Transport

Be Bright at Night 

Bike riders are some of our most vulnerable road users and we want them to do everything possible to improve their visibility and safety, especially during the winter months and when riding at night.

A white front light, a red rear light and a rear red reflector are essential to help drivers and pedestrians see approaching bike riders.

This video from our friends at VicRoads shows just how difficult it can be to see a cyclist who is not using lights.  
VIDEO: Be seen at night - look bright, use your lights!

A range of bike lights and reflective accessories can be purchased from retailers.  Bike riders can also check out the Bicycle Network's review of the Best bike lights 2017 for advice. 

Please urge your family and friends to wear highly reflective gear and to ride with lights to boost their visibility when riding at night. 

Bike Skills Workshops
Want to get around on a bike more but need a skills or confidence boost? Our series of bike skills workshops will help you learn more about your bike and how to ride safely on streets and bike paths. 

Our current range of workshops include:

• Women on Wheels (run by a female instructor for women wanting to build their confidence)
• Basic Bike Maintenance (for those wanting to learn how to look after their bike)
• Back on the Bike (for new riders wanting to develop their bike handling skills)
• Urban Cycling Confidence (for those wanting to develop their on-road riding skills)

These workshops are held in Autumn (February, March & April) and in Spring (September, October & November) every year.

For more information, dates, times and to register, please click through to our Eventbrite registration page. 

Shimmy Bike Routes
A shimmy is a bike route that wiggles its way through quiet back streets avoiding busy main roads. With directional signage, road markings and maps, it's easy to shimmy your way across Darebin by bike.  We have a map of the new Great Western Shimmy route, as well as a map of our Other Shimmy routes.

You can view all of Darebin’s shimmy routes together in this google map.

St Georges Road Bike Counter
In partnership with the Darebin Bicycle User Group, we have installed a solar powered bike counter on the St Georges Rd shared path. Sensors in the path detect when a bike passes and the counter shows how many people have ridden past that day, and for the year to date. Over 500,000 bikes are counted on the path every year, and this number is growing! The latest data is also available online.

Free Portable Bike Parking Hire
Local schools and community organisations can hire our ace portable bike rack at no cost. It can accommodate up to 10 bikes, fits in the back of a car and is easy to set up. It's a top way to encourage visitors to ride to your event. Email us for more information.

Bike Parking at Train Stations
There are Parkiteer bike cages at Preston and Reservoir train stations. Parkiteers offer free, secure, undercover bike parking right near the station entrance. Access is available 24 hours by security pass which requires a $50 refundable deposit. Sign up at the Parkiteer or call 1300 546 526.

Local Bike Shops and Mechanics

• Bikes de Ver 364 Heidelberg Rd, Fairfield
• Culture of Cycling 326 Darebin Road, Fairfield 
• Curve Cycling 18 Eastment Street, Northcote
• Finnigan's 507 High Street, Northcote
• North City Cycles 679 High Street, Thornbury
• North Fitzroy Cycles 256 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North 
• Pedal Cyclery 410 Gilbert Rd, Preston
• Plenty Cycles 50 Plenty Rd, Preston 
• Rays Bikes 545 High St, Preston
• RichieBikeLane  442b Plenty Rd, Preston 
• White's Bikes 309 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North
• Wocle Mobile mechanic service

Community Bike Groups

• Darebin Bicycle User Group - a local group that campaigns for better cycling conditions and organises rides to suit cyclists of all abilities.
• Wecycle - a volunteer group that recycles and re-conditions unwanted bikes and re-homes them with people who need them.

Related Links

• Darebin Bicycle Advisory Committee  
• Darebin Cycling Strategy 2013-18
• The Darebin TravelSmart Map 2015 is a handy map of local bike routes. Collect one from any Customer Service Centre
• How we support active travel to school
• St Georges Road Shared Path Safety Audit - 2013
• Victorian Bike Laws

Walking maps
The Merri Creek Trail map provides information about the local walking and cycling routes, leisure facilities, public transport and parklands along the Merri Creek shared path.

Our Darebin TravelSmart map provides sustainable transport information including walking and cycling routes on a handy pocket-sized street map.  It also has bike shops, car share pod locations and shopping areas.  You can download all our maps and guides or visit one of Darebin's Customer Service Centers for a hard copy.

Walking Groups
We support many Walking Groups across the municipality. These groups are run by volunteers and aim to get more people out and about walking in a friendly environment.

