We’re planning a transport overhaul that will make our CBD safer, greener and more efficient – and we’d like your help to make it happen.
The CBD Bike Loop plan will deliver a 5.5 kilometre cycling circuit along Swift, David, Kiewa and Smollett streets with links to existing bike tracks to the north, south, east and west of the city centre.
In line with structural policies such as the Albury CBD Master Plan, Albury 2030 and the CBD Parking Strategy, the bike loop will provide cyclists with improved access to the CBD while at the same time improving safety for all road users by providing greater separation between bikes, cars and pedestrians.
Other benefits will include:
- Reduced demand for parking
- Improved community health through the encouragement of exercise
- Enhanced access to the Cultural Precinct around QEII Square, and
- The creation of opportunities for future bike connections to Lavington
Importantly, the link will also be designed to avoid negative effects on vehicular traffic flow, under a proposal to convert four-lane streets to two (except for those forming the old Hume Highway) when bike lanes and buffer zones are introduced.
Reducing the number of lanes may sound at first like a recipe for restricting traffic flow but it will have in fact, the opposite effect.
It’s important to remember that most of our CBD streets are already two lanes and where there are four lanes that merge into two, choke points are created. By having a consistent network of two lanes through the CBD – as has been successfully introduced in parts of Melbourne and Adelaide - we’ll eliminate those choke points while at the same time making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross roads.
These changes will help to enable the development of bike lanes along the loop. We’re proposing a combination of protected kerbside lanes, lane-side lanes, and shared lanes, with each design to be tailored to the layout of each of the streets. You can read more about how these types of lanes work on our CBD Bike Loop fact sheet.
The route has been chosen because the streets involved are wide enough to cater to cars, bikes and pedestrians while providing optimum access to shops and existing off-road trails.
There will be a loss of 19 parking spaces along the entire route when the project is completed but we’re continuing to work on balancing out those losses through the delivery of our CBD parking strategy, coupled with a feasibility study into adding at least one level to the Wilson Street car park.
The route has also been designed to enable the retention of our much-loved street trees. Only one tree has been identified for possible removal and it may still be possible to keep that tree, subject to further investigation.
This is a revolutionary project that will significantly change the way we access our CBD in the future, and will bring us into line with the best practice already successfully introduced in major cities across Australia, Europe and the United States.
But to ensure we implement the best designs possible, we’d like our community to help us shape this city-changing development.
To have your say, please complete this online survey or contact our Traffic and Transport team on 60 238 111 or email to info@alburycity.nsw.gov.au to share your thoughts or request a hard copy of the survey form.
Further consultation will soon be held via an online question and answer session and if COVID-19 restrictions permit, community drop-in sessions may also be held. More information will be available on our have a say page.
Thanks in advance for contributing to this important project. We look forward to receiving your feedback so that together, we can make this important project a valuable long-term improvement to our city centre.