Commuting in SE Melbourne>Clayton

[BudT]

Greetings folks! I'm a new member of the forum who lives in Boulder, Colorado USA. I'm a regular bike commuter here. We are lucky that the area is pretty bike friendly and most drivers are respectful (though there are some jerks of course). My family and I will be moving to SE Melbourne for 6 months beginning in Jan 2020 as I have a sabbatical and will spend the time at Monash University in Clayton. I'd like to learn about bike commuting in the area.

Google maps has been somewhat helpful in identifying possible routes, and street view also helps in seeing potential hazards, etc. But nothing helps as much as real ride reports. So can anybody who is familiar with bike commuting in that area provide me with any info, tips, or tricks? My daily route will likely be from Elwood to Clayton.

Also, I'm not bringing a bike all that way so when we get closer to landing I'll need to scope out a decent local shop to pick up a commuter rig and other bikes for the family.

Thanks for reading!

[brumby33]

Hi BudT,

Welcome to AU when you finally get down here....hope you'll enjoy your stay. Melbourne is a dry heat, it gets blistering hot but you get relief in the shade and January is in the middle of our Summer.....just make sure you carry some rain gear and a jacket at all times.....it can get from 40C down to 20C in less than an hour when you get a change.....

Now I have to say I'm not in Melbourne but am considering the move down there in the future, you've got no shortage of great bike rides down there, great bikeways everywhere. I just googled your approximate journey from Elwood to Monash and it's roughly 15.5kms which is just under 10 miles....hardly enough to get a sweat up
The Journey looks relatively straight forward. Many roads have bike lanes going by google satelite.
I'll let the locals fill you in on the closer details.
https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Elwo ... 1?hl=en-GB

I know this really needn't be said but as you're coming from the USA, we ride on the left as apposed to the right and whilst it may seem straight forward to follow everyone else and do what they do, it's in other situations when you're out of your comfort zone, you might end up going where it becomes natural. I tried to teach this young lady originally from Portland Oregon to operate bus routes in our operating regions in Sydney, some school kids rattled her and she became flustered and ended up going over the other side of the road going head-on towards a Kenworth truck.....she told me later it was a natural move and she momentarily lost where she was...it was bloody scary and i'll never forget it. My workmates commented that i looked like i seen a ghost and i told them i almost became one

If you've got time, just type in bikeways in Melbourne on YOUTUBE and theres quite a lot of them around and on the outskirts of the city and even a nice long one going down from you'll be in Elwood going down the beach line.
This is a quickie but it might give you an idea



Oh and they've got an extensive tram network down in Melbourne, that means steel tracks in the roadways that gets slippery in the wet and hitting a tram with a bike would be like hitting a ship. Also skinny tyres and tram tracks don't mix real well.
They also have right hook turns on intersections where trams run through, best to learn them. Usually at an intersection whether in car or bike you'd go into right lane to turn right, just the same as you'd do to turn left in your Country, but with a hook turn, you stay in the far left lane and wait for a signal to turn right. Again, a local can probably help you with those. We don't have those in Sydney although we're about to get light rail through the city.

Hope this helps.

brumby33

[BudT]

Thanks, @brumby33. Yeah I'm familiar with the basics. My wife is Australian and I've been over more than a few times. And I've logged many miles driving in Australia and in the UK.

The 15 km commute each way is no worries, I just want to find an optimal route. Which will take some experimenting for sure. I;m hoping someone can chime in with suggestions about "don't even try this road" or "use this path" etc. And yeah that coast path looks nice. I run a lot too, and I'm looking forward to running along that coastal area. Sometimes I even run commute.

We're all anxious to get over there and to get biking!

[brumby33]

Ahh ok....didn't know you were that familiar with Australian/Melbourne Conditions.....looks like you've got most things fairly covered....anyway, enjoy your time down here.....Summer time....beer, bikes and chicks...well you might have to forgo the latter

brumby33

[BudT]

While I've got you here: any other cycling or bike commuting forums or listservs (if they still exist) that I should be aware of?

[DavidS]

Ok, I live close to Elwood (Elsternwick) but work at a different uni. I went to Monash many years ago and am very familiar with this side of town.

First things first, you won't find many tram tracks or hook turns from Elwood to Clayton, trams don't go as far as Clayton, but you will likely cross the 64 and possibly the 67. Hook turns are mainly in the city, but a bicycle can do a hook turn at any intersection.

