Bicycle Network: Directory

Bass Coast 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 Shire of Bass Coast’s BiXE rating for 2012 is $10.67. This is above the Regional Zone council average for 2012, which is $6.47. This is based upon council spending of $342,000 and population of 32,056.

Relevant bicycle related investment for the 2012/2013 financial year includes but is not necessarily limited to expenditure upon the following projects/programs:
• Contribution to bicycle paths network: Guy Road Corinella, Jamieson to Bass Highway design and construction (subject to grant)
• Phillip Island Map/Phillip Island Road - Panorama to Bergin Grove San Remo design
• Contribution to bicycle paths network: Cowes Map/Thompson Avenue - Cowes Rhyll Road to Settlement Road design and construction (subject to grant)
• Contribution to bicycle paths network: Inverloch Map/Sandy Mount Avenue, Dixon to Bayview Avenue design and construction (subject to grant)
• Contribution to pathways gaps program: Billson Street pathway - Graham to Murray Street design and construction (subject to grant)
• Pathways extension program: Sunderland Bay Road - Phillip Island Road to The Esplanade
• Contribution to pathways extension program: Bass Highway Dalyston - Tulloch Street to Dalyston Glen Forbes Road design and construction (subject to grant)
• Bass Coast Rail Trail extension from Anderson to Woolamai design and construction
• Rail Trail maintenance budget to maintain the trail and associated infrastructure: This is a commitment that Council has made annually to ensure the safety of the trail
• Contribution to 2012 RACV Great Victorian Bike Ride

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

The Shire of Bass Coast achieved a five-year BiXE average of $10.85. This is above the Regional Zone council five-year average for 2012, which is $5.95.

See full BiXE report available here.

Calm is returning to the Island

12 December 2012. VicRoads will revisit its plans to introduce traffic calming devices on Phillip Island following the failure of the trial of the pole formations that may have slowed traffic, but made riding bikes hazardous.

The poles have now been completely removed, after initially being realigned.

Bicycle Network Victoria staff have been following this issue closely and have continued negotiations with the VicRoads to seek a resolution that can both slow traffic and be bike-friendly. A range of options is being considered. It is now our understanding that the scenario will be monitored and a longterm design, possibly excluding bollards, will be considered.

Bicycle Network has made it clear that there needs to be a long term workable, and most importantly, ridable solution put in place. Whilst we support the aims of slowing vehicle speeds the initial treatments were a danger to riders due to the lack of a ridable space through the 'pole forest' installed.

Pole dancing saga continues

28 November 2012. The bike-hazardous traffic calming poles at Phillip Island, which should have been removed by now, have thinned out but are still a problem.

The latest information is that all the sticks will be gone by the time the Great Victorian Bike Ride rolls on to the Island at the weekend.

As noted in the story below, the treatments were originally installed with the intention of creating visual cues that would encourage drivers to slow down along the notorious speeding strip.

But the design was forcing bikes, riding on the shoulder, to merge with the high speed traffic the engineers were trying to calm.

Apparently some of the poles were removed in the hope that bikes could sneak through, but the gap was not wide enough and bikes were obliged to risk it with the traffic to get around the obstacles.

VicRoads will be hitting the re-set button in the coming weeks in the hope of coming up with a design acceptable to the bike riding community.

Fiddlesticks! Out they come

15 November 2012. An 'innovative' traffic calming measure on Phillip Island that outraged local bike riders is being removed following intervention by Bicycle Network. The photograph shows why.

This section of the Phillip Island Road has wide shoulders, making it attractive to riders seeking refuge from fast traffic.

Even though the road is posted with an 80 kph limit, fast speed are what you get in this part of the world.

The traffic lanes are generously wide and drivers respond by planting the foot.

In an attempt to make drivers more cautious VicRoads planted the stick formation across the shoulder. Whether it slowed traffic as intended is not known.

But it made life tough, and unnecessarily risky, for people on bikes.

Fortunately, sense has prevailed. A quiet word from Bicycle Network and VicRoads agreed to removed the formation. For now.

The need to calm traffic still exists, and other, more bike friendly designs may be tried in the future.

The traffic calming measures were initially announced with fanfare by Roads Minister, Terry Mulder: “To support this speed reduction and to reinforce to motorists that they are entering an area with numerous adjoining driveways, a number of other treatments will be put in place to create an environment that encourages slower driving,” Mr Mulder said.

“This will include innovative on-road marking to create the impression of narrowed lane widths and new highly visible speed zone and road safety signs," he said.

Rail Trail Threat

Feb 04 A proposed service centre at Anderson may threaten the future of the Bass Coast rail trail if the design and location is not sympathetic to the trail. The 16km trail could in the future extend to the bike paths on Phillip Island and even along the old rail reserve to Nyora provided it isn't impacted on by the service centre proposal.

At the Wonthaggi end, connecting the trail to the existing bike path to Cape Paterson will enhance the trail. Council also plan to upgrade the surface of the trail over the next 12 months and eliminate some of the sandy sections that are difficult to cycle on.

Jun 03 Construction work is due to commence on a section of the Cape Woolamai to Surf Beach Road Bicycle Path. Stage 1 of the project will see 1.4km on new shared path build on the south side of the Phillip Island Tourist Rd from the Woolamai Beach Rd. When complete the shared path will extend for 5 km from Newhaven to the Surf Beach Estate.