Inkerman St safety corridor update: Council prioritises car parking over a safe bike lane

At the council meeting on 15th May, Council had a huge crowd in attendance, filling the gallery and overflowing into the lobby.

On the table were two options: Option A, a protected bike lane on Inkerman St. Option B, a painted lane. Both options had improved pedestrian safety, including 3 crossings, and much larger car parking spaces to accommodate SUVs. Option A would result in the loss of 114 car parks, while option B would result in the loss of 14 car parks. Both incorporated the scheduled resheeting of Inkerman Rd (which accounts for a substantial proportion of the headline costs).

Per the council documents, Option A had better safety outcomes and better aligned with Council policy, to encourage sustainable transport options. It was supported by slightly more people in the consultation phase than option B. Despite this, in the summary the council officers noted that “Local businesses are concerned that parking loss associated with Option A may adversely impact their business” and therefore recommended Option B.

The contention that replacing car parking with a dedicated safe bike lane would adversely affect business was not backed up by any data—- in fact studies from around the world conclude that this kind of intervention leads to streets that thrive more than nearby streets without (e.g see this article https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-08/for-store-owners-bike-lanes-boost-the-bottom-line ).

There were around 60 speakers from the public registered, though in the end only around 40 spoke.

Jacob live-tweeted the public speakers here: https://twitter.com/Hailfromthepale/status/1790665119246295242?t=iAhxuIIT4hu5EOMzlwy_ug&s=19

Most of the comment was from people concerned about losing their parking. There wasn’t much engagement with the council report showing that there was adequate capacity on or near the street—- or perhaps just the thought of having to drive a little further was unacceptable.

There was also some great comment from speakers in support of the lane, including Pierre, a retired local who rides to the PCYC gym almost daily, the salvation army op shop, and Neighbours cafe. A health care worker who spoke passionately about the effect a serious crash can have on people’s lives. Henry (a primary school kid) who urged the councillors to think of the next generation. Rhonda was one of the other few speakers addressing climate change: “if not now when?” Jacob commented that as a Jew, there is a moral imperative to save lives; however saving parking is NOT a Jewish value.

In the Council discussion: Councillor Crawford moved that Option B be accepted. Crawford has previously been supportive of safe bike infrastructure, so this was disappointing. Councillor Martin said that in the case Option B didn’t get up, he’d move a hybrid option—- protected lane between St Kilda Rd and Chapel St, unprotected lane therefter. Councillor Nyaguy said that in the case that Option B was unsuccessful, he’d move to support Option A. Councillor Pearl advocated that the cost of Option B was too much. Councillor Clarke said that everyone has a right to park “as close as possible” to the front of their house.

Mayor Heather Cunsolo said that we should all take more responsibility as a community for keeping cyclists safe, including making head checks and doing the “dutch reach” (using the left hand to open the driver’s side door to avoid dooring). Note that in the Netherlands, cyclists are actually kept safe by separated bike lanes, modal filters, and low-vehicle environments. Relying on mindfulness is also not the Safe Systems approach— which views human life and health as paramount to all else, and “aims to create a system where mistakes and crashes do not result in death or serious injury”.

Option B was voted in. Voting in favour (I think): Crawford, Cunsolo, Clarke, Sirakoff, Bond, Baxter. Voting against: Pearl and Nyaguy. Abstaining: Martin. There was a division called.

A disappointing result. We had a chance to create a greener street, both in terms of actual vegetation and also one that supported sustainable and inclusive travel. We’ve missed that chance. Stay safe out there everyone.

Update 18/5: Port Phillip BUG has registered a formal complaint regarding the council officers’ recommendation for Option B. We believe this was unsupported by any professional expertise that the officers should have exercised; by the council’s policy objectives; and by the community consultation process.

Kerferd Rd bike lane (update April 2023)

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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.

Over 2020-2021, a community panel met, considered evidence from subject matter experts, and together developed a vision for the boulevard. Among a suite of thoughtful recommendations: “Bike lanes to be interconnected for the entire length of the boulevard; Use landscaping to define a separate bike pathway on Kerferd Road to isolate bikes from cars.

Kerferd Rd bike lane, 2020

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

Current situation:

The Shrine to Sea team is supposed to be releasing a draft plan in “early 2023”. They have been evaluating “5 different bike lane and road configurations”. As this is a Council road, council’s support is required for the project to go ahead. While some councillors have made their support for a protected bike lane clear, others are opposed to any changes. The support of Mayor Heather Cunsolo, who “talks the talk” on cycling, will be crucial.