The problem you face is that the most direct route would be North Rd but North Rd ain't great. The section between East Boundary Rd and Warrigal Rd would be very crap on a bike. After Huntingdale Railway Station there is a bike path in the media strip in the middle of the road, I would avoid that - if you ride North Rd East of Huntingdale Railway Station just stay on the road, that bike lane looks like a death trap to me. You need to find a way to go East/West and a better route than North Rd, although after Warrigal Rd (to Monash) looks fine, getting to Warrigal Rd would be a challenge.

There must be a better way, surely there is a bike club at Monash who would know.

Enjoy the sabbatical at Monash, it's a good uni, my daughter recently completed her Bachelors there and Melbourne is a great place to live.

DS

[BudT]

The problem you face is that the most direct route would be North Rd but North Rd ain't great. The section between East Boundary Rd and Warrigal Rd would be very crap on a bike. After Huntingdale Railway Station there is a bike path in the media strip in the middle of the road, I would avoid that - if you ride North Rd East of Huntingdale Railway Station just stay on the road, that bike lane looks like a death trap to me. You need to find a way to go East/West and a better route than North Rd, although after Warrigal Rd (to Monash) looks fine, getting to Warrigal Rd would be a challenge.

There must be a better way, surely there is a bike club at Monash who would know.

Thanks for the detailed info, @DavidS. I was thinking about making the E-W jaunt a bit further north, along Glen Eira Rd/Booran Rd/Neerim Rd and the to the trail along the tracks (Djerring Trail), then down to Huntindgale and not sure after that. Up to Huntingdale the route looks pretty chilled out, although a high probability of getting doored given those tight bike lanes. I've got plenty of time to sort it once we arrive.

Thanks again for the input.

Bud

[DavidS]

Glen Eira Rd and Neerim Rd should be fine, that sounds like a good solution.

DS

[antigee]

Ok, I live close to Elwood (Elsternwick) but work at a different uni. I went to Monash many years ago and am very familiar with this side of town.

First things first, you won't find many tram tracks or hook turns from Elwood to Clayton, trams don't go as far as Clayton, but you will likely cross the 64 and possibly the 67. Hook turns are mainly in the city, but a bicycle can do a hook turn at any intersection.

The problem you face is that the most direct route would be North Rd but North Rd ain't great. The section between East Boundary Rd and Warrigal Rd would be very crap on a bike. After Huntingdale Railway Station there is a bike path in the media strip in the middle of the road, I would avoid that - if you ride North Rd East of Huntingdale Railway Station just stay on the road, that bike lane looks like a death trap to me. You need to find a way to go East/West and a better route than North Rd, although after Warrigal Rd (to Monash) looks fine, getting to Warrigal Rd would be a challenge.

There must be a better way, surely there is a bike club at Monash who would know.

Enjoy the sabbatical at Monash, it's a good uni, my daughter recently completed her Bachelors there and Melbourne is a great place to live.

DS

Another vote for Neerim rd / Djerring trail and another downer on the North Rd centre reservation shared path - has regular vehicle turn crossing points and drivers are encouraged to enter the cross points at high speed by slip lanes and North rd's freeway style experience and speed limit...."There must be a better way....." maybe but unless someone knows otherwise pace on project linked is glacial not a commute for me more a random I need to go to Monash for something and not been for a while ...anyway work has started on part 1 of this plan but don't think finished...and not helpful as heads north...part 2 is what you need to link to Djerring trail and despite the date on the council website as far as I know not completed but bits maybe in place and possibly worth checking out.....

https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/About-Us/ ... d-cyclists

[DavidS]

I just don't understand what idiot thought a bike lane in the middle of a very wide median strip in the middle of the road with multiple intersections was a good idea. It makes no sense at all - put a railway line along the median strip like they were supposed to decades ago.

DS

[BudT]

Another vote for Neerim rd / Djerring trail and another downer on the North Rd centre reservation shared path - has regular vehicle turn crossing points and drivers are encouraged to enter the cross points at high speed by slip lanes and North rd's freeway style experience and speed limit...."There must be a better way....." maybe but unless someone knows otherwise pace on project linked is glacial not a commute for me more a random I need to go to Monash for something and not been for a while ...anyway work has started on part 1 of this plan but don't think finished...and not helpful as heads north...part 2 is what you need to link to Djerring trail and despite the date on the council website as far as I know not completed but bits maybe in place and possibly worth checking out.....

https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/About-Us/ ... d-cyclists

Yes it all looks OK until the North Rd bit. I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. We've secured the place to live- next up is to buy a decent commuter bike once we land.

