Understanding Melbourne Flux

List five (5) major changes that are currently taking place around the world.

When ‘thinking’ about your business model for the Melbourne shared bicycle facility, consider the PEST analysis tool to help devise a strategy for one of these major changes.

Devise a means to take advantage of this change for social, economic and environmental good.

PEST analysis

Esquisse 3: Alternative materials

Recent advances in science and manufacturing have resulted in a broader palette of materials available to designers than at any other time in history. Many of these emerging materials and processes have the potential to revolutionise bicycle design and manufacture and should be thoroughly researched for the ozcykler project.

Alternative construction materials and processes for your bicycle and supporting infrastructure designs should have the potential to:

- enhance performance,

- create uniqueness

- increase design flexibility

- simplify manufacture

- reduce environmental impact

- reduce costs,

- increase durability,

- reduce weight,

- improve efficiency,

- resist vandals

- facilitate public acceptance and

- drive innovation

Another potential driver for adopting alternative materials is a shortage of existing natural materials or concerns about their long-term sustainability.

Activity:

Research and analyse alternative materials processes and technologies which may be suitable for manufacture of the shared bicycle and supporting street infrastructure.

Focus on design for the public domain, weight reduction, strength and durability.

Target your research towards economically viable materials and processes which are appropriate for high volume production. Ensure that your consideration includes a strong focus on life-cycle principles for each material/process.

Deliverables:

3 x A4 pages outlining your creative ideas for alternative materials, clearly indicating where these materials will be used and the potential benefits of embracing this technology for your bicycle system design.

You must have at least 3 well-justified alternative materials in total.

Make your pages visually interesting and only include information that you feel is relevant. Dot points can be used for all pages and remember quality is better than quantity.

Submission due: Tues 23 March

Understanding Melbourne – Product Service System Design

Product Service Systems are when a firm offers a mix of both products and services, in comparison to the traditional focus on products. As defined by (van Halen, te Riele, Goedkoop) "a marketable set of products and services capable of jointly fulfilling a user's needs". PSSes can be realised by smart products.

The initial move to PSS was largely motivated by the need on the part of traditionally oriented manufacturing firms to cope with changing market forces and the recognition that services in combination with products could provide higher profits than products alone. Faced with shrinking markets and increased commoditization of their products, these firms saw service provision as a new path towards profits and growth.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_service_system

Your task

How are the bicycle service system designs you have researched relevant to Melbourne?

List 10 key features of each system you have researched

Table, Consider and evaluate using a scale of 1-10 (1=not relevant 10 = extremely relevant

Eg.

Distances between hubs

Payment types

Incentive schemes

Based on your scoring define the parameters of a business model for your product service system.

Using a SWOT analysis evaluate the following (refer to chart)

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Present your PSS to class.

SWOT analysis

Cyclists call for 'friendly' roads

JASON DOWLING
February 4, 2010

Many Melburnians believe that cycling in traffic is dangerous and there are suggestions Melbourne needs ''greenways'', bike-friendly roads with speed limits of 20 km/h where helmets are optional.

Research findings out today have found most bicycle owners who do not to ride to work have nominated dangerous traffic conditions as the big deterrent.

About 90 per cent of the 800 Victorians who responded to a telephone and online Sweeney Research survey said Victorian roads were not safe for cyclists.

The survey was commissioned by insurer AAMI and was made in the middle of last year.

It found two-thirds of drivers surveyed said cyclists were a hazard, 29 per cent said they had had an accident or a near miss with a cyclist and 83 per cent claimed to have seen cyclists break road rules and ride dangerously.

But an overwhelming number - 78 per cent of those surveyed - said they would like to see better facilities for cyclists.

Garry Glazebrook, senior lecturer at the school of the built environment, University of Technology Sydney, told a Planning Institute of Australia luncheon in Melbourne yesterday that some city roads should be transformed to make them bicycle friendly.

''Let's think about creating some cycle paths where you don't have to wear a helmet, I call them greenways, places [streets] where there is a maximum of 20 kilometres an hour speed limit … all cars have to give way to pedestrians and cyclists, and on those roads you don't need to have a helmet,'' Dr Glazebrook said.

