Bicycle Network Victoria: Funding & Budgets

December 2011 - The project is trialling a draft Checklist and accompanying Practice Note to assess whether planned suburbs will allow people to ride their bikes. Councils, developers, planning professionals are encouraged to use the online survey tool to assess projects and provide feedback.

The Checklist has been used to assess the draft Growth Corridor Plans and Precinct Structure Plans prepared by the Growth Areas Authority in November/December 2011. These plans will will guide development of new suburbs for the next generation - its critical we get the planning and design correct so that people, especially children, have a choice about how they get to school and other destinations.

The assesment of the Precinct Structure Plans shows: 

• Poor access to schools, community centres and local town centres due to inappropriate provision for bikes on connector streets where most of these are located. The current default design for connector streets only provides painted on-road bike lanes next to motor vehicles. This is old thinking: on-road bike lanes on busy roads suit mostly confident adult riders but the majority of people, including children and family groups, need paths seperated from busy traffic if they are going to ride along these roads.
• Potential conflict with buses. On-road bike lanes are proposed for many streets designated as bus routes. This brings bike and buses into potential conflict, especially with buses loading and unloading passengers. Off-road bike paths are more appropriate as bicycles can run behind stops and high frequency bus services will not be hindered in their operation. Many designated bus routes are on collector streets (see above) which strengthens the case for off road paths on these streets.
• Generally good connectivity to open space and parks through off-road path along creeks and other green corridors.
• Poor access and connections into local town centres due to reliance on advisory lane markings on main streets where bikes would have to share traffic lanes with cars, buses and other vehicles.
• Lack of crossing points of major barriers such as freeways and railways which means some areas are isolated from adjoining areas.

The assessment of the Growth Corridor Plans shows:

• Bikes are not well incorporated into the transport system - bike routes are only shown in open space concept plans but not in the transport plans
• Bikes are excluded from some freight and on-road public transport routes which will deny bicycles access to many workplaces.
• Access to trains is poor in many areas due to missing paths along railway corridors. This also leads to lack of connectivity into some town centres.

June 2011 -  The project has developed a draft Planning Checklist for Cycling which attempts to distil the current research and planning laws and guidelines for cycling into a series of step-by-step checklist items for planning and developing new suburbs. The Checklist aims to clarify the requirements for cycling in the complex planning process and give objective and achieveable assessment criteria. At each level the checklist focuses on the three key areas which determine accessibility for people on bikes:

• Connections – can people ride to their destination and to the surrounding areas?
• Permeability (both Directness and Choice of route) – are people able to easily get to their destination? Do they have a choice of route?
• Quality/Appropriateness - does the design of the cycle routes suit the potential riders and their purpose?

The checklist is designed to be used sequentially, in three stages, from GAFP level to PSP Level to Planning Permit level. The outcomes of subsequent more detailed and smaller scale levels rely upon the preceding levels. For instance, local cycle and walking connections to local activity centres rely upon a wider regional cycle and walking network. The PSP and Planning Permit level checklists can be used separately but recognize that much depends on the preceding level.

The checklist facilitates a quick and clear assessment of whether the proposed development meets the critical requirements for cycling. If the development meets all the checklist item requirements then cycling will be an attractive travel choice for destinations within cycling distance. See checklist summary at rear of document for summary sheets. 

Background information

Healthy New Suburbs in Urban Growth Zones is a three year project funded by VicHealth to trial how to increase cycling in developing outer suburban areas.

The project aims to understand and communicate the key factors which ensure walking and cycling facilities and practices are embedded into the planning, delivery and usage of new suburbs. It aims to leave a best practice legacy for the development of healthy new suburbs in the hands of the key players; developers, councils and community.

Successful "interventions" will require a focus on people, places and purpose - which people to target, which trips to which places and for what purpose. An initial review of transport data for Whittlesea and other outer Melbourne suburbs will inform which "interventions" to trial. An introductory presentation (3.7Mb) on the project shows some of the development trends and travel data relevant to the project. See also the links at right.