principal Bicycle Network of on road bike lanes in Boroondara
Q2. Linking of the Darebin Creek Trail and the Main Yarra Trail via Willsmere Chandler Park

Re-elected councillor are marked with an asterisk (*)

Boroondara Bicycle User Group who conducted the interviews and posted the results on their website.

Take action

Would you like to see a section of road improved to make cycling safer in your neighbourhood? Then check out our Get it fixed web page for tips on how to take action.

Boroondara City Council contact details

boroondara@boroondara.vic.gov.au

www.boroondara.vic.gov.au