Bicycle Network: Directory

Yarra draft Budget 2013/14 available for public comment

01 May 2013. Yarra Council's draft Budget 2013/14 is available for public comment until 16 May 2013, see council website here.

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

Bicycle Network's own budget submission to Yarra 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.

Yarra riders - drafting of council Budget 2013/14 underway

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

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

Click here to tell your Council to invest in bike infrastructure (E-mail contact for Council provided) in the 2013/14 Budget.

Bicycle Expenditure Index (BiXE) 2012

15 November 2012. The City of Yarra’s BiXE rating for 2012 is $16.21. This is below the Inner Zone council average for 2012, which is $16.89. This is based upon council spending of $1,302,000 and population of 80,309.

Relevant bicycle related investment for the 2012/2013 financial year includes but is not necessarily limited to expenditure upon the following projects/programs:
• On-road improvements and bike parking: Network improvements including new bike lanes, on-street bike parking corrals and improvements to Abbotsford Convent precinct
• Wellington Street, Collingwood: Proposed Copenhagen-style bike lanes
• Line-marking upgrades: Involved redesign and significant improvements
• Line-marking maintenance
• Spot safety e.g. ramp from High Street to Yarra Trail
• Safety around schools
• Off-road bicycle paths improvements: Involving redesign including realignment, widening and improved connections, including improvements to Linear Shared Path (Bowen Crescent to Lygon Street) and Main Yarra Trail (Collingwood Children's Farm)
• Bicycle path maintenance: Clearance of vegetation; mowing and weed killing along sides of path
• Rider consultation/bike counts: Annual bike count
• Promotional material: Four-page wrap-around with October 2012 Yarra News
• Ride to Work Day: Event and promotion
• Staff bicycle fleet maintenance and end-of-trip facilities
• Staff bicycle training and promotions

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

The City of Yarra achieved a five-year BiXE average of $19.81. This is above the Inner Zone council five-year average for 2012, which is $10.81.

See full BiXE report available 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 Yarra and publish them on the VoteBike Facebook event page for you to comment on.

To view candidate statements for Yarra 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 Yarra.

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

Reducing reliance on cars

16 March 2012. Increasingly, applications for major developments in Yarra provide for substantial bicycle parking while seeking a reduction in the number of car parks that are specified in the statewide parking system.

Just last month, Council approved a development in Doonside Street, Richmond, which will provide 273 bicycle parking spaces compared with 245 car parking spaces.

One of Yarra City Council’s planning objectives is to reduce the reliance on the private motor car by requiring “all new developments to prepare and implement integrated transport plans to reduce the use of private cars and to encourage walking, cycling and public transport”.

Housing should be more affordable when you’re not shackled with a car, with car spaces adding up to $50,000 to the cost of a property.

Sometimes community members raise concerns that residents of new developments will just take up limited on street parking. However, Yarra City Council has a long-term policy of refusing to issue on street parking permits to residents of developments constructed after December 2003 if the construction increased the number of dwellings on the site.

This policy aims to make developers accountable for meeting the parking or transport needs of their future residents. Developers can do this by providing bike parking facilities, on-site car parks or allocated spaces for shared cars.

Yarra City aims high

1 April 2010. Inner Melbourne's Yarra City already has Australia's highest bike commuting rate, but now it is planning to double it.

In its new 2010-2015 Bicycle Strategy Yarra says it will aim for 15 per cent of Yarra residents cycling to work by 2015.

It intends to make the bike the "first choice of transport for all short to medium distance trips."

The council is backing its ambitions with definitive plans for improved infrastructure. The strategy details actions and timelines for improvements to the on and off-road bicycle network and other infrastructure (including bike parking facilities).

It has set a target of at least five separated on-road bike routes and five major off-road bike route upgrades by 2013.

Car parking will be removed in 15 locations and be replaced by bike parking in order to increase visitation to key locations.

The council will follow the cities of Melbourne and Copenhagen in publishing a regular Bike Account in order to monitor, evaluate and communicate its progress in meeting the strategy objectives.
 

Richmond Yarra Trail upgrade imminent

1 February 2010. The $1.2M upgrade by the City of Yarra to the Main Yarra Trail on the Yarra Boulevard in Richmond is about to get underway, requiring a diversion for riders for a three month period. REFER Item under 'East: Yarra Trail'

BiXE 2009: City of Yarra

The City of Yarra, with a BiXE 2009 of $21.33 per capita, was the highest in the state. This shows Yarra is leading the way compared to other Inner Councils and is well above the average BiXE 2009 of $10.66 for councils in this inner zone. City of Yarra has achieved a 3 year BiXE average of $14.22.

Yarra City Council has opportunities to invest in cycling infrastructure such as:
• Building the missing link on the Main Yarra Trail at the Gipps Street steps
• Joining the City of Melbourne’s next generation Quality Route Initiative on roads such as Elizabeth Street, Rathdowne Street and Wellington/Baker Streets.

City of Yarra BikeScope

Oct 07 The City of Yarra are currently conducting a BikeScope to find out what riders think of the network in their patch.

To complete the survey and submit your feedback on riding in the City of Yarra please click here.

"It's all Green to me!"

Aug 07 VicRoads have recently applied green lanes at two locations in the City of Yarra.

