Footpath on Riverside Drive

[ColinOldnCranky]

I am told that the path along the wall on riveride drive may now not get sealed in hotmix. Rolled limstone? Paving?

Apparently the Swan River Trust have not given some required approvals for it. I don't know what the problem is, Perhaps bitument at the molten stage can separate into oil that may then run into the water, but that is purely guess.

Does anyone know anythigng about this?

btw, the wall path is for peds, cyclists will stilluse the existing sealed windey path.

[fixed]

Bad news.
The Riverside Drive path has been damaged by riverwall construction works, and will now be closed for another three months.
A detour will be put in place, via two underpasses and crossing Riverside Drive to the east of the Narrows.
BTAWA and Cyclist Action Group are currently discusiing options for the safety and efficacy of the detour.

I will post edited excerpts of communications from Main Roads.

Issues I have already brought to Main Roads attention include the safety concerns for the increased cyclist traffic the median crossing will receive. The lack of space at the median. The speed of vehicle both eastbound and westbound that cyclists and pedestrians have to encounter. The lighting in the underpasses. The continuing problem of the path that fills with water when it rains. BTA are also not sure of the status of the path within a hierarchy of the path network - is it a PSP, an RSP, an SP? What does this mean for speeds and safe transport?

I have asked Main Roads to consider 40kmh zones either side and alongside the work site, and have reiterated the waterlogging issues that are yet to be resolved.

BTA Board Member Roland Parrotte has developed the ACII website. There are concerns for the safety of the detour.

Every rain shower the path fills with slippery muddy water.

Please feel free to contribute.

Steven McKiernan
Convenor
Bicycle Transportation Alliance

With the need to close off the Shared Path adjacent to the section of Riverside Drive, a detour will be implemented along another existing Shared Path in the vicinity.

The detour will be set up to direct Path users along the route shown in red on the attachment. At the end adjacent to the Narrows Bridge there is an existing road crossing which is currently used by pedestrians and cyclists and it reconnects to the Path alongside the river through an underpass near the flagpole. There is an additional distance of 140m, via the detour route, between the existing road crossover and the underpass.

The existing Shared Path will be incorporated into the worksite due to the restrictive area available for plant and materials from tomorrow, as the Contractor commences work on two fronts at the site.

A walk through of the detour route has been carried out by Main Roads and the Contractor’s Traffic Manager and the detour path is considered to be in good condition. Please remind your members that it is a Shared Path and courtesy is to be extended to all users.

[damonik]

That's unfortunate. I ride that path most evenings on the way home. Crossing that section with traffic from Riverside Drive coming from one direction and Freeway traffic the other is a nightmare. Seen a few near misses there with over enthusiastic cyclists crossing without paying any attention.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Hey! That's my route! Still, a change is like a holiday and so forth.

Occasionally I ride the giraffe from Canning Bridge to Sassy's. I hope that I will not have to dismount to get thru the underpass, some are a pretty close fit. (It's a bitch to remount the tall one after riding that sort of distance.)

btw in the mornings around 7ish the crossing is REALLY quiet. All year around. I seldom have to stop or idle or anything, just roll on over. In fact I have to pay attention to other cyclists more than the cars.

I also don't have too much problem getting across in the evenings though there are always cars at that time and so I do have to pick my moment. Not ideal.

Thanks for the heads up Steve.

[fixed]

Thanks for the comment Colin.
These kinds of works are not a ~huge~ impact on experienced cyclists. Remember the river PSP is well utilised by inexperienced cyclists as a nice way to view the city and get a bit of exercise in, along with tourists, kids, commuters and students getting to UWA, commuters riding along the Mounts Bay PSP to Barrack Street.

Its the inexperienced cyclists I am concerned for when they have to negotiate four lanes of traffic (with centre median) on one of the major commuting access points into the city. I do an anti-clockwise Round-The-River every Saturday. Some weeks I add the Bullcreek/ Shelley Bridge/ Curtin Causeway and Riverside Dr loop, but generally I take Canning to Narrows and negotiate the crossing point.

~Some~ days that point can get very hairy, and is quite risky if the centre median is clogged. Cyclists riding both directions.
Currently talking with Main Roads and eventually City of Perth to evaluate the risks here and to negotiate a safer riding environment.

[fixed]

new pics 23 June
Andrew from the hills braves the lake in 2010. He's been doing this for years. Every hint of a rain shower, it waterlogs and lakes up.



while the riverside drive psp is out of action the alternate psp is chopped up with cracked pavement and tree roots.



and then cyclists negotiate four lanes of riverside drive, I timed the cars doing 'normal' speed at seven seconds from the Mounts Bay Rotary. This is a major concern, and we are waiting for an adequate management response.

[fixed]

Latest news from Main Roads is the path works and PSP closure is being delayed until a satisfactory response from the contractor regarding traffic management has been received.

So we wait.

[fixed]

Progress has been made.
There will now be a 40km zone from the roundabout to the freeway entrance for the duration of the works. This will be in place 24 hours a day 7 days a week with occasional police observation and enforcement.
Trailered message signs will be in operation informing of works from both directions.
The contractor has made a preliminary assessment regarding the waterlogging, but ultimately the decision and responsibility for correcting this, and other issues, rests with the City of Perth.
So we will follow up these issues with CoP.
If you have any feedback on how this has been approached and conducted by BTA, please comment.

[rolandp]

Trailered message signs will be in operation informing of works from both directions.