''I am of the view that the mere fact that we put helmets on people is the wrong way around, it is admitting that it's not safe to ride a bike and the reality is it isn't safe.''

Inner Melbourne will have an additional 600 bikes in use come the middle of the year, after the state government's bicycle hire scheme is launched with 50 bicycle stations.

The RACV and Alta Planning and Design will run the scheme and are exploring options to make helmets available for sale or hire in the CBD.

Bicycle Victoria spokesman Garry Brennan said compliance with helmet laws was high in Victoria. It was doubtful making helmets optional would lead to more cyclists.

''We would argue that high-quality infrastructure, in particular separated bike lanes, is the most effective … way of making cyclists feel safe and making them feel that they want to ride a bike,'' he said.

In 2007, almost 2300 cyclists were treated in hospital after traffic accidents

just for fun

Here it is ... the bicycle design tool you've been waiting for!

http://www.pedalmafia.com/mafid/mafia_id.html

Sustainable development

Bike pod at City Square (try harder)

To make cycling to the city an even easier option, the City of Melbourne and the Department of Transport have provided a bike pod in City Square.

The bike pod’s facilities include:

• two self-contained showers
• a basin and mirror
• changing space
• clothes hooks
• a bench seat
• floor heating for comfort and drying
• stainless steel floor for hygiene

For security, the bike pod has an automated door with a time lapse.

The bike pod will be available for use from Monday 22 February at the City Square Car Park, 202 Flinders Lane, Melbourne.

As Melbourne’s population continues to grow, the City of Melbourne continues to focus on promoting sustainable forms of transport. We are committed to improving bike path networks and bike facilities to encourage more people to adopt cycling.

Source: http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/ParksandActivities/WalkingCyclingandSkating/Pages/Bikepod.aspx

What the!

Wheels and Heels

The City of Melbourne’s Wheels and Heels program has been an opportunity to help improve transport options within local areas in the municipality.

The Wheels and Heels program focused on making sustainable transport such as walking, cycling and access to public transport easier for everyone. The program has also focused on vehicle parking options in targeted local areas.

Source: http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/AboutCouncil/PlansandPublications/strategies/Pages/WheelsandHeels.aspx

Road Movement Calculator 2-3-2010

Select your location on the map. Type your access code into the box below. Paste or type your results into the lefthand side column below. Enter one road movement per line: eg 14 27 represents 27 cyclists executing movement 14. Movements do not have to be entered in order. Movements that have a count of zero do not need to be entered. When ready push the Check entry button. The displayed intersection is updated. Do the results line up with the roads correctly? If not use the Rotate results button to correct. If satisfied with the results, update our master file by pushing the Update intersection button. If you make a mistake have another go! Big problems? Just sit back and relax and let us know, together with the intersection number

Source: http://www.bv.com.au/bike-counts/gmaps/roadmovementcalculator.html?ll=-37.813578,144.963341&st=vic

Outstanding!

esquisse 2

Esquisse no. 2 " Shared Rides" is available on Blackboard for download.
It is due next Tuesday.

Esquisse Two: Shared Rides

Bicycle share systems (or community bicycle programs or public bikes) are increasingly popular and diverse. In these schemes, which were pioneered by cities such as Copenhagen, Paris and Barcelona, bicycles are available for shared use by the public from specific hubs or collection points usually for a one-off fee or through membership plans.

Opportunities exist for cities to enhance services to tourists, promote healthier lifestyles amongst its residents, reduce inner-city congestion and pollution and reduce demands on existing urban infrastructure (including road networks and public transport systems.

Activity:

Research existing bicycle share schemes worldwide focussing on:

- bicycle and infrastructure design

- aesthetic styling

- production materials and finishes

- technical issues (drivetrain etc)

- integration into the urban landscape

- payment/access schemes

- targeted users-tourists/residents/business

- location of collection hubs

- bicycle collection/distribution

- corporate sponsorship/advertising

Your research should be all encompassing and include not only fact finding, BUT also thorough analysis and evaluation of existing bicycle sharing systems and schemes.

Look beyond purely functional constraints at the impact on societal patterns, resultant behavioural change and impact on the urban environment.

