Update 25 October: The City of Port Phillip has released two bike lane design concepts for Inkerman Street in St Kilda for public comment.
Option A is a kerbside protected bike lane with parking on the southern side of Inkerman Street. A council report says that, of the four options considered at a council meeting on 18 October, this design provides the best safety outcome for all road users.
It includes green bike lane treatments at intersections and conflict points, a speed limit reduction from 50km/h to 40km/h and priority traffic signals for riders and pedestrians at intersections.
Option B consists of these features but with a painted buffered bike lane, instead of a protected lane, located between the parking and traffic lanes. It would retain parking on both sides of the street.
The public is invited to have its say on the design concepts on the council website before midnight on Thursday 23 November.
Original article 17 October:
High-quality bike infrastructure is on the agenda for one of Caulfield and St Kilda's most promising east-west routes, as the City of Port Philip considers options for protected lanes along Inkerman Street.
Inkerman Street stretches through both the City of Port Philip and City of Glen Eira and has served as a focal point for both councils as they plan for population growth and increasing density.
The two councils have at times moved in lockstep toward the delivery of this key bike corridor, which would connect the Djerring Trail in Caulfield to the St Kilda Road bike lanes. The route has been designated a Victorian Strategic Cycling Corridor.
In November 2022, however, the City of Glen Eira voted to abandon plans for bike upgrades along its eastern section of the corridor.
Meanwhile, the City of Port Philip developed plans for the western section. On Wednesday 18 October it will vote on whether to release draft concept designs for public consultation.
"While Glen Eira will not be delivering a bike corridor between Hotham Street and Chapel Street, the bike link between Hotham and St Kilda Road maintains its importance due to the connection to the St Kilda Road Strategic Bike Corridor and the Melbourne CBD," reads the council report.
Four designs have been developed for Inkerman Street bike infrastructure in the City of Port Phillip.
Two of these involve physically protected kerbside bike lanes of differing widths, one involves new on-road painted bike lanes with painted buffers, and the other maintains existing road treatments with new traffic calming measures in order to preserve the current parking.
The first option, pictured above, with wide 2.2 metre bike lanes and buffered parking on one side of the road, provides the highest safety increase for riders and aligns with the City of Port Philip's Integrated Transport Strategy, according to the council report.
Riders who live in, or travel through, the area are encouraged to attend the council meeting at 6.30pm at St Kilda Town Hall on Wednesday 18 October to support the the delivery of protected bike lanes on Inkerman Street in the City of Port Phillip.
Riders can also write directly to councillors in support of the project, with a list of contacts available on the Port Phillip BUG's website.
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