A member of a group that Super-Gran often rides with is so concerned about the suitability of the cycling facilities to be installed as a part of the EastLink project that he's distributing an email circular about it. In an email to me Ron said:
Have just returned from the Great WA Bike Ride and the 40km into Perth was along a new path beside a freeway – gradual curves and gradients, lots of underpasses so you could maintain an average speed of about 30 – if WA can do it so can we.
Let's face it, road construction companies don't make bike paths in
freeway tollway corridors just to be good corporate citizens
(despite what their PR spin and propaganda may say). It sounds like the
government, SEITA, and Theiss John Holland aren't taking this seriously
on EastLink and the bare minimum will be done in order to fulfil
contractual obligations unless cyclists work hard to keep them
honest.
Ron's circular reads as follows:
Eastlink Bike Path Concerns
It would appear that the bike path facilities planned as part of the Eastlink project are not adequate – particularly in this era when cycle commuting should be promoted as a viable alternative to car use.
What we are getting is a first rate freeway but a third rate bike path!
If this is of concern to you please read on and take some action.
Write to or email your local MPs.
Feel free to forward this email notice on to others who might be interested.
Further detail
In December last year I visited the SEITA display to enquire about the bike path facility. There was little information. I did pick up that all road crossings would most likely be made at ‘grade level' – ie, riding down to the cross road, crossing using traffic lights and then riding back up to the freeway level. Few, if any, bike overpasses or tunnels. (This is the situation on the Monash extension to Berwick with the outcome of some very steep gradients and delays at traffic lights).
My concerns were emailed to SEITA and the responsible Minister in mid-December. A reply was received early March. This reply lacked detail but there was a contact phone number for further information. On making this contact I spoke to the engineer responsible for the bike facility. I asked him to detail the bike path facility through Knox as this is what I am most familiar with. I paraphrase his response:
(Beginning from Melways 63E3)
At Dandenong Creek the bike path will use the existing path through Winton Wetlands and Koomba Park. Much of this path is gravel and as yet there is no decision on upgrading the surface. A new path will be built along the freeway alignment from close to Mountain Hwy through to High Street Rd. Road crossings at Mountain Hwy, Burwood Hwy and High Street Rd will all be at grade level and make use of traffic lights. From High Street Rd the path will rejoin the existing bike path that goes to Nortons Rd, through Jells Park and Corhanwarrabul Wetlands. Some parts of the surface of this path may be upgraded.
My reactions
* The freeway length through Knox is in excess of 20km and yet the planned new bike path facility is only about 4km.
* Road crossings at grade level are not conducive to cycle commuting as they present inappropriate gradients and unwanted time delays while waiting for lights to change.
* Gravel surfaces are not appropriate for efficient cycling.
* Using the existing paths through areas such as Koomba Park and Jells Park are also not efficient for many reasons – they wind around, take cyclists out of the way, have pedestrians and dogs.
The Bracks Government have a great opportunity to provide a first class cycling facility as part of the Eastlink Project but they obviously do not have commitment to either the cycling community or to the environment (reducing greenhouse gas emissions, etc).
In the discussion that I had with the SEITA engineer he stated that Bicycle Victoria was part of the planning process and that he thought they seemed satisfied with the outcome. If this is the case it is of great concern so please send a copy of any communications you make to Bicycle Victoria.
This project is still in the planning and development stages. If we, as cyclists, want a better facility we must act now. As this is an election year we may be able to gain some effect. Suggest sending a letter or email to the responsible Minister (Peter Batchelor), and copies to SEITA, your local member and Bicycle Victoria. Letters to the newspaper and local papers may also highlight the issue.
Please do not copy this email but write a short comment in your own words.