Deliverables:

3 x A3 pages summarising your research. One page each for:

- comparisons of bicycle designs and technical variations

- infrastructure including contextual images analysing integration into vernacular etc.

- brief comparative study examining road use/congestion – what impact could the implementation of a shared bicycle scheme have on current and projected congestion levels? Express as text and graphs.

plus one A4 page comprising a product design specification (in bullet points) based on research findings.

Make your pages visually interesting and only include information that you feel is relevant. Dot points can be used for all pages and remember quality is better than quantity.

Submission:

Your work must be uploaded to the blog before the start of class on Tues 16 March

Vernacular

Class of 2010

Alexandra Gray http://alexgraydesign.blogspot.com/

Andy Tsang http://andyltsang.blogspot.com/
Ben Carlos http://bencarlosdesigns.blogspot.com/
Ben McFadyen http://benmcfadyen.blogspot.com/
Boris Nguyen http://borisnguyen.blogspot.com/
Caley Malady http://caley-m.blogspot.com/
Carla Zampaglione http://carlazampag.blogspot.com/
Chris O'Haire http://cohaire.blogspot.com/
Connie Hinchliffe http://conniehinchliffe.blogspot.com/
Daniel Malberg http://dcm-cyclingcraze.blogspot.com/
Gemma Maffei http://gemmamaffei.blogspot.com/
James Pendlebury http://jimpendlebury.blogspot.com/
Jenny Castles http://jennypde2010.blogspot.com/
Jesse Leeworthy http://JesseLeeworthy.blogspot.com
Joseph Fischer http://15badgers.blogspot.com/
Josh Tilley http://josh-tilley.blogspot.com/
Justin Newall http://justin9999.blogspot.com/
Kelly Whiteman http://kellywhiteman.blogspot.com/
Lauren McLean http://wheelzout.blogspot.com/
Leigh McLeod http://leighjmcleod.blogspot.com
Marcus Krigsman http://marcuskrigsman.blogspot.com/
Matt Bull http://matthew-bull.blogspot.com/
Matthew Clark http://mclark09.blogspot.com/
Matthew Kent http://matthew-kent.blogspot.com/
Matthew Lumbao http://matteolumbao.blogspot.com/
Matthew Nayna http://matthewnayna.blogspot.com/
Raimond Ghiri http://rghiri.blogspot.com/
Ryan Baker http://ryanbaker-pde2010.blogspot.com/
Ryan Martin http://ryanmartinpde.blogspot.com/
Ryan Mischkulnig http://ozcyklerryan.blogspot.com/
Sam Miatke http://smiatke.blogspot.com
Sarah Richardson http://sarahrichardsonpde2010.blogspot.com/
Thomas Dux http://duxdesign2010.blogspot.com/
Tim Binnion http://timbinnion.blogspot.com/
Zeina Assouad http://zeinaassouad.blogspot.com/

Disposable Bike Helmets

I've often wondered what the actual cost of producing a bike helmet is. I mean the vacuum-formed-with-foam variety. Well, now I know. It's something less than 4 bucks. No, really. You can go to this site and buy as many bike helmets as you want for $3.65 each (plus shipping, which if you order 36 helmets or more is $1.00 per helmet. You can get free shipping if you're willing to buy 20 cases, or 720 helmets.)

Now you or I don't need even a single case (36 units) of helmets, but this is an interesting proposition for a police department, a club, or anyone who is teaching people to ride and needs an economical helmet. At $3.65 each, the helmets are almost disposable. And, they meet CPSC safety standards!

Source: http://practicalcyclist.blogspot.com/2009/01/disposable-bike-helmets.html

Head case

www.urbikes.com

Melbournistas

The Dutchess Cannondale

Wytze's graduation project for Cannondale from Eelke D. on Vimeo.

Sitting in traffic to cost city $6bn by 2020

The cost of bumper-to-bumper traffic in Melbourne is set to double by 2020, with gridlock sapping $20.4 billion from the national economy by then if action isn't taken.

This bleak assessment is contained in a new government report that paints a picture of increasing traffic congestion and high transport emissions, urban sprawl and surging population growth in the first half of this century.

