Cycle speed study

By Rowan Webb

The City of Melbourne is conducting a cycle speed study along Southbank Promenade in April that will run for five weeks.

According to council data from 2017, more than 2000 cyclists travelled in and out of the city using either side of the Yarra River trail or St Kilda Rd during peak hours every day, making Southbank the most densely populated for cyclists in the municipality.

Starting on April 1, specific traffic logger tubes will be laid in two locations in order to monitor cyclists’ speeds and data gathered from the study will assist in informing the long-term safety strategy for the area.

Yarra River Business Association’s (YRBA) executive officer Tim Bracher commended the council study.

“A quantitative behavioural study of cycling on that section of the promenade will inform any new amelioration work needed to address any problem” Mr Bracher said.

The study will analyse the influence of dynamic and pavement signage on reducing the number of cyclists speeding along Southbank Promenade and will be completed in three phases:

Monday, April 1 – Sunday, April 7: Monitoring of current cyclist speeds

Monday, April 8 – Sunday, April 28: Installation of two temporary trailer based dynamic speed advisory signs

Monday, April 29 – Sunday, May 5: Installation of permanent advisory signs on the pavement.

A council spokesperson said that there was no plan in place to implement permanent bans on cyclists on the promenade.

Council is currently in the process of completing a $42 million upgrade to Southbank Boulevard, which may require temporary restrictions requiring cyclists to dismount for short distances to enhance safety for others during the construction period. However, a spokesperson confirmed that an awareness campaign would be launched prior to construction to educate cyclists on potential changes.