Actions

Plan Melbourne speaks of creating neighbourhoods where everyday needs can be reached within 20 min of walking cycling or transit (Victoria State Government, 2017). Based on the approximation that the average cyclist takes 4 min to cycle 1km it is possible to approximate that the average cyclist should be able to reach anywhere within Tarneit within a maximum of 40min and central Tarneit within 20 min of cycling based on distance alone (See Figure 7).

Figure 7 The existing cycling network of Tarneit (City of Wyndham, 2016a)

Figure 8 Cycling network for Tarneit proposed by existing policies (Bicycle network proposed by Plan Melbourne’s Strategic Cycling Corridor, the metropolitan Principal Bicycle Network Plan and the Tarneit North Precinct Structure Plan (Vicroads, 2018; VPA 2014; Victorian State Government, 2017)).

Figure 7 reveals that the existing bicycle network though largely disconnected caters predominantly to central and southern Tarneit with no connections to the north and west. The cycling network proposed by existing policies (Figure 8) reveals that the principal bicycle network (PBN) which guides the State government’s investment in cycling to provide access to key destinations in metropolitan Melbourne caters to north-south connections and less so to east-west connections for Tarneit. The Strategic Cycling Corridor (SCC) identified in Plan Melbourne which aims to create cycling links for work across Melbourne does not provide efficient and direct links to work for Tarneit residents because direct links to the station are not provided. Direct connections to the station are necessary as more Tarneit residents work in

healthcare and social assistance compared to any other industry (Profile.id, 2016) and based on the zoning, employment opportunities for this industry within the suburb itself are very limited. The need for connections to the station are further supported by the preferred mode for travel to work being the car and train for Tarneit residents (Profile.id, 2016). Cycling can reduce the dependence on cars and provide a healthy alternative to accessing the station. Building on this understanding and barriers to cycling previously identified key actions proposed for the creating a ’20 minute neighbourhood’ and addressing the other strategies are mentioned below.

Provide a well-connected bicycle network with a focus on direct links to the station and other local destinations(Figure 9; Table 4) .

Figure 9 Proposed Priority 1 and Priority 2 routes to provide direct links to local destinations.

Table 4: Timeline and budget for Priority 1 and 2 routes

Cater to cyclist safety(Figure 10; Table 4)

To address concerns for safety the bicycle lanes will be physically separated from motor traffic similar to St Kilda Rd, Melbourne (Figure 10) to address the primary concern of those who are ‘interested but concerned’ in cycling (See Pucher et al., 2010). The relevant timeline and budget is provided in Table 4.

Figure 10 Lessons from St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Provide a greater mix in uses in central Tarneit–a locationaccessibleby all residents within 20min by bicycle(Figure 12; Table 5).

There is potential for central Tarneit to be rezoned to cater to a greater variety of uses beyond residential use (Figure 12) to provide additional local employment opportunities and simultaneously create more local destinations which cater to everyday needs, encouraging further travel within the suburb itself. A greater mix of uses can also be provided around Tarneit station.

Figure 12 Areas supporting a mix of uses

Table 5 Timeline and budget for providing a mix of uses in central Tarneit and land surrounding the station

Cycling supporting the development of anintegrated transport network in Tarneit(Tables 6 & 7)

The Priority 1 and 2 routes, safe separated lanes and diverse mix of uses proposed within central Tarneit and the surrounding the station make cycling convenient, safe and appealing to all residents including children. It also helps cycling function as one of the feeder modes which connect residents with the station and buses which are essential in an integrated transport system (See Hull, 2005; Mees, 2014).

Additional means for modal integration is the provision of secure bicycle parking at local destinations which was also raised in the community engagement (City of Wyndham, 2017d) and providing bike share options.

Table 6 Timeline and budget for secure parking

Table 7 Timeline and budget for bike share facilities

Figure 13 Melbourne bike share station on St Kilda Rd

Adopt a proactive approach to encouraging cycling in Tarneit(Table 8)

The priority routes proposed take a proactive approach to encouraging cycling in Tarneit as it is proposed in areas which are largely unoccupied at the moment. Whilst the provided actions cater to the ‘hard measures’ to encourage cycling another proactive means for encouraging cycling is through soft measures such as education (Forsyth and Krizek, 2010) which is one of the key means alongside provision of safe cycling routes in making it so that majority of Tarneit residents cycle for everyday needs by 2050.

Table 8 Timeline and budget for events and activities

Figure 14 Fun education initiatives to help children familiarise themselves with road rules and how to cycle in a safe environment (Fogelson, 2017)

Other potential actions include a greening strategy to green the priority routes similar to St Kilda Rd (Figure 8) and providing improved way finding signage (Figure 15). All actions explored above are the primary actions in response to the strategies proposed to address concerns identified from the community, site analysis and policies analysed.

Figure 15 Wayfinding signage from City of Adelaide (Studio Binocular, 2015)