Bicycle Network: Metro Routes

All systems go on Wellington Street

20 February 2013. The City of Yarra has  voted to proceed with the Copenhagen-style lanes on Wellington Street after the project was deferred last year because of the council elections.

Councillor Sam Gaylard proposed the resolution to go ahead with the project, which includes measures to address local businesses concerns, particularly car parking.

The project will deliver separated bike lanes from Johnston Street to Victoria Parade.

The Mayor, Cr Jackie Frickstacky, exercised the casting vote to win the day for riders and the community.

Opposition to the plan centered on car parking provision. Although evidence was available that there is surplus car parking availability in the precinct, local retailers and land owners seemed unaware of the fact.

As one councilor put it: "In a couple of year's time we will all wonder what all the fuss was about".

As separated bike lanes are becoming more and more the norm the number of people willing to make the bike their preferred travel mode will only grow.

Yarra council esculates bike lane decision

6 February 2012. The City of Yarra has called a special council meeting to consider the critically important Wellington Street sperated bike lane proposal.

The proposed Copenhagen-style lane was set to go last year, but the council elections intervened. Now four newly elected councillors will get to consider the plans.

The evidence in favour of the project is compelling and the arguments against, although noisy, have to date been feeble.

The Special Council Meeting to be held on Tuesday 19 February at RICHMOND Town Hall (333 Bridge Road) from 6.30pm.

The four new counciilors may be unfamiliar with just how much community support this project has. We urge you to show your support by attending and writing in support of the Proposal. (Be sure to mention if you are a City of Yarra resident).

The City of Yarra has for years led the way in expandng its bicycle and duly reaped the benefits in modeshift. However, if it is to remain the nation's leader it must be prepared to build the next generation of separated bike facilities or risk being overtaken by neighbouring Councils already implementing these designs.

A report is being prepared for the special meeting that includes the community consultation results, provides officer comment on the submissions, and provides comment on alternatives and outlines options for council’s consideration, as was detailed in the report considered by Council in September 2012.

New elements in this report are:

• findings from a desk top economic impact assessment undertaken in November 2012; and
• options for engaging the Wellington Street business community and property owners.

The updated Council Officers report is anticipated to be available on Friday the 15 February 2013.

Click on ‘email me Updates’ (above right) and you will be sent a reminder when we update this page with the final report when it becomes available.

Wellington opposition gets the boot

20 September 2012. The campaign to block the installation of a separated bike lane in Wellington Street, Collingwood, failed to clear the first hurdle when the proposal went before Yarra City Council this week.

Some businesses in the street pressed the Council to stop the development of the lane. They claimed the loss of parking spaces would seriously damage their enterprises, which depended upon numerous visits by vehicle-borne suppliers and customers.

However when asked at the meeting to substantiate these claims, the opponents could not.

Investigations by Bicycle Network and others have established that the business have access to under utilised parking spaces on the street, and on their own premises.

Many of the on-street spaces the traders fear will be lost seem to be taken up all day by vehicles associated with the owners and employees of the businesses.

Yet there are many available spaces on nearby streets a short walk away.

And the council could easily provide more parking for customers by converting all day spaces to timed parking.

So the motivation for the opposition to the new bikes lanes remains puzzling.

The Council decided to carry over the development into the term of the next Council, which will be elected next month. The full council report is here.

Bike traffic into the city along Wellington has been growing at 20 per cent a year for eight years. It is already 20 per cent of all traffic southbound.

The bike volumes demand upgraded infrastructure to meet the growth projected over the next decade. The route is a high priority bike route in the transport strategies of the council and VicRoads.

It is inevitable that it will be built. Alert and adaptable local businesses will thrive in the new environment.

Have your say on separated lanes along Wellington Street

28 June 2012 The City of Yarra is speaking to the community, both local and nearby. They need your support to proceed.

A range of designs have been considered, taking into account the best form of separation achievable, minimising impact on parking and retaining Wellington Street's amenity (if not adding to it). This is Yarra Council's first foray into physically separated Copenhagen Bicycle Lanes which have been designed to keep up with the increasing number of cyclists using Wellington Street, and to attract those who prefer a car free riding environment. Over 400 riders used this route in the 7-9am peak in March.