The photo above shows the new green bike lanes on Brunswick Street across the intersection with Alfred Cres. This will better define the bike lane for bike riders and motorists.

The above photo is at the corner of Queens Parade and Smith St where a green lane has been applied to give clarity to road users. We believe that this intersection could also do with a green lane continuing along Queens Parade as many riders go straight ahead at this intersection.

Going against the Flow!

May 06 One of Richmond’s more popular north-south routes is along Nicholson and Lennox Streets. However until recently there was one element to this route limiting rider numbers, that being the 100m section of Lennox between Elizabeth and Victoria Streets.

At both ends it is restricted to One Way to vehicular traffic; however the council has installed Contra-Flow lanes allowing Bicycles access through.

This small improvement has greatly increased rider numbers and provided a far more appealing route than Hoddle St.

Bike Counts

May 06 Yarra has been counting bike riders at 24 locations for the last three years. The counts are conducted in February each year. Each site is monitored for two hours in the morning peak (7am - 9am).

Many sites have shown a growth in cycle numbers by more than 50%. Many sites have grown by more than 50 riders - one has grown by 248 riders in one year. One site had nearly one thousand riders in the two hours.

2005 The City of Yarra has the highest level of cycling in any municipality in Victoria. With many bike lanes and shared paths, about 5% of trips are by bike in Yarra.

Chandler Highway bike lane installed

Jun 06 A new bike lane has been installed on the northbound side of the Chandler Highway between the Yarra River and Heidelberg Road. The lane has been installed well with very useable ramps at either end.

Yarra Boulevard and Swan Street Intersection Works

May 06 The Yarra Boulevard will be less cycle-friendly after roadworks are completed near Swan Street (Melways  2H K10). The City of Yarra opposed the changes to The Boulevard and to Swan Street for many reasons. It is disappointing that the Dept of Industry and Regional Development with VicRoads are continuing with the road realignment. 

Mary St bike lanes

Jun 05 New bike lanes will be installed on Mary Street Richmond, between Swan St and Barkly Avenue, as part of the Local Area Traffic Management process. They are expected to be completed by July 2005.

Bridge Rd, Richmond

Apr 05 Sections of the marked bike lane have been scrubbed off Bridge Rd, these sections have been removed where the total width of the road is less than 4m. It is disappointing to see that these sections of the bike lane have been removed. Bicycle Network Victoria was not consulted prior to the removal of sections of the lane.

In April 2004 Yarra Council commenced works to remove some of the bluestone on the north side of the road and lay new asphalt.  This was a big improvement over the broken road pavement that existed.

Council are developing a Streetscape plan to improve the amenity of Bridge Rd for trams, pedestrians and cyclists. Part of the project would involve widening the footpath in the section between Punt Rd and Church St and resurfacing the road.

Our view is any footpath widening should not narrow the kerbside lane to a width of less than 3.8m, which would allow a 1m bike lane and 2.8m vehicle lane to be marked in.  Work is due to commence in 2005.

Voters elect pro-cycling council in Yarra City 

Nov 04 The election of a pro-cycling council in Yarra should see significant progress in further improving conditions for cycling. With all councillors supporting vital cycling projects there is an expectation that these will be completed in the term of council. The key challenge for council will be eliciting support from the State Government to progress and fund the projects. 

We asked the councillors if they would:

1. Vote to improve the bike lanes on Brunswick St with better separation from motor vehicle traffic

2. Vote to eliminate the steps in the Main Yarra Trail in Abbottsford by building a path along the south bank of the river from Walmer St to Gipps St (behind the CUB brewery).

All councillors responded YES to both questions. Their comments can be viewed below:

Planning scheme amendment for bike parking

Sep 04 City of Yarra has proposed an amendment to the planning scheme which would require bicycle parking and storage facilities to be provided in new and renovated dwellings and residential buildings. End of trip facilities such as showers and change rooms as well as bicycle parking would also need to be provided in retail, commercial and industrial development. This would prevent problems such as bikes parked in fire escapes and stair wells in apartment building and make it easier for people to ride to work.

Trail network

Council plans to improve the trail network in the municipality with works expected to commence in March/April 2004. Works will include:

• Installation of directional signs
• Installation of etiquette signage along path
• Some linemarking
• Continue with design work for top 10 issues from trail audit.  In March 2003 Yarra City Council commissioned Bicycle Network Victoria and ARUP Consulting to conduct a works program to improve the safety of its shared paths, including the Capital City Trail. Site visits of the trails took place, a works program was compiled and recommendations were made on which projects Council need to prioritise and fix/improve first.
• Work on asphalting sections of Fairfield Park.

• Completing the Main Yarra Trail on the right bank of the Yarra from Walmer St to Gipps St (Melways 44 H7 to F6). This long term project would eliminate the steep stairs at Gipps St.

Bike parking rails

Do you know of spots in Yarra that need bike parking rails - then contact council and ask them to install bike parking. Shopkeepers can request parking rails to be installed out front (at no charge).

Yarra Bicycle Advisory Committee

The committee is made up of council officers, councillors and residents of Yarra and meets bi-monthly to review works on the bike network and identify missing gaps and priority works. Anyone interested in cycling in Yarra is welcome to attend. Agenda and minutes can be downloaded from Yarra City Council website.