We are writing to provide you with an update on the St Kilda Road Bike Lanes project, on behalf of Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV).

Overview

The Victorian Government has committed $30.5 million to build new kerbside bike lanes that physically separate drivers and cyclists to make St Kilda Road safer.

The St Kilda Road Bike Lanes project will deliver separated kerbside bike lanes from Linlithgow Avenue to Dorcas Street, Toorak Road to Union Street, and Union Street to Charnwood Road (St Kilda Junction).

MRPV is undertaking further planning and development work for the section of St Kilda Road between the Junction and Carlisle Street, investigating the safest and most cost-effective solution for this complex section.

Benefits

St Kilda Road is recognised as one of the world’s grandest boulevards, but it’s also one of the most dangerous for cyclists. Cyclists are more likely to be seriously injured by a car-dooring on St Kilda Road than anywhere else in Melbourne.

Building better, safer bike lanes on St Kilda Road will:

• improve safety for the 3,500 cyclists who currently use St Kilda Road each day

·         encourage more people to take up cycling, thereby easing congestion on busy St Kilda Road, reducing vehicle emissions and freeing up capacity on public transport

·         create stronger connections between major activity centres in Melbourne’s inner south and the CBD

·         create an estimated 134 direct and 182 indirect jobs during construction.

What MRPV is doing

The St Kilda Road Bike Lanes project involves:

·         building separated kerbside bike lanes with bike markings along St Kilda Road

·         installing coloured bike lane surfacing at conflict points, and bike boxes and bike lanterns at traffic light intersections to provide better visibility and priority movement for cyclists

·         modifying traffic signals to provide additional priority for cyclists

·         removing kerb outstands to allow for continuous bike lanes

·         resurfacing existing bike lanes to improve safety and comfort

·         construction of DDA-compliant pedestrian crossings at some key intersections.

What to expect

MRPV is starting works on the St Kilda Road Bike Lanes in late September 2022. They are building the project in stages to minimise impacts on all road users, businesses and the local community.

Works are starting on Stage 1 between Linlithgow Avenue and Dorcas Street on Tuesday 27 September 2022 and are expected to be complete by December.

During this time, MRPV will:

• set up work areas, which will involve installation of safety fencing, barriers, bollards and site offices
• remove the old road surface, install kerb separators and lay new asphalt
• install new line marking and surface treatments.

All works during this stage will take place between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday and 7am to 5pm, Saturdays.

Traffic changes
So that MRPV can complete these works safely, they’ll need to temporarily close a section of the outer traffic lanes in each direction on St Kilda Road, between Linlithgow Avenue and Dorcas Steet. There will be temporary bike lanes, reduced speed limits, reduced parking and restricted access to loading zones while these works take place. They will let you know ahead of time if these changes are expected to affect you directly.

There will be no access to Government House Drive from St Kilda Road during this time, however a detour will be in place via Linlithgow Avenue.

Please refer to the map below of the works area for more information.

You can keep up to date on any upcoming traffic changes by visiting bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/mrpv/st-kilda-road-bike-lanes.

Construction impacts
Construction activities for the St Kilda Road Bike Lanes may generate low levels of noise, dust and vibration at times. MRPV will be monitoring to ensure any impacts are kept to a minimum.

Please phone MRPV on 1800 105 105 and select option 5 if you have any questions while the works are taking place.

The timing for works on Stage 2 between Toorak Road and Union Street and Stage 3 between Union Street and Charnwood Road (St Kilda Junction) will be confirmed as the project progresses.

All of the new protected bike lanes being built by MRPV, as part of the St Kilda Road Bike Lanes project, are expected to be open by late 2023.

More information

For more information on the St Kilda Road Bike Lanes, please visit https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/mrpv/st-kilda-road-bike-lanes or contact:

• Christine Lo Iudice – Manager, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement on 0436 524 408 or christine.loIudice@roadprojects.vic.gov.au
• Dave Kristy – Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement on 0436 640 473 or dave.kristy@roadprojects.vic.gov.au. 

For languages other than English, please call 03 9209 0147.