Ever wonder what a vision for cycling looks like for Darebin?

The Streets for People Report done by the Hansen Partnership and Martyn Group 2018 can be downloaded here 

It lists the top 8 cycling routing and steps to improve safety and connectivity

Introduction

Cities are always evolving. The many components that make up cities, including suburbs, neighbourhoods, streets and the buildings that line them are part of a dynamic urban ecosystem shaped by many difference social, economic and environmental forces.

In the City of Darebin, notable shifts in demographic and cultural profile over the decades has changed the public perception of urban living and convenience with widespread recognition of the role that urban planning and design can play in community health and well-being.

One important part of this evolving system is transport, and Darebin (and metropolitan Melbourne more broadly) has seen transformative change in relation to transport services and user behavior – in particular with shifts away from private vehicle use towards public transport (rail, tram, bus, taxi), cycling and pedestrian focused activity (or a combination of some or all).

Darebin’s streets (within the confines of the road reserve) are more than ever before under pressure to support private vehicle movements, alongside other more environmentally sustainable modes of movement, in particular for cyclists and pedestrians – where conflicts can be serious.

Given the well acknowledged sustainability and health and well-being benefits of these ‘people powered’ modes of movement, we need to do more to accommodate them within the road reservation.

This Streets for People – Feasibility Study represents an important early step adjusting the profile and performance of designated streets in Darebin to support improved local pedestrian and cycle accessibility and better connectivity to and through Darebin to surrounding Municipalities.

This Study explores alternative street configurations (and cross sections) that help to strikes an appropriate balance between the demand for local private vehicle movement and other more sustainable modes of movement in the context of Darebin’s particularly diverse neighbourhood character and image.

PART A

This Study focuses on 8 designated sustainable transport corridors previously identified by the City that traverse the municipality and its grid network (2 north-south aligned corridors and 6 aligned east-west corridors).

The Study defines a ‘Kit of Parts’ applied variously to each corridor (in sections) grounded in the now Nationally recognized ‘Movement and Place’ ideology.

This recognizes that there is a nexus between the ‘Movement’ function of a street and its ‘Place’ value, which can inform opportunities for bespoke corridor design treatments that (where appropriate) balance pedestrian and cycling functions in a street with those of private vehicle users.

The Study identifies a suite of 15 different typical treatments that can be progressively applied to the corridors, underpinned by a strategic Corridor Framework Concept that looks at influences beyond the road reservation itself.

This project does not seek to disenfranchise conventional private car users, rather it seeks to adopt careful urban design and spatial demarcations within the road reserve to ensure that practical, safe, convenient and attractive options are available for all cyclists and pedestrians.

This is pertinent in the sometimes challenging negotiation of local street spaces and with respect to connectivity beyond Darebin’s designated network to surrounding municipalities. To this end, this Study represents a paradigm shift in thinking about streets (and road reservations) as spaces for all users.

The economic feasibility of the proposal treatments is not evaluated in detail in this Study, however it does indicate opportunities for important early infrastructure works (civil and urban design) which serve as a local and regional catalyst for behavior change. We all accept that significant shifts in road use and behavior does not occur overnight. As such, this project highlights critical priorities for implementation and management in support of progressive harmonization of Darebin’s valued street assets.