City of Greater Bendigo, Victoria, is breaking new ground with a new, two-way bike path connecting Latrobe University and Bendigo South East College to the Back Creek off road shared path.
The $445,000 project, funded by the City of Greater Bendigo, Transport Accident Commission and Regional Roads Victoria, greatly improves access and safety for cyclists.
Engineering Manager Brett Martini said cycling is a growing mode of transport and Ellis Street is a key link to and from the Bendigo City Centre to Bendigo South East College and Latrobe University campuses.
“While much of this route is fully separated from traffic via the off-road shared path along Back Creek cyclists did have to negotiate busy Ellis Street to get to the College and University.
“Most on-road bike lanes in Bendigo are located between the traffic lane and the parking lane with only a white line separating the cyclists from traffic but this project is different.
“In Ellis Street the new bike lanes have been constructed between the parking lane and kerb to provide a physical separation between the traffic and the bike lanes.
“There is also a buffer between the parking lane and the bike lanes to enable access and car door opening on the passenger side of the parked cars clear of the bike lane to provide a much safer, comfortable and consistent standard for cyclists along this route.
“The City is currently finalising access across the top corner of Bendigo South East College to connect to the University and this work is expected to be completed by the start of term three.”
Prior to construction of the separated cycleway, a short-term bike counter was installed on Ellis street and recorded an average of 29 bicycles per day.
After completion of the project, data from the new MetroCount permanent counter showed this figure more than doubled to 64 despite the university and school being closed due to COVID-19.