Information on the project is available here

Once your feedback is reviewed Council is expected to consider the report and decide whether or not to continue with the project at a Council meeting in late August 2012. Your positive feedback will influence the success of this process. We encourage you to write in support

If the designs are approved, construction of the bicycle lanes could begin in mid-2013.

Comments on the proposal can be made via
• The online survey which can be access through the project website here
• Via email here
• By phone at (03) 9205 5737
• In person at the Information Booth on the 11th and 12th July on Wellington Street outside the Peel Hotel (113 Wellington Street)
• by dropping in anytime at Informal Community meeting on the 18th and 19th July in the Reading Room at the Fitzroy Town Hall (201 Napier Street Fitzroy)
 

Collingwood explores Copenhagen lanes

19 April 2012. One of the fastest growing bikes routes into the city—Wellington Street, Collingwood—could be in line for the Copenhagen bike lane treatment.

Yarra City has agreed to go to community consultation with a concept plans which would see the street between Johnston Street and Victoria Street converted to Copenhagen-style lanes in order to meet the demand for cycle traffic.

Improving the bicycle lane facility along Wellington Street is a high priority identified in the 2009 Yarra Bicycle Strategy.

In order to obtain sufficient space for the proposed separation of the bicycle lanes from the car travel lanes, up to 118 car parking spaces would need to be removed. It is proposed to achieve this by removing all parking from one side of the street and some additional car spaces on the other side of the road for improved visibility.

Parking surveys in Wellington Street between Johnston Street and Victoria Parade, and its surrounds, undertaken in October 2010 and repeated in March 2012 have indicated that sufficient parking capacity exists in underutilised spaces in the surrounding area.

The report to Yarra Council says the Wellington Street route is part of a major North-South route linking the City of Melbourne’s Copenhagen lanes into the city to Queens Parade and Clifton Hill.

"The City of Melbourne’s Albert Street bicycle corridor has delivered significant increases in rider numbers following the installation of the Copenhagen lanes, which has bolstered the attractiveness of Albert Street for cyclists

"Total cyclist numbers on Wellington Street have increased 260% from 2004-2012 at a compounded rate of 20% each year at the Wellington and Gipps Street intersection.

"Cyclists in 2010 made up 14% of traffic at the intersection, with the figure estimated to be around a 20% increase in 2012.

"Gender surveys at the site identified that 28% of cyclists on Wellington Street are female, indicating that the facilities do not provide enough separation for females to feel comfortable about cycling along this route.

"After the ‘dooring’ death of a cyclist in 2010, the Victoria Coroner recommended that Copenhagen style bicycle facilities should be promoted to reduce the risk of ‘dooring’ injuries to cyclists," the report says.

Yarra Officers have completed conceptual designs for a Copenhagen style treatment which include scenarios for removing parking on different sides of Wellington Street between Johnston Street and Victoria Parade.

This would allow the community to provide feedback on which side they would prefer to have parking removed. Wellington Street can be split into two sections with the mid-point at Gipps Street, allowing the parking to be removed on different sides of the road in the northern and southern sections. This would retain the maximum amount of parking.

It is expected the consultation will start soon and a decision could be made by mid-year.

Wellington can perform better

March 2010 Wellington St has developed as a major transport route for riders in the innder north and north east Melbourne area. It operates as a Hoddle St alternative and connects well to other routes such as Heidelberg Rd, High St, Johnston St, Gipps/Langridge/Gertrude, Albert St and Clarendon St/Barrak Bridge.

This route can perform better and attract more riders cost effectively with minimal impact through the introduction of elements such as:

• Separated facility between Johnstone St and Victoria Parade
• Green Lanes plus Vibraline north of Johnston St
• Greater level of service to intersections and storage boxes
• Advance signal phases at Alexandra and Victoria Parades