Elizabeth Street is an east-west street in North Richmond, between Hoddle Street and Church Street. To the west, over Hoddle Street, it links to Albert Street, which hosts separated and then protected bicycle lanes heading into the central business district.

Image credit: Apple Maps and Streets Alive Yarra

Strategic Cycling Corridor

Elizabeth Street forms part of the state government’s Strategic Cycling Corridor network, which are intended to be safe, direct, and connected, offering best-practice high-quality routes between neighbourhoods:

Strategic Cycling Corridors. Image credit: Transport Victoria.

Previous conditions

Previously, Elizabeth Street hosted bicycle lanes located in the ‘dooring zone’ of the parked cars, which exposed people who cycle to hazards that carry the risk of serious injury or death. Such ‘door zone’ bicycle lane designs don’t comply with Austroads or VicRoads guidelines, and dissuade many people from cycling.

Elizabeth Street looking west to the train line and Hoddle Street. Image credit: Google Maps.

Trial infrastructure

In 2019 council began a trial of protected bicycle lanes using low-cost infrastructure:

Elizabeth Street proposed trial layout. Source: Agenda 3rd December 2019.

Permanent infrastructure

Council has now determined that the bike lanes will be permanent, and is seeking funding for higher-cost, permanent treatment, with more trees:

Elizabeth Street proposed final treatment. Source: Agenda 3rd December 2019.

Implementation

This video shows that local families with children are now happy to cycle on Elizabeth Street, owing to the increased safety:

Image credit: Vimeo

This video offers a before/after comparison of the trial:

Support from the RACV

During COVID the RACV called for more pop-up bike lanes, such as those on Elizabeth Street:

Metropolitan councils across Melbourne should follow the City of Melbourne’s lead to create pop-up bike lanes and wider footpaths as the city emerges from lockdown, says RACV.

RACV
Image credit: RACV

In 2024, the RACV updated their report on cycling superhighways, reinforcing their support for high quality bike lanes on Elizabeth Street, which forms part of a route from Box Hill to the CBD:

Map of cycling superhighways. Image credit: RACV.

Our view

We agree with the Council Report and Officer Recommendation, and support an ‘iterative trial’ approach, which is a great way to allow residents and ratepayers to experience the proposal in a fast, low-cost manner, before Council spends more money on a higher-cost, permanent installation.

Project delivery processes and funding allowances for sustainable transport projects have not kept pace with development and population growth resulting in increased congestion, increased conflict between transport modes and a reduction in the attractiveness of traveling by active transport modes and sustainable transport. These trends will continue to worsen unless Council adopts processes and practices that better match the policy intent, so that key transport projects can be delivered more quickly and more cheaply.

Council Report 3rd December 2019

Join us

Your local champion for Elizabeth Street is Sarah Cather – Yarra resident. View all of Streets Alive Yarra’s champions on our supporters page.

Cycling was a lifeline to so many bike riders here in Yarra during our prolonged months of lockdown and with an ever-increasing popularity of pedal power in Melbourne, we need to continue advocating for improved bike infrastructure to accommodate the load. I love the invigorating buzz of people that cycling brings to our neighbourhood, as commuters, school children – mine included – business folk and a myriad of generations cross paths along their daily journey. My family have lived in Richmond since 2004 and have been using the bike paths to commute, shop, dash into the city and do longer rides back from Eltham as a great day out. We depend on progressive initiatives such as Streets Alive Yarra to keep our cogs spinning into the future and importantly, our streets safer.

Sarah Cather