Melbourne's congestion cost - currently estimated at $3 billion - is projected to be $6.1 billion by 2020, a 103 per cent increase.

The cost is a measure of productivity lost when people are stuck in traffic. The hot spots nationally are Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, with Melbourne coming in fourth.

The report is to be released today by Transport Minister Anthony Albanese and says car dependency in cities is increasing at a rate faster than population growth, creating gridlock and making households hostage to rising oil prices.

It also confirms that Melbourne's population will hit 7 million by 2056.

The report's release could open a new battle front with the states, after the minister signalled that Canberra wants to play a more active role in urban planning and public transport provision.

Mr Albanese is expected to call for a ''collaborative'' approach to deal with future transport policy challenges.

In the report, he emphasises the Commonwealth's inherent interest in cities. Urban policy under John Howard was largely left to the states and local governments.

''In the tradition of Labor governments, the Rudd government has renewed engagement with our nation's cities,'' Mr Albanese says.

''That tradition goes right back to the Whitlam government.

''I believe that cities' policy is core business for the national government - we are, after all, one of the most urbanised nations in the world.''

The report has been compiled by the Major Cities Unit of Infrastructure Australia.

It is not all doom and gloom. The report gives Melburnians a tick for taking practical steps to be clean and green.

Water and electricity use is down, and households have installed ceiling insulation in order to improve their energy efficiency, the report says.

Water restrictions and community awareness prompted 67 per cent of Melbourne households to cut their water usage over the 12 months to 2007-08. Ninety per cent of the population turned off the lights and turned their devices off stand-by, reducing electricity consumption over the same period. The rate of ceiling insulation is higher than in most other capitals. More than 70 per cent of dwellings have pink batts or other insulation.

People in Melbourne are also more inclined than residents of most other Australian cities to leave the car at home and take public transport.

Housing also remains comparatively more affordable in Melbourne. In March 2009, the median house price for established dwellings was $375,000 - a low figure compared with other capitals.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/national/sitting-in-traffic-to-cost-city-6bn-by-2020-20100304-plv7.html

Design standards for bicycle facilities - vicroads

Visit: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Moreinfoandservices/Bicycles/StrategicDirectionsForCycling/BicycleFacilityDesignStandards.htm

ThisWay by Torkel Dohmers

A comfortable pedal powered bicycle with weather protection. Emphasis is on automotive qualities in the design, to attract non-cyclists who currently rely on cars and motorcycles. Another selling point to attract more potential cyclists (particularly here in Europe) is weather protection – ThisWay has a roof.

Built from composite materials (carbon or flax fibre) and some hydro-formed aluminium, this vehicle is very lightweight (approximately 11-12kg). It has built-in LED lights front and rear, powered by a rechargeable battery obtaining its power from roof mounted solar cells. For minimum maintenance ThisWay’s built-in belt drive is well protected and all cables are hidden within the frame.

KiBiSi by Kilo Design, BIG and Skibsted Ideation

Number of peak-hour cyclists soar

The number of cyclists on Melbourne's roads has soared by up to 50 per cent during peak hour in the past year, according to new figures.

The biggest increases were recorded in Fitzroy and on the Yarra Trail, according to an audit of cyclists conducted by the state's peak cycling body Bicycle Victoria.

The organisation monitored the number of cyclists on key routes into Melbourne's CBD between 7am and 9am on Tuesday.

Initial figures revealed increases of between 12 and 50 per cent on routes across the city, Bicycle Victoria spokesman Garry Brennan said.

But the count came as Victorian cyclists experienced a particularly bad day on the roads, with paramedics called to 14 separate accidents in 24 hours yesterday - seven of them in just one hour.

Cyclists were left with broken arms and collarbones in the accidents, most of which occurred in morning peak hour.

The youngest injured was a six-year-old boy who suffered bruising swelling to his forehead, while the oldest was an 87-year-old man who injured his leg when he fell from his bike.

"We know there are collisions and crashes on a frequent basis involving bikes," Mr Brennan said.

"Many of them don't involve cars, people might just fall off."

