Bicycle Network: Metro Routes
Investing in Transport
Our preliminary view: There are some positives in the Overview report from a bike riding point of view. Links on this page for your comments or downloading your copy. All text below is a copy from the report.
Recommendation 7
A number of specific links should be progressively built to improve cross city cycle connections and cater to the growing number of Melburnians riding to work.
Melbourne's cycling boom
(Page 56)
While cycling still represents a very small proportion of all travel within Melbourne (around 2 per cent), the city’s bicycle culture has strengthened in recent years, with particularly strong growth in the numbers commuting by bicycle.
The 2006 Census Journey to Work figures – and data and analysis from other sources – show a very definite cycling ‘boom’ occurring in Melbourne. In 2006, around 18,000 journeys were made to work each day by bicycle, up from 12,000 in 2001. In 2007, cyclists accounted for almost 8 per cent of all vehicles on the road during the morning peak (7am to 9am), compared to 4 per cent in 2006.
The strongest growth in commuter cycling is in the inner city, with the greatest growth occurring on the four main cycling ‘arteries’ to the CBD: Footscray Road (up 37 per cent), Canning Street (up 35 per cent), Capital City Trail / Yarra River (up 33 per cent) and St Kilda Road (where bicycles now represent 22 per cent of morning peak traffic).
Supporting and encouraging cycling is an important part of improving Melbourne’s east-west connections, as a beneficial activity in itself and in making a contribution to reducing congestion and GHG emissions. These benefits justify greater investment in removing the barriers that prevent more Melburnians taking up cycling – including improving connectivity across the cycle network, separating cyclists and motorists on major routes, making it easier to combine cycling with train and bus travel, and promoting the use of cycling as an alternative to car travel for short trips.
Large scale infrastructure projects, such as those being recommended by the EWLNA, provide significant opportunities to enhance cycling facilities. For example, Melbourne’s EastLink project includes a new walking and cycling trail that runs the length of EastLink (around 35 km), providing access to parkland, reserves and wetlands, and connecting with other trails.
The EWLNA has considered a range of cycling options within the context of improving east-west transport connections and has incorporated some of these options into its recommendations.