Bicycle paths around

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

are off-road routes for use by people riding bicycles and walking have been developed over many decades. These primarily follow current or former

watercourses A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

and major roads to traverse long distances and provide facilities for both transport and recreation. Paths within the metropolitan area are typically sealed surfaces but gravel or dirt sections are also present. Paths often connect together to provide continuous routes and can also sometimes accessed from

railway stations A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such a ...

. The total length of the trails in Melbourne in 2014 was around . Ongoing community campaigns, such as those of

Bicycle Network Bicycle Network is an Australian charity, one of the largest cycling membership organisations in the world (45,000 members, 2015), whose mission is to have ''More People Cycling More Often.'' Before 2011 it was known as ''Bicycle Victoria''. Bi ...

, have resulted in some expansion and improvement of the network.

History

Off-road bicycle paths have existed in Melbourne for many decades. The first designations as 'shared user paths' (SUPs) - or 'shared footways' - began in the 1970s following extensive lobbying by

Bicycle Victoria Bicycle Network is an Australian charity, one of the largest cycling membership organisations in the world (45,000 members, 2015), whose mission is to have ''More People Cycling More Often.'' Before 2011 it was known as ''Bicycle Victoria''. Bi ...

and its founder

Keith Dunstan John Keith Dunstan (3 February 1925 – 11 September 2013), known as Keith Dunstan, was an Australian journalist and author. He was a prolific writer and the author of more than 35 books. Early life Dunstan was born in East Malvern, Victoria ...

. What is today known as the

Main Yarra Trail The Main Yarra Trail, also known as the Yarra Trail is a shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Yarra River through the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The trail follows the river from near its mo ...

was built in the late 1970s as part of this work, although not to the full original plans. Its route ended at the

MacRobertson Bridge The MacRobertson Bridge is a road bridge that carries Grange Road from Toorak Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local go ...

rather than continue along the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

to Hawthorn. Other suburban paths, such as the Blind Creek Trail and

Maribyrnong River Trail __NOTOC__ The Maribyrnong River Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Maribyrnong River through the north western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The path, sometimes along both sides of the river, ...

, were built and subsequently expanded through to the 1980s by the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

under the State Bicycle Committee - a dedicated group to advocate for and plan for cycling in Victoria. In 1976, the Ministry of Transport under Minister Brian Dixon developed Victoria's first statewide bicycle strategy. This later included the 'Melbourne Bikeway Plan' published in 1981 that planned for a network of bicycle paths and routes that mostly focused on off-road paths and trails. This Plan delivered sections of the: *

Merri Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Merri Creek Trail is a shared use path for cycling, cyclists and pedestrians that follows the Merri Creek through the northern Suburb, suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. History The first section of the Trail was opened in 1985 by ...

Gardiners Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Gardiners Creek Trail is a shared use path which follows Gardiners Creek through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Following the path The path begins as a branch of the Main Yarra Trail, o ...

Scotchmans Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Scotchmans Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows Scotchmans Creek through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs from East Malvern railway station through to Jell ...

* Moonee Ponds Creek Trail * Blind Creek Trail * Bay Trail The system set up in these plans continued a programme whereby the State Government would provide funding to local governments to design and construct new bicycle paths. Many new and upgraded trails were built in this period using this method. In 1988, the State Bicycle Committee was abolished and subsequently absorbed into the newly created Victorian Roads Corporation.

Usage

In 2006,

VicRoads VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government an ...

installed bicycle counters on the trails at 17 locations throughout inner

. These counters provide data on the usage of Melbourne's trails. For example, the Anniversary Outer Circle Trail at Cotham Rd,

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

, has about 20 cyclists per hour throughout the day, whereas the

Yarra River Trail The Main Yarra Trail, also known as the Yarra Trail is a shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Yarra River through the northeastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The trail follows the river from near its mo ...

, on the north side of

Morell Bridge The Morell Bridge is an arch bridge over the Yarra River in South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Completed in 1899 by John Monash and J. T. N. Anderson, it is notable as the first bridge in Victoria that was built using reinforced con ...

, has a distinct peak hour rate of about 250/hr but only 50/hr in non-peak periods. This supports the observation that the former is used mainly for recreation and the latter for recreation and commuting.

Bike paths along freeways

A number of freeways have been constructed with separate bicycle paths built alongside, including Eastlink, the

Deer Park Bypass Western Highway is a major arterial route in western Victoria with a length of approximately of single carriageway, then of dual carriageway known as Western Freeway, linking the western suburbs of Melbourne to the border with South Australi ...

