Bicycle Network: Metro Routes

Analysis shows enhanced bike lanes produce enhanced rider experience

30 October 2012. The City of Melbourne, not happy to just upgrade the bike lanes along Clarendon Street, have commissioned a before and after analysis (CDM Research document available here) to see if the project had delivered results.

The study has indeed concluded that riders are riding up to 40cm further out from the parked cars and the number of riders travelling within the door zone also decreased.

The results provide strong evidence with which to answer the research questions:

1. Does the buffer between the parking and bicycle lane change the average lateral cyclist tracking position?
   

•  The average cyclist tracking position moved away from parking at both sites, and the change was highly statistically significant.
  
•   In the northbound direction the average position shifted outwards by 0.40 m
  
•   In the southbound direction the average position shifted outwards by 0.29 m

2. Does the buffer between the parking and bicycle lane reduce the proportion of riders travelling within 1 m of parking?
   

• a. Both sites experienced a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of cyclists riding within the dooring zone (defined as 1 m from parking).
  
• b. In the northbound direction the proportion decreased from 89% to 66%
  
• c. In the southbound direction the proportion decreased from 55% to 22%

The results show that we can expect a decrease in the risk of car doorings along Clarendon Street as a result of the project. 

Show me the green!

4 October 2012. The highly attractive bike lanes in Clarendon Street East Melbourne are getting their finishing touches as Melbourne City applies the green markings. See the pictures.

The quiet Clarendon route which by-passes the CBD to the East along the Treasury Gardens, has rapidly been gaining riders in recent years.

These numbers will grow even more when the City of Yarra builds the new separated lane planned for Wellington Street through Collingwood to the north.

Clarendon Street did not have sufficient width for full, physically separated lanes, so the City of Melbourne developed an alternative which still provides security from motor traffic.

The configuration utilises painted buffer zones on both sides of the lane, moving riders further out from the door zone, and cars further away from the bike lane.

There is more information on the design of enhanced bikes lanes on this page.

The council is 'greening' the lane with a recycled glass mix, used extensively in the City of Melbourne.

An adhesive is first spread onto the road surface and then the thin layer of glass pebbles is applied. The glass used has been ground smooth.

Some riders have questioned whether the material will puncture tires. Apparently not. People have deliberately tried to cause punctures with the material and failed.

If you have a puncture after riding on recently applied green glass lanes it will have been caused by the usual broken glass particles that litter the roads.

Oh, Mercy. New lanes bypass ex hospital

4 September 2012 The City of Melbourne have almost competed the Clarendon Street upgrade and riders are smiling. With the paintwork down and green zones on their way the difference is plain to see and feel. Surveying a number of riders over the last 48 hours has shown that riders are giving the design a big thumbs up and the new intersection approaches are a welcome addition.

The finished result is showcasing a new approach to bike lane design which aims to tackle both clearance from car doors and also spearate riders from passing vehicles. This has been done in a position where full separation was not quite achievable due to limited lateral space.

MCG route to get major upgrade

25 July 2012. Collingwood fans will have first class bike route to this year's AFL Grand Final now that Melbourne City Council has committed to enhanced bike lanes on Clarendon Street, East Melbourne.

Clarendon Street is already popular with hundreds of riders choosing this route due to its connectivity and wide bike lane already in place.

Council's innovative design (refer plans here) ensures the best possible outcome, stopping just short of full separation.

Whilst kerbside bikelanes similar to Swanston St may have been achievable the ability to park would have been restricted unless the median was narrowed and potentially trees removed along with far greater cost.

The proposed design has balanced these considerations whilst still greatly improving rider comfort by strongly delineating the bike lane on both sides with a chevroned zone, green surface across all entryways and Vibraline on the right side to discourage vehicles entering the bike zone.

This project is the first of Council's bold new projects in the 2012/13 $5.6 million bike budget program.

With the City of Yarra looking to build separated bike lanes along Wellington Street to the north, riders can look forward to better times ahead thanks to the efforts of local government who are getting on with the task of tackling congestion.

With over 300 riders per hour using this route Council has effectively added the equivalent of a traffic lane worth of capacity to the network using a space that cars cannot fit into.