But he said it was natural that the number cycling injuries would rise in line with a jump in the number of people taking up cycling.

Initial figures from Bicycle Victoria's count revealed 1795 cyclists passed through the intersection of Swanston and Flinders streets in the city between 7am and 9am. That was a rise of 25 per cent compared to the previous year.

At the corner of Napier and Johnston streets in Fitzroy there a 51 per cent increase was recorded, which Bicycle Victoria attributed in part to the installation of bike priority traffic signals at the intersection.

At the corner of Brunswick Street and Victoria Parade, numbers were up 21 per cent to 687 cyclists.

The number of cyclists jumped 50 per cent to 1407 at the junction of the Yarra Trail and the Gardiners Creek Trail, however Mr Brennan said that figure may have been skewed by a diversion in place during last year's count.

A detailed analysis of the figures was not expected until the end of next month.

The crashes come as bicycle sales boom and cycling is promoted as a healthy, environmentally friendly alternative to the car.

"The statistics show us that the rate of accidents is actually declining as the number of riders goes up," Mr Brennan said.

"There appears to be a safety-in-numbers effect in play. It looks as though other road users are becoming used to seeing large numbers of bike riders on the road. They're more aware and they adjust their driving accordingly."

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/number-of-peakhour-cyclists-soar-20100304-pkc1.html

Batavus Utility Bike by VanBerlo

Source : http://www.dezeen.com/2010/03/03/batavus-utility-bike-by-vanberlo/#more-67690

Bike share plan still on track

Brisbane's $1.2 million bike hire scheme will proceed as planned despite one of the leading bidders for the contract withdrawing from the process this morning.

Adshel said it was forced to remove its bid for the contract to run the scheme, which would introduce 2000 public bikes to central Brisbane, due to "the deterioration of the global economic climate since the time the offer was first submitted".

An Adshel spokeswoman told brisbanetimes.com.au that it had the know-how to run the scheme but lacked capital expenditure.

One of Adshel's parent companies, Clear Channel, runs a bike hire scheme in Barcelona.

"It [the Barcelona scheme] was implemented in a better financial climate," Adshel's spokeswoman said.

But brisbanetimes.com.au understands JCDecaux was already the frontrunner for the tender, and is now almost guaranteed to win the contract.

A Brisbane City Council spokesman said an announcement would be made before the end of January.

"Brisbane City Council remains committed to the introduction of its planned Public Bike Sharing Scheme," the spokesman said.

"The scheme is expected to be based upon similar projects already established in more than 40 international cities, including Paris and Barcelona, and is anticipated to incorporate up to 2000 bicycles."

But Labor's Shayne Sutton said the council needed to reassure Brisbane residents that the tender process was still competitive.

"The Lord Mayor must ensure that ratepayers receive value for money when awarding the contract for the project,'' she said.

Adshel CEO Steve McCarthy encouraged Brisbane City Council to "critically assess the long-term viability of the bike scheme in the current market conditions".

"Considering the appeal of the bike scheme project and the substantial time that both Adshel and the Brisbane City Council have invested so far, we regret that we cannot proceed with our offer due to conditions beyond our control," Mr McCarthy said.

Adshel said it would have considered reapplying for a scaled back project, but the council said it would proceed with the scheme as originally planned.

The bike hire scheme, part of the council's long-term transport plan, will see bikes at up to 150 stations from Newstead to the University of Queensland.

Cr Sutton said the council also needed to confirm the roll-out date for the project, which was originally set for mid-2009.

Adshel has an ongoing contract with Brisbane City Council to provide 840 bus shelters across the city.

A JCDecaux spokesman referred all inquiries to Brisbane City Council.

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/bike-share-plan-still-on-track/2009/01/06/1231003990666.html

the dangers of cycling

Eight cyclists injured in morning of accidents

MEGAN LEVY
March 3, 2010 - 4:33PM

A cyclist has suffered a punctured lung and seven others have been injured in eight separate bike accidents on Melbourne's roads today.

Cyclists were left with broken arms and collarbones after the accidents, seven of which occurred during the morning peak hour.

The spate of bike accidents follows another three last night, which left three children hospitalised.

