Kingston Bicycle Users Group

Kingston BUG News

Bridge over Mordialloc Creek at Nepean Highway

From the Bicycle Victoria website

• 20/6/08 Next week will see roadworks on the Mordialloc Bridge.
• The Minister of Roads and Ports has responded to feedback and the new bridge will now be 3.9m wider. This will allow for wider pathways on both sides and 4.5m wide kerbside lanes. Bicycle Victoria have asked for the wide kerbside lanes to be marked. The Minister's press release is here".

See also:

• VicRoads web page for the bridge project.

New Council elected

• Contact details for our councillors can be found at the Councillors page on City of Kingston website.
• A more detailed map of the wards can be found at Council wards pdf.

City of Kingston announces route signage audit

Have any of you are out there on your bike and have difficulty finding the quickest way from the Longbeach Trail to the nearest railway station or shop? A cycling and walking signage audit is being undertaken to identify where signage should be. It will also arrange for installation is one of the many cycling projects that will be started over the next year or so.  This is one of the initial projects to come out of the Kingston Cycling and Walking Plan.

 Key points

• It is proposed that a municipal wide audit be completed with a pilot project trialing some of the findings and recommendations to be implemented in the Chelsea area in 2009-2010.
• It includes an assessment and audit of existing way finding treatments for cyclists and pedestrians e.g. signage, trail line marking etc.
• Kingston BUG is one of the stakeholders that will be consulted by Kingston Council.

See also

• Kingston Cycling and Walking Plan 2009 - 2013. 
• Kingston BUG submission to the plan
• Kingston BUG preliminary notes on route signage audit. (Ideas document).
• Hannah Croughan  (email) is Leisure Planner at Kingston City Council.

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2009-2013 Kingston Cycling and Walking Plan

Archived issues

Bikes on trains

March 2008

Here are the guts of an email I received from Bicycle Victoria. I hope this is the end of the matter.

“… On (14 February) the Minister for Transport called a Friday press conference to hand down her decision on public transport and bikes. Today she announced the following initiatives:

1 Bikes can be taken for free on all rail services, Connex and VLine, at any time including peak periods.

 2 The bike-carrying sections of the train will be signed and a code of conduct issued

 3 The VLine timetable will show which trains have the most space for bikes. (The green and purple Velocity trains do not have a luggage area that easily accommodates bikes.)

 4 Connex will trial some internal fit-outs to facilitate the carriage of bikes and other luggage.

 5 Folding bikes will be permitted on trams and buses from April. Guidelines for this will be issued.

 6 $1m will be spent on bike storage cages at 20 stations across the metropolitan and regional system.

 7 Station upgrades will automatically include a bike cage.

 8 The private bike locker system will be audited and reviewed.

This is unqualified good news.

I encourage you to drop a line of thanks to the Minister. In our opinion she has worked hard on this, to get the money for the sheds and to convince those among the operators who were reluctant to accept the new rules. It is no small thing to get permission for folding bikes on trams and buses. These initiatives will further fuel the growth in riding and establish a strong connection between the bike system and the public transport system in Victoria”.

Harry Barber
CEO Bicycle Victoria

You can email the minister at: lynne.kosky@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Kingston Bicycle Strategy Update

May 2008

Public comment sought about cycling and walking in Kingston

The new City of Kingston Cycling and Walking Plan is now open for public comment until Friday 30th May 2008. Please see the article below for the download available from their website.

Quoted from: The City of Kingston home page.

http://www.kingston.vic.gov.au/Page/Page.asp?Page_Id=899

“A review of the 2003–2008 Kingston Bicycle Strategy and associated capital works program has revealed a variety of opportunities which exist for the enhancement of the local network. As a result of the Review, the draft 2009-2013 Cycling and Walking Facility Plan has been prepared; this new Plan proposes responses to the issues and opportunities identified as part of the Review with the aim of improving future outcomes for cycling as well as walking. Walking has been included in the new Facility Plan as the majority of trails within Kingston are shared use paths, encouraging both pedestrian and cyclist use. Additionally, the literature review revealed a distinct need to improve both cycling and walking access across the city.

The principles and objectives for cycling and walking included in the draft 2009-2013 Cycling and Walking Facility Plan have been formulated from the review of the 2003-2008 Bicycle Strategy as well as an extensive literature review and BikeScope survey conducted in partnership with Bicycle Victoria. The proposed objectives provide a framework for identifying and prioritising projects to be implemented across the network.