There have been too many recent cases (Horseshoe Bridge, Perth Arena, I could link to these images if required) where the message board gets located on the shared path. Can we insist that this does not occur here?

[fixed]

I am very confident that communication lines to Main Roads and Downer EDI are positive, open and responsive for this project.
RolandP, Do you want to go visit the site with me and talk with the crew? They are good people who are aware of the cycling issues.

[fixed]

Latest this morning as the works progress and the detour put in place from Main Roads Project Manager Vince.

The detour of the Shared Path adjacent to Riverside Drive is now in place. This has been installed to ensure the overall safety of pedestrians, cyclists and worksite personnel.

The existing Shared Path adjacent to the worksite is now incorporated into the worksite and the Path users are being directed to the Alternate Path as shown in the attachment.

A number of concerns were raised about the use of the detour route (which has been in place for many years) and some work has been done to address some of these:
· A 40 km/hr speed limit has been imposed on all traffic coming through from the western side of the Narrows Bridge. WA Police have been made aware of this speed restriction;
· Variable message boards will be set on either side of the existing road crossing and are set to display two messages; “Caution Ahead” and “Pedestrian Crossing”;
· The underbridge lighting will be turned on during the day, if this does not provide sufficient additional lighting then a lighting tower may be set up; and
· A small drain will be provided to ensure the occasional flooding issue, near the western lake, does not create an impediment to Path users.

For your information and safety in travelling.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Thanks for the advice. thanks for the lobbying.

[rolandp]

RolandP, Do you want to go visit the site with me and talk with the crew? They are good people who are aware of the cycling issues.

Spoke to the crew who were looking at the lake on the shared path. They weren't going to promise anything at that time, .

Also please to report that none of variable message boards were on the shared path.

I did see one poor sole who had choosen to continue to ride along the foreshore. Got to the end close to Perth, and hit the 7ft fences that are now in place. Follow the directional signs as there is no way to get around those fences.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Movable 40kph signs and the variable signs all in place and operating when I went thru there tonight about 10:15.

[ColinOldnCranky]

I stopped aff and had a chat with the few workers now at the Riverside drive pedestrian path works east of Victoria Avenue. THey tell me that the permit required from the Swan River Management Trust is still up in the air. One would have hoped that PCC council would have had the I's dotted and the T's crossed before commencing the works.

So at the moment we have a very high quality limestone track. Which will soon become a muddy and rutted limestone track.

[rolandp]

Some development occured around the Smelly Lakes area today, couldn't make out what it was as I left late in the evening, but couple of big piles of dirt around the PSP where it fills up with water. With severe weather warning issued for Thursday, it will be a good test of whatever has occured at the flooded shared path area. See photos above to see how much water pools at this location.

[fixed]

In discussions with the contractor's representative, they indicated they put in a temporary sub-surface drain in this location.
With my background in urban stormwater policy I will continue to keep a keen interest in this.

[rolandp]

Didn't work today, but it was a lot of water in a short period of time. Rode through around 6:00pm, and did the normal unclick one shoe, stick leg out, whilst trying to coast through the 'pond', with the remaining foot clicked in at position 12.

I did Drainage 101 at Uni, but this was normally on a Firday afternoon with a large jug that got drained.

[fixed]

The lake has swollen to completely cover the path. Any drainage is redundant.
To my eye it looks as though the stormwater drainage inverts are set too high, or have been blocked further down the system.
And yes, I do have a background in urban stormwater research.
City of Perth responsibility.
Photos to come.

[rolandp]

Here's a couple of photos taken late this afternoon.



This is a 'new lake', not connected to the 1st image.

Though glad that it is raining as ed need the water, just disappointed that this hasn't been able to be resolved. I did report it to CoP early May.

If you have a look at NearMap March 2009 it is an ongoing issue. I would have reported this earlier, but I only changed my cycling route late 2009 when the Horseshoe Bridge closed, and got tired off cycling through constant building works.

Let's hope a solution can be found as there must be a way to divert some/all of the water.

[Prestige]

This morning 8:00am it was certainly drained a lot better than before the remedial works. The second 'New lake' wasn't there, and only a small amount of path inundation was evident in the usual spot and the path fork. Certainly not resolved, but better than nothing.

[fixed]

That's good feedback Prestige.
I'll pop down and have squizz.

[Prestige]

Last night (5:20ish) i noticed that some trenches had been dug heading towards the road side of the path. Hasn't seemed to move any of the water that was there from 8:00am the previous morning. This leads me to believe that it will not cope with the next heavy downpour we receive.
Can someone with knowledge of drainage works tell me if the water logged nature of that area will ever be able to facilitate adequate drainage?

[fixed]

Prestige myself and CycleSnail called a meeting with the City of Perth Chief Engineer, Main Roads, the contractor for the Riverside Drive works, and Department of Transport Bikewest.
Main Roads didnt send anyone which was quite disappointing.
Main Roads authorised the small drains, which Downer EDI duly cut. The groundwater level is very high and is influenced by the river and tides.

The fix for this location is to lift the entire path, avoid building a dam wall and ensure the path is above any potential flooding, clearly at the moment the path isnt high enough.

The CIty of Perth have committed to replacing the path this financial year.

Short term we are still working to get a some form of temporary fix, once we work out whether City of Perth or Main Roads are going to do the work.

[Prestige]

Thanks Fixed. I certainly appreciate your efforts on behalf of everyone else to get something done about this.