Intensive care paramedics Rohan Miniken said the most serious crash occurred about 8.30am when a 48-year-old man fell from his bike onto tram tracks in Commercial Road at Prahran.

"He struck his head on the road but thankfully was wearing a helmet," he said.

"The helmet had significant damage, and if he wasn't wearing that he probably would have fractured his skull.

"The man has bruising and swelling to his side and may have fractured some ribs and has a collapsed lung."

The cyclist was given pain relief and fitted with a neck brace before being taken to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition.

In a separate accident, a 34-year-old man fractured his arm when he tried to avoid a collision and his tyre became lodged in tram tracks.

He was taken to The Alfred hospital in a stable condition.

Among the other casualties were three people who suffered broken collarbones in separate crashes, while others suffered cuts and bruises.

The crashes come as bicycle sales boom and cycling is promoted as a healthy, environmentally friendly alternative to the car.

A Monash University study in December showed the number of cyclists being seriously injured or turning up badly hurt at Victoria's hospital emergency departments was surging.

In 1999, 1236 cyclists were hospitalised or treated for injuries at emergency departments, the study showed.

By 2007 the figure had leapt to 2294, with more than 700 spending at least a night in hospital.

Men made up about 80 per cent of all recorded injuries.

Its a ratio thing!

A vicious cycle

IT'S rather flattering to be mistaken for Robert De Niro. The chap on the bicycle in Collins Street obviously confused me with a character in that Meet the Fockers movie. "You Focker!" he said when I opened the passenger-side window to hear what he was saying (at least, that's what I think he said - the city traffic noise can be quite deafening).

Bicycle Man looked very annoyed and that was understandable - he had accidentally slapped my collapsible driver-side wing mirror so it hinged backwards and he was probably feeling embarrassed. Anyhow, Bicycle Man said something about a bicycle lane and about me pulling over to drop off a passenger and I agreed that it certainly was silly the way the Collins Street bicycle lane just disappears as you approach Swanston Street and really, what were the traffic engineers thinking and what is a Bicycle Man to do and we enjoyed a good laugh - well, I did, anyhow, and pushed the mirror back the right way.

Then, through sheer chance a week later, I was crawling along the same stretch of Collins Street, just a little short of the same spot, when the light turned red at the pedestrian crossing. I stopped the car, but a Bicycle Man just pedalled gaily through. The pedestrians on the crossing had to wait for him to pass. If it had been a car you might have taken its registration number, but of course, Bicycle Men are completely anonymous. They don't have rego plates and you can't even get a good look at their faces.

Cop (wearily): What did this offender on a bike look like?

Self: Er, well, he was wearing a helmet, dark glasses, Lycra top and shorts, runners. Oh, and the bike had two wheels.

Cop: Hmm, right, that narrows it down.

Anthropologically, the interesting part is that most Bicycle Men are not bicycle men all the time: most of them drive cars too and become part of the Focker family. And Fockers often get out of their cars and become Pedestrian Men, the ones who dodge Bicycle Men on pedestrian crossings. But when a Focker or a Pedestrian Man dons Lycra and swings his leg over a Giant or some other form of spoked bi-wheel transportation he becomes Bicycle Man, and that seems to grant him an instant exemption from the road rules.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving down Racecourse Road past Flemington, where the road narrows past a railed tram stop. It was 8.28pm and dusk was falling. There was a Bicycle Man, no lights, casually pedalling in to that darkened corridor, confident in his belief all members of the Focker family have 20-20 peepers and that he was as safe as one of Peter Garrett's insulated houses. Not so for the petrol-powered Fockers. You try motoring about in the dark without lights and you will be pulled over, lectured, breath-tested and probably given a ticket in the policemen's lottery.

That's why it is very tempting to become a Bicycle Man yourself. You get to look all sleek and aerodynamic because the Lycra super-hero suit holds your gut and backside in - and in your mind's eye, you can be riding in a Walter Mitty version of the Tour de France, covered in advertising logos and holding pole position. The good part is, as a fantasy cycling champ, you can take your bike just about anywhere you like. Judging by what I have seen, a Bicycle Man can speed along footpaths, turn corners through red lights, dawdle along at 5 km/h in front of traffic in a 70 km/h zone, meander between lanes, turn without indication, travel at night without lights, and get away with it.

