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Councils - Regional Victoria

Greater Bendigo City Council

Greater Bendigo is a major regional centre servicing the towns and rural areas of the Loddon region, about 150 kms north west of Melbourne. The population is just over 100,000.

Bendigo raises the path on road crossings

08 May 2013.  Innovative road crossings on the Bendigo Creek Path that give priority to bike riders and pedestrians, have set a new standard for solving the difficult problem of getting bike paths across roads.

The new designs have proven popular, especially with school children and parents who report them as feeling safer.

The crossings (at Knight St, Arnold St (pic at right) and Baxter St)  feature a raised platform level with the footpath, coloured path, large give way signs (facing the road users), tactile markings on the road and speed humps on the road approaches.  Plumbridge St also gets a raised crossing but no priority.

The crossings were built with support from State govt to encourage usage of the path which links several schools and parks to the city centre including Weeroona College, White Hills Primary School and Lake Weeroona.

The treatments are excellent examples of path crossing of roads.

New path additions in Bendigo also include an underpass of Wesley St for the Bendigo Creek path and an extension of the Spring Gully Creek path from Houston to Rodney St (pictured) on its way to a planned underpass of the McIvor Hwy which will need additional funding when plans are ready.

Both projects are on the priority list to improve cycling rates in Bendigo (see below) 

The projects go to show what can be achieve with a persistent effort and funding. 

Greater Bendigo 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 Greater Bendigo’s BiXE rating for 2012 is $6.60. This is above the Regional Zone council average for 2012, which is $6.47. This is based upon council spending of $697,000 and population of 105,563.

Relevant bicycle related investment for the 2012/2013 financial year includes but is not necessarily limited to expenditure upon the following projects/programs:
• Bike paths
• Contribution to O'Keefe Rail Trail extension
• Contribution to High Street bike underpass
• Super Tuesday bike count
• Maintenance of shared paths

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

The City of Greater Bendigo achieved a five-year BiXE average of $7.59. This is above the Regional Zone council five-year average for 2012, which is $5.95.

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 Bendigo 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 Greater Bendigo that need the support of local councilors: 

To view candidate statements for Bendigo 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 Bendigo.

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

Election opportunity for candidates to show support

15 August 2012 Bicycle Network Victoria has identified this project as a local council priority for the 2012 Local Government election.

Specifically getting an underpass along the Bendigo Creek path to go under the McIvor Highway
and the upgrading of the majority of the O'Keefe Rail Trail whose surface is well below par and limiting its success

Candidates should be ready to support the development and full or partial funding of this project in conjunction with State Government and can tell riders in their Council area their position by posting their candidates' statement at VoteBike.

VoteBike - Local Council Elections 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 Bendigo 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 Greater Bendigo that need the support of local councilors:

To view candidate statements for Bendigo 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 Bendigo.

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

Bendigo strategy stutters

28 April 2011. The Bendigo Transport Strategy has got off to a stuttering start, failing to consult properly and as a consequence underplaying the importance role bikes will play ion the future of transport in the regional city.

 The City of Greater Bendigo and VicRoads have commissioned a Transport Strategy for the Bendigo and surrounding area. This is essentially applying the SmartRoads system as already being applied in metropolitan Melbourne. This Network Operating Plan considers all modes including cars, freight, public transport, bikes and pedestrians and prioritises routes accordingly.

Bicycle Network Victoria was made aware of this report by local members. Unfortunately neither the Council or VicRoads contacted us for advice.

The consultation period closes today. We have reviewed the document and generally speaking the routes identified will meet many of the residents' transport riding needs, however we believe there are a number of key elements missing. These are outlined below.

  1. A viable link between the University and the CBD. This is outlined here
  2. A link from O'Keefe Rail Trail west to creek path
  3. A link to Kangaroo Flat Station
  4. Overall there does not seem to be any thought applied to the CBD precinct with no specified routes into or through the zone. Bikes have effectively lost out in the misguided 'Naked Streets' proposal outlined below.
  5. There does not appear to be at least one defined link coming in from the western side between Barnard/Lucan Streets and the CBD zone
    Parking in general is a major problem in the inner Bendigo area with vehicle parking receiving disproportionate preference. This ironically is encouraging congestion. A greater emphasis on these inner bike links and targeted bike parking facilities at the major trip generators should be considered

The above items have been highlighted (in green) on the map below. For a larger version click on the image

Bendigo City Centre to get 'naked streets'

Nov 07 Bendigo City Council recently unveiled plans to alter Bendigo's CBD by narrowing spaces for cars and returning the town's ultra-wide streets to walkers and cyclists. Curbs will be eliminated and replaced with paving to mark out the narrow places cars can drive and park.

Council wants the street redesign to slow down cars from their current 30 km/h to less than 20 km/h. This initiative will help to change the 'feel' of the Bendigo CBD and encourage people to walk or ride.

See the recent AGE article >>

New bike lanes on Bendigo Eaglehawk Rd

May 07 VicRoads will soon install 2.5km of bike lanes on the Bendigo Eaglehawk Rd to complete the link from the Loddon Valley Highway to the central Bendigo district at Bridge St. This will help provide an important commuter link from this highly populated area toward of the centre of town. VicRoads expect this project to be complete by June.

Bendigo City Council resolves to become the Cycling Centre of Victoria.

Apr 07 Council recently passed a motion to increase cycling activity by building on existing infrastructure, events and promotion activities. Bendigo is well placed to increase rider numbers due to its great climate, moderately flat terrain, and a strong riding culture.

This could lead to some exciting projects such as:

Bicycle Network Victoria is looking forward to building on our existing good relationship with council to help meet its goal of becoming the cycling centre of Victoria.

Bendigo Creek Path

Nov 06 Council have just finished an extension to the Bendigo Creek Path, linking Kangaroo Ground to Big Hill, giving more residents access to the offroad network reaching Caruso Reservoir.

A high quality, wide surface with additional new bridges was $235k well spent.

More new lanes and paths

Feb 06 6km of roads in Bendigo will gain bike lanes under this years Principal Bicycle Routes funding. The projects will cost over $500 000.

New bike lanes and paths

Aug 05 Funding has been announced for bike lanes from Bridge Street, along Arnold St and Sandhurst Rd, to the intersection of Eaglehawk Rd, as park of a two-year project.

A bike path will be built between Kangaroo Flat and Bendigo and along Eaglehawk Rd, Eaglehawk.

Walking and cycling strategy

Jul 05 Bendigo City Council has appointed consultants to prepare a walking and cycling strategy. The purpose is to develop a Works Program to continue developing a complete cycling/walking network and to recommend better ways to promote and manage trails and paths.

Community consultation will take place over the next few months.

Cycling survey results

Dec 04 Results of a survey by Bicycle Network Victoria showed wide support for council providing more places for people to ride their bikes. There is a strong expectation that the new council will commit to completing vital cycling projects.

In Greater Bendigo the survey showed particularly strong support for better cycling links into the city centre.

Over half of respondents rated the following projects as vitally important or very important to cycling:

Bicycle Network Victoria invited people from across Victoria to indicate which cycling projects were important to their community. There was immense interest with almost 2000 responses. The response rate was particularly high in Greater Bendigo.

Bicycle Network Victoria, in cooperation with local groups, will be working with the new council to make sure the projects identified are high priorities for the new council.

Feb 04 Mayor Rod Fyffe met with Bicycle Network Victoria's campaigns staff to discuss cycling issues in Bendigo. Council is in the process of developing a bicycle strategy. Bicycle Network Victoria’s priorities are:

The bike strategy will be developed over the next few months and should have a supporter in the CEO, John McLean, who is a keen cyclist.