A Walking Action Group may also interest you - these groups help improve the local environment for walking. Visit Victoria Walks for more information.

Visit our Community Directory for a listing of Walking Groups. To create your own group, contact us for more details.

Improving Our Paths
We are currently developing a Principal Pedestrian Network which will prioritise and guide the way the we upgrade our walking infrastructure. We also commissioned the St Georges Road Share Path Safety Audit in 2013 which has highlighted areas for us to improve, and also supports us when advocating to other stakeholders that are responsible for the path and its surrounds. 

In Darebin we have the South Morang and Hurstbridge train lines, the 11 and 86 tram lines, and many bus routes.

To obtain information about a particular service use the Public Transport Victoria website – it is excellent for planning trips and obtaining route and timetable information.

A detailed map of all the public transport options can be viewed here.

Alternatively you can call PTV on 1800 800 007 for timetables and route planning advice. For TTY, call (03) 9619 2727.

Information in other languages
To receive public transport information in other languages, you can call the translated phone numbers listed on the Public Transport Victoria website.

Tips for using Myki
Myki is Melbourne's public transport ticketing system. Myki passes are used to travel on all trains, trams and buses in Zones 1 and 2.

For information about using Myki including where to buy one, which type to choose, topping up, touching on and off or registering your Myki visit: Public Transport Victoria or call 1800 800 007.

Kick start healthy, active travel for students at your school with these initiatives and resources. 

Walk to School Month
Every October, Walk to School encourages Victorian primary school kids to walk, ride or scoot to and from school. It's a great way to help students learn healthy habits and achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity, every day.

This year, register your school before Friday 15 September 2017 to be in the running to win a special performance at your school by the very talented Frank Woodley - comedian, storyteller, artist and writer - to celebrate Walk2School month.

There are other great prizes to win including passes to Bundoora Park Farm for the school with the most walk, scoots and rides in October, plus there are a range of free materials including posters, classroom calendars, stickers and certificates to celebrate your students' achievements.

It's easy to get involved by registering online at the Walk to School website. Council's dedicated Walk to School Month Project Coordinator is also available to assist schools with program delivery.

Delivering Bike Ed in your school
Bike Ed is designed to help children in grades 3-6 develop skills to ride safely and independently on roads and paths. It involves a mix of practical and classroom activities. We fund teachers to undertake accredited Bike Ed instructor training, as well as the provision of casual relief teachers. We can also source volunteers to assist teachers with Bike Ed delivery. 

Take a look at the reading below, and find out all the ways Bike Ed can benefit your students:

• Bike Ed for Darebin Students - How and why Bike Ed can be taught at your school 
• How Bike Ed can support the delivery of your school curriculum
• If At First You Don't Succeed - A Bike Ed Success Story 

We can also provide small amounts of cycle parking, advice and grant possibilities for larger bike parking requirements in and around the school as well as prizes if you are running active travel promotions and events. 

Bike ED Evaluation  
As Council supports local schools to run Bike Ed, we wanted to assess the outcomes for students that participate in this program. We asked students, parents and teachers to complete surveys before, immediately after, and three months after students completed Bike Ed. We found the following:

• The majority of students greatly increased their confidence levels. This was also observed by their parents
• The abilities needed to ride a bike were all found to improve, including riding in a straight line and using brakes
• The number of parents confident in their children’s road rules knowledge increased by 150%
• More than two thirds of students said they were riding more and 43% of parents observed their child riding more
• 71% of parents are confident that their child can ride a bike safely - an increase from 63% in the before survey
• 93% of parents felt the course had met their expectations

See the full evaluation report

For more information and to run Bike Ed in your school contact us.. 

Metro Trains Community Education Unit
Metro Community Education Unit will come out to your school to talk about safe travel on public transport and teach students about journey planning, ticketing and behaviour. Presentations can be tailored to areas of interest including assisting Grade 6 students with the transition to high school.

Walking School Bus - How to get started
A Walking School Bus is a group who walk to and from school along a set route picking up ‘passengers’ along the way. The bus is accompanied by at least two parents with one at the front, and another supervising at the back. It is a fun, energetic way to travel to school while also learning about street safety.

To find out how to run one, visit the VicHealth website. A Walking School Bus can run everyday or as little as one morning or afternoon a week. Consider dedicating one day to Walk Once a Week or Walk on Wednesday.  Victoria Walks Smart Steps initiative features great ways to engage your family and school community in walking more. 

