Bicycle Network: Metro Routes

Lane closed for main

15 August 2011. The northbound  bike lane in William Street is to be closed sequentially as City West Water replace nearly four kilometres of water main in William Street and Howard Street between Flinders Street and Queensberry Street in the city.

Remarkably the pipes are more than 150 years old and their location in a busy city street, and a number of bursts and leaks over recent years, has resulted in a replacem ent program.

Northbound traffic lanes including the bicycle lane will be closed in progressive stages. Detours will be in place around the block via King Street.

Works were scheduled to start between Bourke Street and Lonsdale Street on 15 August 2011 and take three weeks.

This total water main renewal project will take approximately 15 months to complete. We anticipate a completion date in late August 2012.

Dates of progressive road closures can be seen on City West Water web site.

State Budget pledges fix for mangled William and La Trobe Streets lanes

6 May 2009. Victoria's 2009 budget will fund new infrastructure on these troubled and heavily trafficked CBD routes.

Williams and La Trobe Streets have hosted rapid growth in rider numbers in recent years. But they have been blighted by incomplete and inconsistent lanes and markings, confusing drivers and riders equally.

Bicycle Network Victoria has long identified the importance, and the shortcomings, of these routes.

Parking of cars in the bike lanes, especially in peak times as drivers illegally drop off and pick up passengers, has created serious risk to bike commuters.

In the recent Victorian Cycling Strategy the State Government committed to improve facilities on the streets as they were "primary routes into and through the CBD".

The City of Melbourne has also listed these streets on their priority list.

Timing and costing of the project remains unclear; the budget release talks of "construction" in one place and of "planning" in another, so it is unclear whether any results will be seen on the road this year.

Resheeting of Road presents Council with an opportunity

Jan 08 Melbourne City Council are putting the finishing touches to a new bike lane on Peel St, adjacent to the Victoria Markets.

Peel-William St is an important commuter route attracting increasing rider numbers.

Council were able to apply the lanes in a cost effective manner as the section of road was scheduled for resheeting and therefore relinemarking.

Bicycle Network Victoria believes that this approach can be adopted by other councils as part of their ongoing resheeting program and in so doing deliver better facilities for riders from existing finance and resources.

 CBD bike lanes

Apr 05 We have been campaigning for a number of years for safe and attractive routes in and through the CBD (rather than petering out at the edge of the city centre).

The City of Melbourne has taken the first step by installing new bike lanes on William St, and Latrobe St. Although most only operate during clearway times, it is an important first step in getting facilities for cyclists in the CBD.

Bourke St and Elizabeth St have had 'shoulders' installed to provide a channel for cyclists to use between the parked cars and the travel lane.

We hope this is the first step towards making Melbourne a world class cycling city. Council needs to continue to plan and build for cycling by filling the major gaps in the city's off-road path network.

Closing gaps on the on-road cycling network and upgrading important routes leading into the city.