These are actually some of the best places to live in peak hour

Sitting on the homepage of The Age’s website this morning is an article titled ‘The worst Melbourne suburbs to live in at peak hour’.

Richmond, Camberwell, Glen Huntly, Skye, Heidelberg and Brunswick are outed as the worst six suburbs to live in Melbourne if you want to get around in the morning. Severe traffic congestion, poor public transport, dangerous walking routes and noise issues are all listed as reasons that these suburbs are horrible for commuting.

What it doesn’t take into account is that you could easily avoid, and not contribute to, the peak hour motor traffic by riding a __bike – despite some of Melbourne’s best dedicated __bike routes being in these areas.

To allay the concerns of people in these “almost unlivable” suburbs and show that transport works best when there are options, we’ve highlighted some of the best bike riding routes that can be taken into the CBD.

Richmond

This inner-city suburb is located just a stone’s throw from the Melbourne CBD and is actually serviced by a number of bike paths and on-road bike lanes. Depending on which side of the suburb you live on there is easy access to the city. 

There is the Main Yarra Trail that follows the Yarra River into the city, as well as a great bike route along Elizabeth Street and Albert Street that takes you through East Melbourne.

If you want to commute via one of the world’s best sporting stadiums you can also wind your through the gum trees of Yarra Park and along the concourse of the MCG and ride all the way through to Birrarung Marr.

Camberwell

Just 10km to the east of the CBD, Camberwell is a very well placed for a morning commute by bike.

Camberwell riders can easily avoid cars and motor traffic by getting onto either the Anniversary Outer Circle Trail which follows the Alamein train line, and the Gardiners Creek Trail which feeds into the Main Yarra Trail for easy city access.

Those who live a little further east and want to avoid the traffic of Camberwell can also register to use Bicycle Network’s free Parkiteer service and ride to train stations and securely park their bike.

Glen Huntly

A small suburb in the south-east, Glen Huntly has a number of on-road bike lanes, signed on-road paths and off-road shared paths.

To help locals get around on their bikes, the City of Glen Eira council has put out a dedicated cycling guide with a handy map that shows where and how you can connect with other bike lanes and paths to get into the city.

It will also get a lot better shortly for Glen Huntly commuters when the SkyRail project delivers a 17km trail as part of the linear park that is being created after level crossings are removed.

Skye

Skye is an outer suburb 38km from the Melbourne CBD, and while options for bike paths are limited, you can still easily avoid the horrible traffic problems by using Bicycle Network’s free Parkiteer secure bike parking. 

With cages at Frankston, Seaford and Cranbourne train stations you can easily ride and park without a worry.

Heidelberg

Heidelberg might be choked by trucks on Rosanna Road, but once again the Main Yarra Trail comes to the rescue.

Heidelbergers can escape the hustle and bustle of the roads by heading into the 35-hectare Warringal Parklands and jumping onto the trail and following the Yarra into the city.

Brunswick

Brunswick was listed as one of Melbourne’s worst peak-hour suburbs mainly because of the issues currently facing Sydney Road, which we are currently campaigning to fix.
 
In the meantime, local bike riders use the two shimmy bike routes that dance through the backstreets and the Upfield Shared Path for efficient transport north–south.

The Capital City Trail immediately to the south connects Brunswick and the inner north with the city and Docklands, and is one of Melbourne’s best used bike trails – on Bicycle Network’s recent Super Tuesday commuter bike count sections of the trail had a 50/50 split of women and men riders.