To have your say about the future of cycling and walking in Kingston, you can review a copy of the draft Facility Plan via the link below or at the following locations:

• Cheltenham Customer Service Centre, 1230 Nepean Hwy, Cheltenham 3192
• Mentone Customer Service Centre, 34 Brindisi Street, Mentone, 3184
• Chelsea Customer Service Centre, 1 Chelsea Road, Chelsea 3196
• Chelsea Branch Library, 1 Chelsea Road, Chelsea 3196
• Cheltenham Branch Library, 12 Stanley Avenue, Cheltenham 3192
• Clarinda Community Library, 58 Viney Street, Clarinda 3169
• Dingley Community Library, Harold Box Hall, 31C Marcus Road, Dingley Village 3172
• Highett Community Library, 310 Highett Road, Highett 3190
• Moorabbin Community Library, Shop 5 / 1 Taylor Street, Moorabbin 3189
• Parkdale Branch Library, 96 Parkers Road, Parkdale 3195
• Warrigal Road Community Library, 630 Warrigal Road, Oakleigh South 3167

The draft Facility Plan is available for public comment from Monday 5 May 2008 until close of business Friday 30 May 2008. Comments and submissions from all members of the public and key stakeholders are welcome and should be made using the Public Feedback Form provided at all viewing locations (a link is included below). Completed forms are to be returned by Friday 30 May 2008 to:

Mail: City of Kingston

Leisure Planning - Draft Cycling and Walking Facility Plan

PO Box 1000

MENTONE VIC 3194

E-mail: hannah.croughan@kingston.vic.gov.au

or

Fax: (03) 9581 4500 (Attention: Hannah Croughan)

Important

• Please use the Public Feedback Form to provide your feedback[at the bottom of this page]. If you require further space please attach additional sheets of paper”.

Also see:

• Maintenance
• Hannah Croughan  is Leisure Planner at Kingston City Council.

South Road Extension

January 2008

The extension is completed and the shared footpath installed. It rides well, it has a link under to Karkarook Park.  It also provides an extra link to South Clayton. Go and see it at: Melways map 78 D6, E6 and F6.

Also see:

• Kingston Bicycle Strategy Update

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Latest news on Kingston section of the Bay Trail.

March 2008

Construction has started on section 1 (At Mordialloc). Go see!

October 2007

From the Bicycle Victoria website

"The City of Kingston has approved the 'foreshore' route for Stage 1 of the bay Trail project in Parkdale. Unfortunately though, Council has chosen a compacted gravel surface instead of the recommended textured concrete surface. This is very disappointing. If constructed from gravel many users such as young children, roller bladers and wheelchairs will not be able to use the trail. It will also be far more expensive to maintain and will inevitably erode and form an unsafe riding surface".

Bicycle Victoria are seeking a briefing from Council to get more detail on the reasons for the decision and will then consider what should happen next.

August 2007.

The first section is the easiest  to be designed and and installed. It will be stage 1 of the trail.

As a cycling advocates we inspected detailed aspects of safety and amenity on both Council's and KCEC's preferred alignments. We addressed such issues such as safely traversing the Bay street and Rennison Street car parks. Other issues are the proposed material for the trail, the sandy substrate and line of sight issues where the existing trail zig zags through a shrubbed section.

The local foreshore and other environment groups still have concerns with alignment through the sandy substrate and damage to shrubbed sections and are advocating a next to road alignment for the trail. These issues will have to be addressed before the alignment is finalised.

I have also had a meeting with Janice Munt, who is the local member for Mordialloc and Mark Dixon from Bicycle Victoria. We discussed the two proposed alignment options.

Kingston BUG are maintaining an open mind on alignment issues, to achieve the best outcomes for both cyclists and the environment. The final alignment will probably contain components of both options. We are advocating for a concrete path.

Also see:

• Bicycle Victoria's Bay Trail page. If this link becomes obsolete, go to their home page and do a keyword search for "Kingston".

July 2005

A part of the bicycle strategy that has not received the attention it deserves is the maintenance of existing facilities. Grass grows over paths, subsidence and other damage occurs. Currently these ongoing needs are not adequately addressed, with no specific funding made available for works and no structured reporting mechanism to identify problems prioritise what is needed and then have the tasks included in contractor maintenance specifications.

The first area we looked at was funding. We need to set aside a portion of the bike strategy funding for a budget to ensure that there are funds to put a program into operation. Secondly we will need to identify both long and short term maintenance issues.

Long term issues (ongoing programs, carried out on a regular basis), includes path and road cleaning and clearing, trimming of grass and plants and periodical remarking of lines and signs.

Kingston BUG will be lobbying Councillors and Council officers to get a system in place, with specifications, timetable and budget allocations.

In the shorter term we will need to address problems that are geographically specific and may be identified for particular attention. These will include:

• Paths cracked by subsidence or heavy traffic (usually maintenance or construction vehicles) and potholes
• Bike parking rails that have been vandalised.
• Overhanging branches.
• Broken fences along trail.
• Drainage problems
• Grading and resurfacing of granitic sand trails.
• Grass over trail surface.
• Anything else that is dangerous.

We can assist by reporting these and other problems directly to Customer Service at municipal offices. Usually these problems are not fixed because the responsible persons are simply not aware of them.

Remember: LET THEM KNOW AND GET IT FIXED.

Also see:

• How to get cycling problems addressed
• Kingston Bicycle Strategy Update