The history
2018: The City of Port Phillip’s integrated transport strategy Move Live Connect designates Albert/Kerferd Roads as a priority bike route. CoPP prepares a Kerferd Rd safety trial, including a protected bike lane, supported by extensive traffic modelling.
However in the 2018/19 budget, the State Government committed $13m to the Shrine to Sea project, upgrading the Albert Rd/ Kerferd Rd boulevard including active transport links.
In the face of this, the Council decided not to proceed with their own trial.
The Shrine to Sea project has proceeded glacially, with extensive community consultation, and a draft design expected to go out for consultation in 2022.
Kerferd Rd bike lane current condition
Pop-up lanes project
In 2022, VicRoads announced that as part of their pop-up bike lanes project, “40km of new and protected bike lanes” would be installed in the City of Port Phillip. Most of this was so-called “light touch” measures: renewing paint on existing on-road lanes, wayfaring signs, and speed humps.
The single substantive measure was a trial of a parking-protected bike lane on Kerferd Rd, between Richardson St and Canterbury Rd. This would include a bollard protected bike lane under the light rail near the Albert Rd/Canterbury Rd intersection. Protection from cars is essential on this stretch of road, as can be seen in the photo below.
In April 2022 VicRoads announced that following “community consultation” the trial would not go ahead.
Google streetview of lightrail underpass, showing a vehicle veering dangerously into the bike lane
Planning context
Kerferd Rd is an extraordinarily wide boulevard. Few inner city streets offer such ample space for introducing simple safety improvements. There are two vehicle lanes in each direction, a very wide grassy median and a mix of angle parking and parallel parking against the curb. There are almost no driveways. After Canterbury Rd it becomes Albert Rd, and runs alongside Albert Park, with service roads for much of the length. At the south-west end is the sea, at the north east end is the Shrine of Remembrance and the Domain. There are extensive sporting facilities in Albert Park, and nearby schools include Middle Park Primary, Albert Park Primary, South Melbourne Park Primary, and MacRob Girls High School.
Kerferd Rd is not a VicRoads declared road although Albert Road is. The Albert Rd/Kerferd Rd route is a State Strategic Cycling corridor, which are “the most important routes for cycling for transport”.
Strategic cycling corridors, December 2020
Albert Rd/Kerferd Rd is route 2 on the City of Port Phillip’s bicycle network, and has been identified as a high priority by Council for many years.
The need
Council’s original plan for Kerferd Rd identified the need for improvement here:
Kerferd Road has a very high number of crashes compared to other Council-managed roads in Port Phillip. In the five-year period ending in June 2017, there were 25 recorded crashes on Kerferd Road that resulted in injury to bike riders, drivers and pedestrians.
15 crashes resulted in injury to bike riders
1 crash resulted in injury to a pedestrian
10 crashes caused serious injuries
Kerferd Road is a key link for bike riders and connects the Bay Trail bike path to the off-road paths in Albert Park Reserve, the new Anzac Station and to the proposed upgraded bike facilities on St Kilda Road and Moray Street.
Heat map from Strava shows existing heavy bike use of Kerferd Rd, similar to St Kilda Rd or Beaconsfield Parade
What the experts say
Separated bike lanes are essential for better mental and physical health: the Heart Foundation says that Victoria should be investing in separated bike lanes improve health, as well as support local businesses, save households money, and provide independence and freedom, especially for children, teenagers, the elderly and people with a disability. They estimate that $13 would be returned in value for every $1 spent.
Separated bike lanes make financial sense: Infrastructure Victoria says “if we provide alternatives that get more cars off the road, everyone benefits. For drivers, it means less time in traffic and travelling to the city becomes a better experience. For everyone else, the environmental and productivity benefits are huge.”
Community concerns
Many community concerns were raised about the trial, include a scaremongering petition that was circulated claiming that the trial would “mean a loss of parking spots, a bike lane (where one already exists) and using ugly concrete bollards between the nature strip and the parked cars”.
Screenshot from the anti-bike lane trial petition
Rather than respond to these concerns with either modifying the design or by correcting misinformation, or even by pointing out that a trial would give everyone the chance to identify issues and correct them, VicRoads abandoned the project.
Sign ouR Petition to Local Member of Parliament, Minister Martin Foley, and Roads Minister, Ben Carroll.
In our petition, we ask for the re-instatement of the trial. This will allow any issues to be addressed ahead of the planned installation of permanent, separated bike lanes in the Shrine to Sea project.