, and the

Metropolitan Ring Road The M80 Ring Road (also known simply as the Ring Road or by the names of its constituent parts; the Western Ring Road and the Metropolitan Ring Road) is a partially complete urban freeway ring road around Melbourne, Australia. This article wi ...

. However, the

CityLink CityLink is a network of tollways in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, linking the Tullamarine Freeway, Tullamarine, West Gate Freeway, West Gate and Monash Freeways and incorporating Bolte Bridge, Burnley Tunnel and other ...

tollway system has no provision for cyclists along several sections, including the

Bolte Bridge The Bolte Bridge is a large twin cantilever road bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Bolte Bridge carries a total of eight lanes of traffic – four lanes northbound and four lanes southbound. While officially only 490 metres in len ...

. Cyclists are also excluded from riding the

West Gate Freeway The West Gate Freeway is a major freeway in Melbourne, the busiest urban freeway and the busiest road in Australia, carrying upwards of 200,000 vehicles per day. It links Geelong (via the Princes Freeway) and Melbourne's western suburbs to ...

over the

West Gate Bridge The West Gate Bridge is a steel, box girder, cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, spanning the Yarra River just north of its mouth into Port Phillip. It carries the West Gate Freeway and is a vital link between the Melbourn ...

, although exceptions are made for some special bicycle events like

Around the Bay in a Day Around the Bay in a Day is a non-competitive fully supported recreational cycling fundraising event organised by Bicycle Network in Victoria, Australia. Cyclists register to ride a course which is either clockwise or anti-clockwise around Port P ...

organised by

Planning and maintenance

Responsibility for planning and maintenance is split between various State Government authorities and local councils. With the increased recognition from all levels of government of the benefits of cycling, Melbourne today has a network of shared bicycle trails which have developed over time along its river and creek systems and alongside freeways and railways.

Future expansion

In December 2008, the Victorian State Government released their

Victorian Transport Plan The Victorian Transport Plan was a transport planning framework for the state of Victoria, Australia announced on 9 December 2008 by then Premier of Victoria, John Brumby. The plan was submitted to the Government of Australia for funding appro ...

which budgeted $100 million for cycling over 12 years. In 2009, the Victorian Cycling Strategy was also released, however, the Victorian Auditor-General reviewed this Strategy in 2012 and found there had been almost no progress on the items in the plan, which included more cycle lanes and junction treatments, and that it had been sidelined by the new Liberal government. In 2012 there was opposition from cyclists following the cancellation of most cycling projects from the State budget, with protests organised by Bicycle Network Victoria. The

Parks Victoria Parks Victoria is a government agency of the state of Victoria, Australia. Parks Victoria was established in December 1996 as a statutory authority, reporting to the Victorian Minister for Environment. The ''Parks Victoria Act 2018'' updates ...

recommends expanding the trails. Development of the network is slowed by the number of agencies that may be involved when a new path is proposed. Such agencies could include

VicTrack VicTrack, the trading name of the Victorian Rail Track Corporation, is a business enterprise of the Victorian Government which owns all railway and tram lines, associated rail lands, track corridors and other infrastructure in the state of Vic ...

Melbourne Water Melbourne Water is an Australian statutory authority owned by the Victorian State Government, which controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Its jurisdiction includes all t ...

and the local Councils. The network is fragmented along Council boundaries. Some examples are: *

St Georges Rd Trail __NOTOC__ The Northern Pipe Trail (previously known as the St Georges Road Trail), is a shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians that follows Cheddar and St Georges Roads in the northern suburbs of Reservoir, Preston and Thornbury in Melbo ...

at the boundary of

Darebin The City of Darebin () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in June 2018 Darebin had a population of 161,609. Municipal offices are located at 350 High Street, Preston. ...

and Whittlesea * Gardiners Creek gap at the boundary of

Boroondara The City of Boroondara () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was formed in June 1994 from the amalgamation of the Cities of Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn. It has an area of ...

, Stonnington and Monash *Termination of the East Malvern Station to Centre Rd Trail at the boundary of Monash and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

References

External links

Bike Paths & Rail Trails Guide

The Principal Bicycle Network (PBN)

Melbourne bike routes @ bikely.com

Where to Ride Melbourne cycling guide book

Melbourne Bike Trails
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bike Paths In Melbourne Cycling in Melbourne