SUPPORT SAFE CYCLING
FOR PARK ORCHARDS

Points from most recent submissions to Council:

In planning the Mullum Mullum trail it was a serious oversight for planners and Council to have omitted safe useable access for a whole bordering suburb and it would be unjust and negligent to delay its provision.

It is like putting a playground across the road from a school and not providing a school crossing. Park Road is dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians. It is busy and there is measurably insufficient road width on Park Road for vehicles to legally pass cyclists. The long hill into Park Orchards means that cyclists are exposed for a long period. The Mullum Mullum trail will attract more cyclists and walkers and the number of unsafe situations will rapidly increase leading to injuries and possibly deaths. Unsafe situations are seen regularly on Park Road.

The Alder Reserve Link as proposed is essential for safe foot and cycling access to and from Park Orchards and is the only feasible route for families and the average rider. A route along Park Rd could only be an interim solution. It would be a continuous climb of 1.5km rising more than 85metres ( the height of a 26 storey building) to pass over one of the highest points in Park Orchards. Over a similar distance the route via the Alder Reserve Link rises only 32 metres and has no busy roads. On-road bike lanes along Park Road would be totally unsuitable for young families.

The Alder reserve link needs to be included as part of Manningham's Bicycle Strategy with an adequate budget allocation.

Public land ownership along the drain is broken where the corner of one large property (already segmented from the main part of the block by the drain) meets the pointed corner of another. Access across a minor corner of one these pieces of land will need to be negotiated for continuity. Like on several other paths Council will need to negotiate path access by agreement, by lease or by negotiated purchase. We are keen to minimise the impact on adjacent residents and are asking for a narrow path.

The Alder Reserve Link is an access path along a drain, not a major shared route along a major waterway. It already has an inexpensive driveway bridge crossing it near it's lower end and a not insignificant part of it's flow is delivered by a pipe under Alder Reserve with floods allowed to wash over the reserve.

Safe useable access to the Mullum Mullum trail for residents of Park Orchards is essential and urgent. We encourage you to support it.

Given our terrain there really are no realistic alternatives to the Alder Link for families. The average slope via the Adler Link to the Park Orchards Post Office is half that of the route via Park Rd. And via the Alder Link most residents won't need to do even that climb. Even ignoring traffic, which frightens many people off cycling, just the 1.5km long climb up the Park Rd hill will deter most riders, and especially new riders, and therefore significantly reduce the community benefit of a path. The attached chart shows comparative gradients.

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Points from submissions to Mullum Mullum Creek Linear Park Stage 3 Mgt Plan:
The Alder Reserve Link is essential for safe foot and cycling access from Park Orchards and is the only feasible route for families and the average rider. Park Orchards residents, especially families, need safe pedestrian and cycling access to the Mullum Mullum trail. We are a whole suburb without connection to any safe useful bike paths. It is not acceptable to wait until after the Mullum Mullum trail is complete to start thinking about redressing the inequity compared to more central parts Manningham. How many years will we have unsafe access? Are we all to drive, buy bike racks for the car and queue for the 6 car parking spots at Conos Court?

Park Road has a relentless hill, a footpath that crosses at dangerous points, busy traffic and a road that is plain dangerous for cyclists. We need a useable route that separates walkers and cyclists from busy traffic on Park Road. In 2006 I suggested Council consider an access path along the Alder/Ennismore Drainage Reserves (off Alder Ct at the end of Curry Rd). This access way will allow safe access via the easiest grades possible, connecting to most areas of Park Orchards. Only a 20metre section of Alder Ct has an uncomfortable gradient.

The Alder Reserve Link would be THE major step redressing the current inequity Park Orchards residents have in access to useful bike paths that more central sections of the municipality have greatly benefited from for years.

I understand EEP considered a 2.5m wide path and the MMCLP plan says this link is not feasible "at this stage" but recommends "as a long term aim" considering it as a high priority  "at the completion of the Mullum Mullum Trail". Any work started then is likely to take until around 2017 or 2020 or later to complete! How many years will we have unsafe access? It needs to be a high priority now. A narrower path is all we need, not a 2.5m wide high traffic path, just an access path that can be more sympathetically and more cheaply constructed. The main problem appears to be that safe access from Park Orchards was omitted from the original plans and estimates.