School Travel Plans
School Travel Plans support an increase in students’ active travel to school whilst reducing the pick-up and drop-off traffic problems schools face. 

The Darebin Council Plan 2017-2021 commits that we will reduce the speed limit to 40 km/hr across 30% of the municipality. We are now implementing these speed limit reductions in local residential areas with existing vehicle speeds, road layout, presence of traffic management devices and VicRoads criteria for speed limit reductions guiding the project.

We are currently lowering the speed limit to 40 km/hr on local residential streets in Fairfield/Alphington within the boundary defined by the Hurstbridge Train Line, Darebin Creek, Heidelberg Road and Victoria Road. The following roads are not affected by this change: Victoria Road, Westgarth Street, Heidelberg Road, Grange Road and Station Street. Further information on the next stages of the project will be distributed as we work through the statutory processes with VicRoads.

What is car sharing?
Car sharing is a service that allows people to hire vehicles on demand for short periods of time. Vehicles are parked in dedicated bays and are available to members 24 hours a day. Members benefit from the flexibility of having access to a private vehicle but do not have to pay the costs associated with owning a car. 

Benefits of car sharing
Research has found that each car share vehicle replaces up to 10 privately owned cars. Members of car share schemes also reduce car use by around 50%. Car sharing therefore helps to reduce traffic congestion, parking demand, and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Car Sharing in Darebin
There are over 20 car share bays in Darebin provided by FlexiCar and GoGet. These bays are mostly in Northcote and Westgarth but there are also bays in Thornbury and Preston. We are working with car share companies to expand our car share network.

How does car sharing work?
You register with a car share company, pay a fee and book a car online or by phone. Once you have registered you have access to a network of vehicles in your area which can be booked on an hourly or daily basis. When you hire a vehicle it must be picked up and dropped back to the same spot. The fees cover all expenses, including petrol, insurance, registration and maintenance.

People who drive less that 5,000 km per year usually find car sharing saves them money. Car sharing is perfect for anyone that doesn't need a car every day, or only needs a second car occasionally. It is also a great option for businesses.

Compare the prices, locations and service provision to work out which car share company suits you best.

Some Darebin residents make their own vehicles available for sharing through neighbour-to-neighbour car sharing platform Car Next Door

More Information
Ph: 8470 8683
Email: carshare@darebin.vic.gov.au

St Georges Road Shared Path Works
Safety works have recently been completed on the St Georges Road shared path between Arthurton Road and McCracken Avenue to reduce the grade of the path as it crosses the tram tracks and separate cyclists from pedestrians. This project was identified as a high priority in the St Georges Road Shared Path Safety Audit.

Feedback
We are seeking your feedback on how we can better communicate to shared path users about works and closures in the future. Please take a couple of minutes to fill in this short survey. 

Darebin Shared Path Etiquette
Darebin has more than 80km of shared paths that are used by thousands of people walking and riding each day. We asked for your help to develop an etiquette that encourages safe, respectful and considerate riding and walking on our shared paths, so everyone can enjoy using them. Four community workshops were held on the St Georges Road shared path during November 2015. Path users were invited to have a conversation and share their ideas for a shared path etiquette. The top 5 have become our new shared path etiquette:

1. Politely let others know you are overtaking.
2. Keep left and give space when overtaking.
3. Ride at a relaxed speed.
4. Obey traffic signals.
5. Keep dogs on a leash.

If you are considering alternative forms of transport, they can include public transport, walking, cycling, car-pooling or car share. You may want to check out our TravelSmart Map to help with your planning.

 Benefits of a Travel Plan

•     Increases the accessibility and marketability of your work site
•     Reduces the space required for car parking
•     Staff recruitment and retention improved if there is a range of travel options available
•     Encourages sustainable travel
•     Increases personal health and well being

Large developments may be required to submit a Travel Plan as part of the Planning Permit Application process if your development comprises:

• 20 or more residential units
• An office component of 500 square metres or more
• An industrial component of 1,000 square metres or more
• Retail premises of 1,000 square metres or more

Contact our Transport Team for information and advice on developing a Travel Plan for your business or development.  

Further Information
Sustainable Transport Officer
Ph: 8470 8683
Email: mailbox@darebin.vic.gov.au