Plans for Melbourne’s next cluster of new suburbs in the outer north indicate residents and workers will have access to an attractive network of bike connections.
The state government has approved the precinct structure plan for Beveridge North West, located beside the Hume Freeway between Beveridge and Wallan.
The plan envisages 15,000 new homes, four town centres, eight schools with 320 hectares of land set aside for waterways, landscaping and drainage – including 79 hectares of dedicated parks and sports fields.
A strategic cycling corridor will connect through the centre of the precinct to Wallan in the north and to Aitken Boulevard further south.
There will also be bike routes along waterways, including the Kalkallo Creek, which will be rehabilitated.
All subdivisions, streets and arterial roads must provide a permeable, direct and safe street network prioritising walking and cycling, with safe and convenient crossing points of connector roads and local streets at all intersections and on key desire lines as well as crossing waterways.
Another requirement is convenient access to regional and local points of interest and destinations for effective integration with neighbouring properties, parkland and sports reserves.
General guidance for developers also reflects modern thinking, for example: "Slip lanes should be avoided in areas of high pedestrian activity and only provided at intersections between connector streets and arterial roads where they are necessitated by high traffic volumes but with pedestrian priority crossings."
The plan also recommends that on connector roads the frequency and impact of vehicular crossovers on verges should be minimised through the use of a combination of rear loaded lots with laneway access, vehicular access from the side streets and combined or grouped crossovers.
This avoids the problem of multiple driveways across off-road shared paths that has compromised earlier developments.
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