The Alder Reserve Link will provide a safe link to the population centre of Park Orchards and will provide:
- safe walking access to the natural environment of the Mullum Mullum.
- connections for cyclists to the Mullum Mullum and Melbourne's Principal bike path network,
- convenient almost flat cycling access to Heatherdale Railway Station
- safe access to Whitefriars College, Warrandyte High School and other schools.
- safe access to the Mullum Mullum for Park Orchards P.S. and St.Annes P.S. for Bike Ed and other activities.
- make many places accessible without a car: local workplaces, library at Eastland, etc, etc.
- put the Park Rd buses within an easy walk for the residents on Alder Ct and Curry Rd.
Are we to be denied all these benefits?

In these times of ever increasing fuel prices viable cycling routes are a rapidly increasing asset to communities. Manningham should be allocating a greater percentage of its overall spending and resources to bike paths. It should be seeking more funding from State Government. We are a long way behind the inner suburbs.

On Park Rd cars can't overtake a cyclist without crossing double lines. Heavy vehicles and pinch points at roundabouts (and the pedestrian refuge at Conos Ct.) are an even bigger nightmare for cyclists on Park Road. When climbing the hill towards Park Orchards, if a driver misjudges in overtaking and cuts back to the left a cyclist has nowhere to escape between the vehicle and the steel cables of the barrier. All this is dangerous for everyone.

Whilst improvements on Park Road should be undertaken for the safety of locals that will use it, like making footpaths continuous, there are too many extra hills, risks and distance on this route to provide useable access for most residents. We need the Alder Reserve Link.

Constructing the trail without safe access for Park Orchards is not consistent with Manningham City Council s vision for public open space (from the MMCLP plan) which states: An open space network which provides a range of active and passive recreation opportunities in accordance with community needs, which is readily accessible, conserves and enhances the natural and cultural resources of the municipality, contributes to the local economy, and offers an amenable environment in which to live, work and visit for current and future generations .

Nor is it consistent with Action Item 2.6.4 of the Manningham 2006-2010 Council Action Plan (from the MMCLP plan) that implements Council Policy and aims to Further extend Manningham s Linear Park network by preparing a Management Plan for the Mullum Mullum Creek Linear Park Stage 3 to maximise access to Manningham s extensive shared path network, the residential street network, activity centres and recreational precincts .

The Alder Reserve Link is the only feasible access route between the Mullum Mullum trail and the centre of population of Park Orchards, and by chance it's the flattest. Most people with bikes have them parked in their shed because we are a whole suburb without connection to any safe useful bike paths.

The Alder Reserve Link needs to be done in parallel with the Mullum Mullum Creek Linear Park Stage 3 and the link needs to be allowed for in requests for grants and in planning for Melbourne Water's proposed Ennismore Drain/ Alder Court treatment wetlands. A path with some narrow no-passing segments (like cars now safely cope with at the Quarry Rd bridge, but wheelchair/twin pram width) to get past difficult areas would be better than no path at all.

Alder Reserve already has a rough car track though it and Ennismore Drainage Reserve has sections of travelled path along it. From inspection of the drawings in the MMCLP plan it seems that the lowest impact route may be a bridge from Alder Reserve across either the NW corner of 59 Heads Rd or the east corner of 6 Aquarius Ct to a narrow path along the south side of the Ennismore Drainage Reserve with a bridge across a bend adjacent to 7 Aquarius Ct. From my discussions with Melbourne water it appears they can be flexible in some of their requirements for paths.

Despite having a cost, the Alder Reserve Link will be value for money since no further works are required to interconnect a whole suburb.
We support Stage 3 of the MMCLP trail but Council must allocate sufficient staff and funding and seek grants adequate to build the Alder Reserve Link in parallel with Stage 3 of the MMCLP trail. With increasing concerns about our climate, our environment and ever spiralling fuel prices we should have the choice of safely using sustainable transport for some of our trips.

Park Orchards Safe Cycling Group
Contact: Alan Ball ednaball[at]optusnet.com.au
98764057