Planning context

Kerferd Rd is an extraordinarily wide boulevard. At about 60m wide, it is similar to St Kilda Road, but has no tram lines or high density buildings. 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 the boulevard is called 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. Between 2016 and 2020, there were 24 recorded crashes along Kerferd Road. Of these, 11 involved cyclists; three received serious injuries. This site has the second highest number of crashes in the City of Port Phillip. This crash data has been provided by the Road Crash Information System (RCIS). This system is maintained and operated by the Department of Transport and Victoria Police.

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.” An increase of 55% of people choosing to cycle is achievable and could save every inner Melbourne car driver around 18 minutes in traffic per week.

People with disabilities need bike lanes to get scooters off the footpath: Vision Australia advocacy manager Chris Edwards said vision-impaired Victorians were concerned about being hit by riders or tripping over parked hire scooters. “[In] our view there’s not the infrastructure that supports [scooters] – bike lanes, appropriate places where you can park the scooters so they’re not a hazard – still hasn’t caught up. Without [that]... they’ll be an ongoing issue.” Age article, Jan 2023.

Community views

Broad-based surveys of Port Phillip residents consistently reflect support for protected bike lanes (the pop-up painted bike lanes by the DoT in 2022, on the other hand, were controversial). For example, the most popular element of Council’s Integrated Transport Strategy was “Deliver a network of dedicated and continuous priority bike lanes to create safer routes for all ages and abilities”. Surveys completed in 2018 by the City of Melbourne found that 83% of respondents living in Melbourne and adjacent municipalities (including City of Port Phillip) would aim to ride if a protected bike lane was provided compared to 22% who say they would be confident to ride on conventional painted bike lanes (without buffers).

More community views (from Heart Foundation, Victoria Walks, PECAN, and others) in a joint statement here.

The concerns raised by the anti-bike lane lobby include: “Safety - a bike track between the walking path, nature strips and the road, puts the residents at risk of tripping over the concrete bollards. Many residents along this road are elderly and transition from car, pathway and then into their property and they would be at more risk if this plan goes ahead.  Duplication - There is already a bike path for our 'much loved' bike riders. Even bike riders will not benefit from these changes. Parking - Albert Park residents pay a fee to the City of Port Phillip council to park out the front of their own homes. Yet, this plan will reduce current parking for Kerferd Rd residents.  Traffic chaos- Kerferd Road currently does not have any traffic issues. One lane WILL cause traffic to bank up at the lights at Beaconsfield Parade. Expenses - it is believed that finance (in excess of $12-16m) has already been earmarked for this project with the Victorian State Government. “

These claims are either entirely without evidence, can be mitigated by good design, or are just the cost side of the ledger, without considering the benefit side. For example: while some car parks may be lost over a rather long stretch, car parking has been prioritised under most suggested plans, and almost all of it will be retained. For example: Kerferd Rd does have traffic issues, not only the safety issues mentioned above but also hooning. Traffic modelling specific to Kerferd Rd indicates that reducing the road to one lane will not induce “traffic chaos”. For example: the expense of cycle lanes is off-set by improved public health, reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality, and reduced greenhouse emissions.

We need a protected bike lane trial on Kerferd Rd

Sign our petition to reinstate the bike lane trial on Kerferd Rd

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.

Safe space for cycling and walking

Proposal: that the City of Port Phillip and VicRoads install pop-up bikes lanes on key routes to ensure safe distancing during exercise and commuting. We also request that Council widens footpaths in well-used shopping streets to allow safe space for walking.

During the pandemic shut down, we’ve seen popular recreational routes (such as the Bay Trail) become quite busy, with poor prospects for maintaining social distancing.

As we consider easing restrictions and returning to work, maintaining social distancing on public transport will be challenging and by some estimates, will reduce capacity by 90%.

In order to ensure safe exercising now and safe commuting in the future, we are asking CoPP to install temporary bike lanes with bollards, water barriers, or even by just removing parking lanes.

Precedents: This has been implemented extensively overseas in cities such as Berlin and Milan, and also by the City of Melbourne.

Supporting council’s long-term transport planning: The routes we suggest below are either State strategic bike routes, or part of the Council’s planned bicycle network. Pop-up bicycle lanes in these locations would support a more informed consultation process when the time comes to consider making them permanent.

Suggested routes: Prioritise routes that are popular for recreation, key commuter routes, or routes where there are ample alternatives for car parking or vehicle traffic, and routes that join up with City of Melbourne improved routes.

