Bicycle Network: Regional Routes

Drouin trail kinks go straight

3 February 2010 The inexplicable kinks in the bridge alignments on the Two Towns Trail have been somewhat straightened, considerably improving the safety of the trail and bringing it more into line with acceptable trail standards.

The photos below show before and after views of the issue Bicycle Network Victoria raised in mid-2009.

This should cut down on the risk associated with the sharp turns encountered at these bridges. This situation is still not ideal, however, and additional improvements such as increasing the visibilty of the bridge posts with reflective markings and white centre line painting will raise the quality of these bridge crossings.

While improved, these types of issues could have been avoided with closer consultation with Bicycle Network Victoria at the detailed design stage. More information on path curves and alignments can be found here.

The Baw Baw Shire, which build the trail, and VicRoads, which paid for it, are to be commended for recognising the inadequacies and acting to correct them. 

Two Towns Trail open

27 May 2009

Two bustling Gippsland towns, Drouin and Warragul, have been linked by an innovative 8km bike path aimed at improving sustainable connections between the centres.

Riders and walkers will be able to use the path to get between the towns without driving or having to travel by bike or foot on busy, high-speed roads, facilitating riding to schools, shops, work and train stations.

The route map at the bottom of this page shows the location of a range of local schools, some of which are very close to either end of the path.

Nearly the entire surface is a very high quality 3 metre-wide concrete path, with some short sections at either end done with a gravel surface. While not as good as the concrete surface, the gravel will to be good enough to carry most kinds of bikes comfortably.

Additionally, some short sections of the path are on low-volume, low-speed roads. These features are illustrated in the above pictures.

There are a handful of timber bridges over creekland at various intervals along the path. The geometry of these bridges is curious, to say the least, with very tight right angles winning the design battle, as can be seen in the picture to the right. 

When riding up to these crossing points, riders will need to be careful to moderate their speed to avoid flying off into the bush. In all cases, there appears to be ample space to improve and smooth out the access to the bridges, which is an issue which has been raised with  the Council.

This is a very promising early version of a bicycle commuter path in regional Victoria. There are a lot of positives to take from this route that can be applied to other similar kinds of interurban commuter paths, especially in the region. The surface material and width are excellent. The connection this route provides between the towns is very good.

Two Towns Trail on schedule

15 July 08. Reports about the status of trail construction are positive, with a November completion target if weather is cooperative. The Council can now move on to other matters relating to the trail -- especially regulations about use and permissable activities -- in consultation with the community and original supporters of the trail development.

As this trail is designed as a commuter path to allow walkers and riders to transit from home to work and school between and within the two towns, use by horse riders and motor and trail bikes will not be permitted.

Many other rail trails allow the use of horse riding, but the proposed regulations for this path are more reflective of its conception as transportation route, similar to the more urban paths in the inner Melbourne area.

This makes sense from a bike riding perspective, reflecting the primarily use this trail. Kudos to trail managers for adjusting trail regulations to suit usage.

Path construction begins

March 2008 Construction has begun on the interurban path. The project is in two stages and Stage One will start with a 1km section from Drouin Civic Park joining the trail to an existing wetlands currently under development. The project will them shift to some boardwalk development in Warragul to be completed while the weather permits. Then construction will move to the Buln Buln Rd Drouin to Lardner Rd Drouin Section. $900,000 will be spent constructing Stage One of trail in the 2007/08 financial year.

Stage Two is from Lardners Track Drouin to Latrobe St Rotary Park Warragul where the trail will meet up with the existing Warragul Linear Trail. The project is due to be completed by May 2009.

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