Some possible contacts
The Hon. Peter Batchelor,
Minister for Transport
Level 26, Nauru House, 80 Collins St, Melbourne 3000
peter.batchelor @parliament.vic.gov.auSEITA
Building 1, level 1, Brandon Business Park
540 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley, 3150
Phone: 8562 6800 and ask for Liz Iser
contact@seita.com.auBicycle Victoria
GPO Box 1961, Melbourne, 3001
bicyclevic@bv.com.au
State legislative Assembly Peter Lockwood
Member for Bayswater
2/10 Station St, Bayswater, 3155
peter.lockwood @parliament.vic.gov.auAnne Eckstein
Member for Ferntree Gully
Shop 40, Mountain Gate Shoppping Centre, Ferntree Gully, 3156
anne.eckstein @parliament.vic.gov.auJames Merlino
Member for Monbulk
Shop 3, 230 Dorset Rd, Boronia, 3155
james.merlino @parliament.vic.gov.auKim Wells
Member for Scorseby
9 Lynton Place, Scoresby
kim.wells @parliament.vic.gov.auJenny Lindell
Member for Carrum
434 Nepean Hwy, Chelsea, 3196
Jennifer.lindell @parliament.vic.gov.auHon. John Pandazapoulos
Member for Dandenong
5/50 Robinson St, Dandenong, 3175
john.pandazapoulos @parliament.vic.gov.auKirstie Marshall
Member for Forest Hill
4 Lawrence St, Blackburn South, 3130
kirstie.lawrence @parliament.vic.gov.auAlistair Harkness
Member for Frankston
140 young St, Frankston, 3199
alistair.harkness @parliament.vic.gov.auDympna Beard
Member for Croydon
60 Main St, Croydon, 3136
dympna.beard @parliament.vic.gov.auTony Robinson
Member for Mitcham
9 Blackburn Rd, Blackburn, 3130
tony.robinson @parliament.vic.gov.auDaniel Andrews
Member for Mulgrave
517A Princes Hwy, Noble Park, 3174
Daniel.andrews @parliament.vic.gov.au
State Legislative Council Eummerring Province The Hon. Gordon Rich-Phillips,
1/31 PRINCES HWY, DANDENONG 3175
gordon.rich-phillips @parliament.vic.gov.auThe Hon. Adem Somyurek,
UNIT 2/24 LANGHORNE STREET, DANDENONG 3175
adem.somyurek @parliament.vic.gov.auKoonung Province The Hon Bruce Atkinson,
153-155 SPRINGVALE RD, NUNAWADING 3131
bruce.atkinson@parliament,vic.gov.auThe Hon Helen Buckingham,
UNIT 1, 426-430 BURWOOD HWY, WANTIRNA STH 3152
helen.buckingham @parliament.vic.gov.auSilvan Province The Hon. Andrew Olexander,
SHOPS 5 & 6, 232 RIDGE RD, OLINDA 3788
andrew.olexander @parliament.vic.gov.auThe Hon. Carolyn Hirsh,
13a CIVIC PL, RINGWOOD 3134
carolyn.hirsh @parliament.vic.gov.auWaverley Province The Hon. Andrew Brideson,
4 HAMILTON PL, MOUNT WAVERLEY 3149
Pager 9625-1392
andrew.brideson @parliament.vic.gov.auJohn Lenders,
Suite 1, 40 Montclair Ave, Glen Waverley 3150
john.lenders @parliament.vic.gov.auChelsea province Robert Smith,
376 NEPEAN HWY, CHELSEA 3196
robert.smith @parliament.vic.gov.auMatthew Viney,
445 NEPEAN HWY, FRANKSTON 3199
matt.viney @parliament.vic.gov.au
Comments
Hi - I agree that this is dissapointing. I work in Doncaster and travel from Endeavour Hills and was hoping to ride at least 50% of the journey, but now, why would I bother? I have written to Peter Batchelor and will advise you all of any reply I get.
Matt
Good work Matt. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you—nearly a year later and I'm still waiting for a reply on this one…
Well I sent a follow up 30 days after my original note, and received a response, that my note has only now been forwarded to "the Minister for Roads Hon. Tim Pallas MP". So I assume it will be another 30 days until I send another follow up to see any response again? :) In addition to the original article above, the newish Syndey western bypass has great tracks alongside it too...
You know, you really shouldn't have to make a follow-up like that—but now that's it's with the Minister for Cars I'm sure you'll get a speedy and reasonable response.
Ummm, maybe…
Well - i finally got a response!! In a little over 2 months, not bad for the goverment actually. below is the response I got, however I don't know if this addresses the issue of potential unsealed pathway still existing:
along the EastLink route are a feature of EastLink's design. Linking to Melbourne's extensive
network of shared use pathways, the three metre-wide concrete pathway will provide
recreational opportunities for people from Seaford to the city.