• Beach Road/ Marine Parade/ Beaconsfield Parade: This is a popular com- muter cycle route, yet on the beach side there is no continuous on-road bike lane, and on the other side, it is in the door zone. Even with reduced motor traffic volumes, it is unsafe. Furthermore, installing a pop-up bike lane would take pressure off the parallel Bay Trail, which has become very crowded with joggers and recreational cyclists. This could easily be done by re-allocating the clear way/car parking along Beaconsfield Parade into an on-road bike lane, protected by temporary bollards.

• St Kilda Rd: A key commuter route, and one that was recognised by the RACV Strategic Cycling corridor review (January 2019) as offering the most potential for meeting the objectives of the Victorian Cycling Strategy. Again, this could be easily done by removing car parking, or reallocating a traffic lane.

• Chapel St: Another important commuter route recognised by the RACV review, and one where the car parking could be removed to form a bike lane.

• Albert Rd/ Kerferd Rd: There are plans for separated bike routes (with State government agencies leading), but in the meantime temporary bike routes can be installed. Council has already made extensive traffic studies of this route.

• Moray St: An important commuter route connecting to the City of Melbourne. This has protected cycle routes on half its length already.

Safe space for walking: We also suggest widening footpaths in well-used retail areas. As cafes and restaurants have moved to take-away only, on our narrow streets it’s difficult for customers to queue while leaving room for pedestrians to safely walk past.

• Allow shop owners the option of reserving curbside car parking areas directly in front of their shops as "safe space for standing" zones, marked off by bollards or the like.

• Re-allocate curbside carparks in retail streets with narrow footpaths to walking. Suitable streets here include stretches of Carlisle St, Bay St, Barkly St, and Ormond Rd Elwood.

Paint is not protection--- Park St Link

City of Port Phillip has released the first designs for the Park St Link, Route 3 on the planned network of protected bike lanes in the Integrated Transport Strategy (ITS). These designs are part of the Domain Masterplan, now open for consultation, until 14th August 2019.

The Park St Link is a short section connecting St Kilda Road (with its future separated lanes) at Anzac station, and Moray St (Route 3 of the ITS, which has been built as separated lanes to the north, and only “buffered” lanes to the south).

Substantial changes are proposed here, with a new tram line down the street, as well as some street closures.

Context: Park St Link (marked 3) connects St Kilda Rd with Moray St. Full map here.

The eastern section between St Kilda Road and King’s Way shows a completely separated lane, protected from vehicle movements by some kind of curb. The intersection with the minor cross-street, Wells Street, has been dealt with by building up the curbs at the entrance, indicating that the cycle lane and footpath are to have precedence.

St Kilda Road to King’s Way separated lanes

However the western end of the route, from King’s Way to Heather St, is what the council calls “protected”— that is, it is a green-painted lane with car parking on the left, and vehicles to the right. The “protection” is supposed to be provided by a painted buffer on both sides. Paint will not protect people on bikes from vehicles intruding into the bike lanes. Moreover, a non-separated lane does not provide the high level of safety required to encourage vulnerable or risk-averse potential cyclists.

King’s Way to Moray Street— a non-separated lane.

There is no apparent physical reason why such a mediocre treatment has been proposed here, rather than a Copenhagen style lane with car parking between the bike lane and the vehicle lane. There are very few driveways, with much of the section adjacent to parkland.

Based on the treatment of Moray St, the additional space requirements for a separated cycle lane are as little as 0.5m; however if required, the new tram lanes could be slightly off-set, allowing car parking on one side (as a Copenhagen lane) but not the other.

The closure of Eastern Road is commendable, with extra open space created. There is also a very short section of separated lane between Heather St and Moray St.

On the whole, this treatment fails to achieve its own stated outcome of “A safe, on-road separated bike lane to connect to other bike riding routes, including St Kilda Road, Moray Street and beyond“ (Draft Public Realm Masterplan, page 26).

It also fails to respond to the community, who said:

• Park Street to St Kilda Road is a critical connection for bike riders and needs to be closely considered.

• Big supporter of the separated bike path – following similar models like the ones used in the Netherlands.

• Separated bike path to help improve safety.

(Documented in the Domain Precinct Design Response Community Engagement Report.)

You can respond to the draft plans here—please copy your response to portphillipbug@gmail.com, so we can include your concerns when we meet with councillors. The Port Phillip BUG has also made a submission on behalf of our members.