Inkerman Street Safe Travel Corridor
The contents of this page have been archived. This represents Council’s advocacy position prior to the 2022 State and Federal elections.
For updated information on any of these projects, please contact Council.
What is the ask?
Council requests the Victorian Government to provide a funding contribution to the Inkerman Street Safe Travel Corridor.
What is the issue this initiative will address?
The City of Port Phillip faces significant parking and traffic congestion challenges that require a significant shift to sustainable transport modes. A bike riding culture also requires appropriate levels of bike parking facilities and behaviour change support. The best outcomes are bike lanes that are safely separated from traffic, parking and pedestrians, creating continuous routes between destinations. Protected bike corridors are suitable for people of all ages, genders and abilities, connecting the community to key destinations across our City.
Inkerman Street is currently one of the most dangerous cycling corridors in the City of Port Phillip.
The road spans two councils, and is a major connector to the CBD, St Kilda Road Bike Corridor, and other key tourist attractions.
What is Council proposing?
Council seeks to install a protected bike corridor, pedestrian crossing and landscaping on Inkerman Street between Hotham Street and St Kilda Road, extending for 1200 metres in Port Phillip, to improve safety and connectivity for riders.
Protected bike lanes shield bike riders from both moving traffic and people exiting parked cars, while painted buffers provide more space between moving traffic and people exiting parked cars. They also shorten crossing distances for pedestrians and slow traffic making the street safer for all road users.
There are four key objectives of the Inkerman Street Safe Travel Corridor:
- increasing safety for all road users
- attracting a broader range of people, of all ages, genders and abilities, to ride a bike
- increasing travel choices by providing a safe alternative to public transport and cars
- minimising and mitigating parking loss and maximising tree retention.
The corridor is identified as a key priority corridor within Council’s Integrated Transport Strategy. This project will deliver on Action 18 of Council's Move, Connect, Live Integrated Transport Strategy 2018-28 by delivering Inkerman Street (6A) corridor. This is a high-ranking corridor to be delivered by Council.
How does this initiative align with the Council Plan and Victorian Government priorities?
Council
Council Plan 2021-31: Liveable Port Phillip -the City is well connected and easy to move around with options for sustainable and active transport.
- We will provide improvements to the way people move around our City by delivering on commitments outlined in Council’s ‘Move, Connect, Live Strategy’ including walking, bike riding and shared transport projects such as the Garden City Bike Corridor by 2021/22, prioritised in line with available funding each year.
- We will partner with the Victorian Government and connecting councils to provide temporary and permanent bicycle infrastructure that helps to support people to ride safely through our City.
- We will advocate for the Australian and Victorian Governments to invest in projects that provide alternative, active and sustainable forms of transport including the St Kilda Road Bike Lanes Project.
Move, Connect, Live Integrated Transport Strategy 2018-28 (on Action 18 - 6A). The Inkerman Street Safe Travel Corridor is identified as a key priority corridor within Council’s Integrated Transport Strategy.
Victorian Government
The Inkerman Street Safe Travel Corridor is a designated Strategic Cycling Corridor within the Victorian Government Movement and Place Framework.
The project supports the delivery of goals identified in the Victorian Cycling Strategy 2018-28.
How does this initiative assist the community recover from COVID-19?
Bike riding is a healthy, low impact, low cost and often more convenient way to travel short to medium distances (2 - 10 km) that will be relied on even more by the community to support the safe movement of people travelling both to and through the municipality during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cost and current status?
Cost
The estimated cost of the project ranges between $3.5 million and $7 million, depending on the concept design option. It is important to note these are high-level estimates and will be further refined once the concept designs are completed and a detailed cost analysis can be undertaken.
Status
Council has endorsed the development of three concept designs.