Mullum Mullum Valley, Ringwood Bypass, Schwerkolt Cottage and Eastland to;
Simpsons Park / Heatherdale Reserve Proclamation Park to;
Koomba Park via Dandenong Creek Trail to Wantirna Reserve on to;
Blind Creek / Llewellyn Park Complex on to
Nortons Park, Shepherds Bush, Drummies Bridge Reserve to
Jells Park Trail Network and Chesterfield Farm
Mulgrave Reserve / Dandenong Creek and Tirhatuatan Park through to
Fotheringham Reserve Trail to Mile Creek and Greaves Reserve via Dandenong
Creek trail to
National Watersports Complex-Patterson Lakes open space, Carrum Foreshore or
via Ray Dove Reserve, Edithvale Wetland, Seaford Frankston Foreshore and the Port
Phillip Bay Trail Network beyond.
which is simply not true. For instance, the section between Burwood Hwy/Mountain Hwy and
Ferntree Gully Rd is completely new pathway. North of Mountain Highway there will be
upgrades to the existing paths. At Ferntree Gully Rd, the path diverts to the existing
Dandenong Creek trail, which will be fully upgraded.
walkers will not have to cross at lights at this location. Most intersections on the path are
grade separated, however in a few cases the crossing is via pedestrian signals.
Shared use pathways will be constructed to minimise the impact on the environment,
including avoiding sensitive vegetation. The provision of the extensive EastLink shared use
pathways will enhance open space accessibility to all within the communities of the eastern
and south eastern suburbs who choose to use the newly created network for active and
passive recreation as well as transportation.
Gee, I wonder if that's me who's "spreading misinformation". I ought to be ashamed of myself!
Good one Matt--I'm glad they finally got back to you with some kind of answer.
What's going to happen re: linking the Ferny Creek trail to the Dandenong Creek trail via Corhanwarrabul Creek. This needs a bike underpass parallel to the creek and under the tollway - are there any plans for this?
Check the wikipedia under Ferny Creek Trail, for further details.
Any one know where a map of the new bike tollway path can be found?
I haven't heard much about that at all and neither has my local snout. If I could hazard a guess, I'd say that anything that John Theiss Holland is not strictly obliged to do, they won't do. So if the underpass isn't already part of the deal, it's probably not going to happen.
As for maps, SEITA has some fancy interactive maps, but I'm not sure how helpful they are for the purposes of examining the new pathway.
A link to a map of the EastLink path is available here - it's hiding at the bottom of the page.
I've remapped it here in mauve using Google Maps so it can be seen without difficulty
Here is Corhanwarrabul Creek
The idea was to link the path in the top right corner (Ferny Creek Trail) to the path at the left hand side (Dandenong Creek Trail) using the creek for the alignment. As you can see provision needs to be made for it under the tollway, just as they did and had the foresight to do for the Federation trail, where it passes under the western ring road here
See also: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferny_Creek_Trail
Apparently the ALP were going to finance it - are we missing out on a promise here? 00k in fact? See Wikipedia entry above and this link
May be they are trying to sneak around Ferntree Gully road instead but that's not the best place to ride on a day out with the kids.
Maps versus posts in this blog
East Link shared path http://www.thiessjohnholland.com.au/notices/shared_use_path_information http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.904116,145.205612&z=12&t=k
Probing party policies - Corhanwarrabul Creek http://treadly.net/2006/04/12/eastlink-bike-path-concerns/ http://treadly.net/2006/11/22/probing-party-policies/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.913597,145.219903&z=15&t=k
Beat-up over Mullum Mullum bike path http://treadly.net/2007/02/23/beat-up-over-mullum-mullum-bike-path/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.807614,145.203209&z=15&t=k
Eastlink Path Upgrade: No Pain, No Gain? http://treadly.net/2007/05/11/eastlink-path-upgrade-no-pain-no-gain/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.850052,145.213251&z=15&t=k
Solway St Bridge: It's getting tedious now http://treadly.net/2007/05/10/solway-st-bridge-its-getting-tedious-now/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.875006,145.071062&z=17&t=k
Daft Master Plan for Gardiners Creek http://treadly.net/2007/06/18/draft-master-plan-for-gardiners-creek/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.87404,145.083132&z=16&t=k
Paths Less Travelled http://treadly.net/2007/04/23/paths-less-travelled-april-2007/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.795542,145.133343&z=13&t=k
Clear for take-off on the Gardiners Creek Trail http://treadly.net/2007/05/05/clear-for-take-off-on-the-gardiners-creek-trail/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.870212,145.067618&z=17&t=k
Starting the year on the Warburton Trail http://treadly.net/2007/01/02/warburton-trail-2007/ http://www.bigyak.net.au/gmaps/vicbiketrailsgmap.html?ll=-37.767458,145.525589&z=11&t=k
Has anyone heard whether the newly revamped Ferntree Gully station is getting a decent bike shed? My daughters would like to ride their bikes to school, but there is no way they are going to leave it at the station to get nicked or bashed up.
According to Bicycle Victoria a Parkiteer cage will be opening at Ferntree Gully station in March 2010.