Background
One of the key themes that Council heard when developing the Whitehorse Cycling Strategy was that a large section of the community are interested in cycling but are concerned about safety. We were told that people would feel more encouraged to ride, or ride more often, if there were:
- More off-road paths
- Safer ways to cross arterial roads and
- More safe linkages to shops and other key destinations
Council agrees with these comments and actions to address them are prioritised within the Whitehorse Cycling Strategy. One of these actions is to develop ‘Easy Ride’ routes that use low stress streets throughout the municipality.
Low Stress Streets
Traffic stress relates to the perceived danger associated with riding a bike close to motor traffic, including parked cars. Cyclists, depending on their ability, have a varying level of tolerance for traffic stress. Some riders are confident riding in heavy traffic, but many riders experience some level of stress and anxiety in these circumstances.
Whitehorse Council has embarked on creating a network of cycling routes that use streets that have low traffic volumes and speeds, are less stressful, safer and more pleasant for people to ride along. These routes are referred to as ‘Easy Rides’.
Easy Ride Routes
When developing the network of Easy Ride routes we have to consider issues including (but not limited to):
- How direct it is to off-road paths and key destinations such as schools, shops, business precincts and recreation facilities
- The location of crossing facilities across arterial roads
- Topography (how flat or steep the route is) and
- Safety (e.g. speed and volume of motor vehicles in the street, car parking in the street, public transport routes)
Ultimately it would be great to have Easy Ride routes criss-crossing throughout the entire municipality. However, as a starting point, we need to prioritise the routes. All proposed routes will be ranked according to set criteria, including those listed above. When implementing the routes, Council will install signage and where required, improve the road and path conditions, so that the routes are safe and easy to navigate.
Draft Routes
Council officers have some preliminary ideas for six routes. View Council’s preliminary thoughts on the six route ideas ( PDF 1.09MB). Community engagement activities have been held to gain initial feedback regarding the draft routes. Find out about the outcomes and what the next steps are ( PDF 431.78KB) in developing the routes.
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