Bicycle Network: Measure & Understand

A Census map can highlight your network's strength and weaknesses

Janury 2008 The maps below were generated from Census data and give a detailed insight into which residents are riding and which are not. There is a distinct correlation between the strength of the bike network and the strength in rider numbers showing that "Build it and they will come".

Using this map it clearly illustrates that the weakness in the network in areas such as Moonee Valley and Stonnington, despite being the same distance from the CBD, is stopping residents from riding

Map kindly supplied by City of Yarra

The progressive timeline provided by Queensland's Department of Transport also shows an undeniable link between the arrival of new bike infrastrucutre and rider numbers between 1986 and 2006.

For more information on how you can get a Rider Density Map produced for your area contact us.

July 07 City of Yarra has led the way in recent years in terms of expanding their riding network.
However even they are experiencing a phenomona that many others share - a 'Dead Zone'.

City of Yarra recently produced the map below from their (2001) Census data which illustrates where their riding residents live. As it clearly shows there is a distinctly lower rate of riding amongst residents south of Victoria St (indicated in green below). We beleive this us due to the lack of east-west links and/or a lack of accessability to the Main Yarra Trail to the south.

What to expect and what to look for from the latest Census data

The new census data should be available soon but what can we expect to learn from it?

In the 2001 Census there was a question relating to how did residents get to work. This showed the numbers and percentage of transport options used. As to be expected various areas of Melbourne and Victoria differed in the percentage of people riding to work. City of Melbourne led the way with 9%, closely followed by the City of Yarra with 7.5%. Recent data shows a large increase in rider numbers so we would expect this to be reflected in the 2006 Census data.

For example, in 2001 the census recorded that 2.1% of people were getting to work by bike. City of Melbourne traffic counts in 2006 recorded a 3.9% share of traffic was bikes and in March 2007 had increased to 7.9%! Surveys in surrounding areas also reflect this strong growth in rider numbers so we look forward to the 2006 Census data to reflect the wider story across the metropolitan area. It is worth noting that the Census is performed in August, a time of year which traditionally does not reveal the highest rider numbers due mainly to weather and shorter daylight hours. It is estimated that there are approximately 30% more riders in Autumn than in Winter.

Census Data

Feb 07. PBAI have recently been reviewing the Whitehorse City Council Bicycle Strategy. One interesting element is their map of the census data. See diagrams on right.

Aspects such as prevalent population densities, activity centres and destinations can clearly reveal where people are going from, and to.

In this example a clearly predominant number of commuter trips (these figures were regarding travel mode to work) are heading west (to Boroondara, and CBD), the South to City of Monash and the highest figure is internally, within City of Whitehorse. Comparing the 2 diagrams will also reveal a large number of riders are combining modes of transport, most likely by train.

From this we can clearly deduce that commuters' needs would be best met linking up to existing facilities to the west, followed by the south and also placing a priority on access and parking facilities at Premium (staffed) railway stations.

It is important to note that these figures do not represent all bike riding trips in Whitehorse, as many trips will be for recreation or riding to school. For a more wholistic representation Loop counter figures and manual counts would also need to be referenced. There is a Loop on the Koonung Creek Trail near Doncaster Rd which shows the weekday average is 512 riders, whilst on weekends is 719 riders.

How to get the data

Census data is available online.

Once you have compiled the data and worked out your 'movement map',
send us a copy so we can complete the bigger picture of riders' movements

We look forward to data becoming available from the August 2006 Census so we can see what has changed over the last 5 years.