Advocacy and Campaigns

Current issues

1. The dangers associated with bike traffic over Shepherds Bridge carrying Napier St./Footscray Rd. over the Maribyrnong River (click here to see Powerpoint presentation) are now to be alleviated! The horrible off-road ‘bike path’ (really a 50 year old pedestrian path!) that crosses the bridge probably carries more cyclists (582: 7-9am ‘Super Tuesday’ count result) than any other section of path in the entire municipality of Maribyrnong. It is the most important commuter access point for cyclists riding on the Footscray Road bike path to the city. As part of the Bay Trail West Link funding, VicRoads has bowed to (our!) pressure and included a bridge upgrade in the planning for the link. Work has already started on parts of the new route alongside Whitehall St. When I get a new camera (my old one is broken) I will be down there snapping pics and posting links to them here, In the meantime, here is Bicycle Victoria’s report.

2. Submission on behalf of Maribyrnong Bicycle Users Group (MazzaBug) regarding future developments in Melbourne’s East West transportation as it relates to cycling, especially around the City of Maribyrnong.
East West Needs Assessment Letter
Port of Melbourne Letter

3. Members should be pleased to learn that Vicroads has bowed to (our!) public pressure on the deplorable state of the Federation Trail and has now resurfaced most of it. Thanks should go to the campaigns team at Bicycle Victoria for pushing this issue and achieving such an outstanding outcome.
http://www.bv.com.au/change-the-world/11724/

4. The Bay Trail West link (2 and 3 on this hand-drawn map), from Stony Creek Backwash under the Westgate Bridge to Shepherd’s Bridge across the Maribyrnong at Footscray Rd, now has a preferred alignment, with TraffixGroup and the Port of Melbourne having listened to submissions from The City of Maribyrnong, Parks Victoria, VicRoads, Bicycle Victoria and MazzaBUG (us!) (See PowerPoint presentation on blackspots along the current route). The alignment is now scheduled to follow Whitehall St (east side), Somerville Rd (south side) and Hyde St (substantially upgraded shared path east side). There is no word on whether the on-road lanes will be upgraded in tandem, although I will write the relevant VicRoads person a letter seeking to establish this. Construction has now started alongside Whitehall St. on this section of the path.

Whitehall St. path

5. Dynon Port Rail Link Bridge 29/7/08:

Dynon Port Rail Link is designed to allow extremely long container freight trains upgraded access to the port area, to replace the level crossing (and the 5 minute long trains) across Footscray Rd (under Citylink) that now exists. A bike path has been built alongside the road, with traffic barriers and crossings of Appleton Dock Rd.

I rode the new bridge path last night (not the first to do so, judging from the tyre tracks on the concrete tracked from the remaining patches of gravel on the approach ramp), and it seems fine, although a little bumpy for 120 p.s.i. road tyres on the downslope towards Footscray.

Picture looking east-south-east with Jono Shadbolt a few weeks ago whilst it was under construction.

Here’s a letter received from the rather communicative (for the road building industry) project office re the path:

Dear Mark,

Please find below an update on the Dynon Port Rail Link Project which you
may wish to post on your website to advise members of the MazzaBUG.

Weather permitting,  the new bi-directional shared path on the Footscray
Road outbound bridge will be opened to cyclists and pedestrians on Monday
28 July.  In the interim, the current at-grade temporary path will be
monitored and maintained daily to ensure cyclist comfort and safety.  The
Department of Transport and Leighton Contractors thank cyclists and
pedestrians for their patience during this period.

Kind regards,

Briana Dewar

railprojectenquiries@transport.vic.gov.au
1800 RAIL 00 (1800 724 500)

Write or phone to say that you like it after you have ridden it, if you do. I’ve written a letter about the two little obselete crossing bumps to the west  to the bridge – we might have good bike path along there one day! Maybe a couple more in support would help?

Hello Courtney,

Thankyou to your office, particularly Briana Dewar, for providing work updates for the members of MazzaBUG over the course of the construction works of the Rail Link Project. It has been helpful and encouraging for members to know that a top-level facility is in the wings. On first glance, it looks well-designed and constructed from a cyclist’s point of view.

I would like to draw your attention to something adjacent to the project, which may fall under your department’s area of responsibility. There are two obsolete driveway entrances to the east end of the container yard area, entering from Footscray Rd., across the bike path immediately to the west of, and also next to, roadworks for the new outbound bridge. They no longer access the port area, having a fence and the rail line across the end of them, and concrete divider strips next to the roadway blocking Footscray Rd. traffic from entering, although sometimes cars park there, blocking the bike path. The grade of the bike path dips significantly to cross both driveways, and the rise and fall is uncomfortable and possibly dangerous, if you came across them at night and you were unprepared. One member reported nearly being thrown off her bike whilst riding across them unawares for the first time. It would be a little inconguous if such a high quality cycleway on the bridge was bookended by such ad-hoc and out-of-date engineering as this, a legacy from when the path was first constructed.

Perhaps there is money in the Rail Link budget to remedy this, and level the grade of the path along this stretch - maybe from the pool all the high-quality temporary asphalting of the interim path was drawn from. This was also a very good service, and Leightons and the relevant officers in the various government departments are to be commended on such a smooth, high-quality effort to keep cyclists happy, safe and dry during construction. Please pass on our members congratulations to those responsible for this facility.

If this is not your area of responsibility, would you please forward this email to the relevant person in VicRoads or Port of Melbourne for their attention.

Thankyou,

Mark Horner, Safety and Advocacy Officer, MazzaBUG