Thanks, all.

[fat and old]

The section after Huntingdale Rd has a dedicated bus lane....legal for cyclists. No need to use the bike path if you don’t want to. Doesn’t the railway path go all the way to Huntingdale Rd now.....I thought it did?

[dstambou]

Sorry to hijack another thread - but similar question re: commuting in the same sort of area.

Any route recommendations from Prahran to Monash (Clayton)? This is what google maps suggests:

Bit concerned with Dandenong Rd/Princes Highway... Any ideas/experiences welcome!

[piledhigher]

Sorry to hijack another thread - but similar question re: commuting in the same sort of area.

Any route recommendations from Prahran to Monash (Clayton)? This is what google maps suggests:

Bit concerned with Dandenong Rd/Princes Highway... Any ideas/experiences welcome!

It's going against the traffic and there is some separated service lanes but the transitions back at intersections i messy if use the service lanes, can also follow the bike paths (MYT, GCT etc.) along the freeway all the way to Forster rd.

[BudT]

Update: We've moved to Elwood and I've got a bike to commute on, so I'll be testing the route next week or so. In the meantime I'll just be tooling around Elwood and these parts as I don't need to go to Monash regularly until the end of Feb.

[BudT]

For anyone following along, my proposed route works pretty well for going from Elwood to Monash (Clayton):

Glen Eira Rd>Booran Rd>Neerim Rd>Djerring Trail down to Huntindgale station>North road median path (cross to sidewalk when it runs out)>across Princes Hwy.

It's not entirely ideal, but it's really doable and fairly direct for me. I've run it and ridden it so far. There's also a direct bus for me (630) if for some reason I can't ride or run.

Here's a question: why don't the buses have bike racks on the front around here? We utilize that a lot around Denver for multimodal commuting.

[SteveTheTiger]

I can't speak for Melbourne specifically, but I think "the authorities" generally frown on bike racks on buses in Australia (apart from Canberra) because:
- they damage pedestrians quite severely in a collision.
- bus drivers are impatient
- the time required to load and unload the bike from the rack adds delays to schedules (even though the cause of most delays in bus schedules is actually other vehicular traffic.

In Sydney, when a major cycleway way is planned to be closed soon for resurfacing, cyclists are being encouraged to catch a bus as a detour, with zero bike racks provided on the buses. Go figure!

[antigee]

I can't speak for Melbourne specifically, but I think "the authorities" generally frown on bike racks on buses in Australia (apart from Canberra) because:
- they damage pedestrians quite severely in a collision.
- bus drivers are impatient
- the time required to load and unload the bike from the rack adds delays to schedules (even though the cause of most delays in bus schedules is actually other vehicular traffic.

In Sydney, when a major cycleway way is planned to be closed soon for resurfacing, cyclists are being encouraged to catch a bus as a detour, with zero bike racks provided on the buses. Go figure!

...not so sure on "the authorities" frown on big bits of metal stuck on the front of vehicles...here in the rough/tough/leafy Melbourne suburbs I'll see a few more of these per hour than buses....



A couple of Melbourne councils (and Bendigo and BassCoastShire) has been trialling bike racks on buses (in a very limited way):

https://www.busvic.asn.au/bikes-buses
"Trial Outcome The bikes on buses trial operated from April 2016 until May 2017. A final report was provided to the Minister for Transport and Minister for Roads through PTV and VicRoads. The trial showed that bike racks can operate safely on Victorian roads and the system provides a greater catchment area for buses, particularly in regional Victoria

[BudT]

Interesting. Well all I can share is that our bike racks on the front of buses in Colorado work very well, and I'm not aware of any issues with collisions over and above some of the outback-ready vehicles already noted

Here's a slight update to my commute in case anyone is interested: The Princes Hwy/Wellington Rd intersection is a total dangerous mess. A slightly more convoluted route helps to avoid it. While not entirely optimal, it does keep one on the Djerring trail much longer (past Clayton station) and then on a quiet street up the hill until you can cross Princes Hwy and then Wellington Rd, both at protected crossings. You can see it on this map shared by commuting folks at Monash:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewe ... 24324&z=15

And another very cool thing: Monsah has an ultimate "Bike Arrival Station" which has secured bike parking, lockers, showers, bike maintenance facilities, towel dryers, an ironing station, etc! And it's all very new and nice. So cool! I wish we had something like this at my uni at home.