Bicycle Network: Metro Routes

Bikes officially in the project scope. But how much?

30 November 2011 Bikes will be provided for as part of the Anderson St grade separations, a fantastic sign that bikes are more than a blip on the Project team's radar. Minister Terry Mulder announced the design on Saturday, which reveals a high quality bridge and approaching path will be built adjacent to the Watergardens Rail corridor over Anderson St, plus bike paths on both sides of Anderson St itslef undeneath the rail line.

We have been persistently challenging the project team and State Government to meet the mainstreaming policy as part of the RRL as we believe this corridor has the potential to become the cycling spine of the west. Equivalent paths around Melbourne are carrying up to 1,000 riders in the AM peak, or the equivalent of one train.

The community consultation has been done, the designs progressed and tenders have hit the market. The State Government must decide now whether they are serious about cycling in the western suburbs by committing to a complete bike facility from Footscray to Sunshine and links beyond. If they do not include bikes in the remainder of the corridor and particularly the more challenging Sunshine and West Footscray Stations today the west could well be lost forever. The corridor beyond the Ring Road is already developing at a rapid rate. If bikes are not included in the grade separations the residents flocking to this growth corridor will be dealt a To try and fix this retrospectively in the future may well be impossible or at minimum prohibitively expensive.

You can help get this built by writing to the Minister for Public Transport and Roads, Terry Mulder, and ask him to mainstream bikes into the RRL project.

Anderson St Currently has a level crossing and no bike facilities.
 

Grade separating the intersection  will provide better rail and road service as well as premium bike facilities

Mainstreaming win delivers for bikes

July 2009 Further details on the $4billion+ Regional Rail Link has revealed that bikes are in the mix, with a bike path to be built along both sides of the corridor.More details are available here.

We will be meeting with the project team to further clarify the details of the bike components. It will be vital that the bike network component of this project links to surrounding elements of the network and particularly to and through the Sunshine Station precinct. This will enable riders to ride all the way into Footscray and the CBD or link to the Ring Road path. 

Regional Rail Link - an opportunity too good to miss

June 2009 The State Government announced, with support of Federal Infrastructrue funding, that the Regional Rail Link from Tarneit to Southern Cross Station will proceed. Bicycle Network Victoria is asking that the State Government's new approach of 'mainstreaming' bike facilities as part of major projects be applied in this case and that the project include a bike path along the corridor, from The Ring Road Path to Footscray Rd (Red and green sections shown on map below).

This route was identified as one of the key priority projects as part of the State Bicycle Strategy in the inner 10km area to help relieve congestion and give residents in the west much needed mode choice.

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View Sunshine Path in a larger map