Cop: Description?

Self: Well, it could have been the same bloke from the pedestrian crossing. Helmet, dark glasses, Lycra top and shorts, two wheels.

Cop: We'll round up a couple of hundred thousand suspects for a line-up.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/national/melbourne-life/a-vicious-cycle-20100228-pb7y.html

Transport revolution to get city moving

THE state government will unveil a ground-breaking transport plan, conceding that it can no longer simply build new roads to fix Melbourne's congestion crisis and must instead transform the way existing roads are used.

In draft guidelines, obtained by The Sunday Age, that outline the government's latest attempt to solve Melbourne's transport woes, VicRoads warns that unless innovative action is taken, population and economic growth will cripple the city's road network within a decade.

''Maintaining the road quality and adding capacity by building new roads is reaching the limits of affordability, practicability and political acceptability,'' the report says.

''Into the future, Melbourne's road network cannot hope to cope with ever-increasing demands from a range of users. A more active approach to allocating priority is needed that separates … many of the conflicts by route, place and time of day.''

The plan, expected to be released by the government this month, centres on the creation of a ''road use hierarchy'' that gives priority to cars, cyclists, pedestrians and public transport at different times of the day to improve travel times.

The proposal is expected to have a profound effect on how road users move about Melbourne in the future, with the RACV saying the new measures will encourage drivers, walkers, cyclists and public transport users to alter their behaviour to make travel more efficient.

Congestion-busting measures in the draft strategy, dated late last year, include:

? Limiting the building of new roads.

? Creating designated times along every major road when certain modes of transport are given priority over others.

? Encouraging cars to avoid shopping strips during the day. This could be achieved by lowering the speed limit.

? Giving priority to more tram and bus services. This could be achieved by using traffic lights and by removing street car parks.

? Encouraging pedestrians to use activity centres with public transport and bicycle route access.

Traffic congestion costs Victoria $2.6 billion every year, but that figure will double to $5.2 billion by 2024 the report warns, unless radical change to road use is embraced.

Monash University transport expert Professor Graham Currie said the plan - an Australian first - marked a crucial change in thinking by the government.

''We've got to the point where we have to draw the line somewhere to get the best use out of our resources,'' he said.

''Road space is precious. We're not getting any more, but demand is soaring … This is a turning point.''

Every major road in Melbourne has been assigned a ''priority road use'' in consultation with councils and the Transport Department. Plans based on local government areas have been combined into a network-wide map that will underpin how the strategy is executed.

VicRoads has confirmed that scheduled road projects, such as the tunnel linking the inner-west with the Port of Melbourne, will proceed.

But the authority refused to reveal ahead of the plan's launch how it would encourage different modes of transport to use particular routes at specific times.

RACV chief engineer traffic and roads Peter Daly said the strategy could be achieved with lower speed limits and better crossings in pedestrian areas, traffic light priority for public transport on relevant routes, and more spacious roads with linked traffic signals to create better flow where cars have priority.

''Road users may notice local incremental changes in how roads operate, but over time, more significant changes will emerge,'' the report says.

Draft VicRoads maps show Williams and Punt roads in South Yarra will be designated as a mixture of car and bus priority while large parts of High Street and Toorak Road will be given tram and pedestrian priority.

Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, is designated tram priority, mixed largely with pedestrian priority, while Victoria Parade gives priority to cars, buses and trams.

A large number of suburban shopping precincts are to be designated pedestrian zones.

Mr Daly said the plan provided Melbourne with its first strategic blueprint to underpin future decisions about road priority and ensure thinking and implementation was consistent across municipalities.

The RACV had advocated this approach for years, he said, and the plan would belatedly recognise that road space is scarce and can't be everything to everybody.

''In the past we've pretended it could and that approach clearly can't work and is not sustainable,'' he said.

He said some freeway links and roads in outer areas were still needed but it was time for tough decisions, such as removing car parks on certain routes to create bus clearways and potentially lowering some speed limits.

''This is more than platitudes … It should mean faster and more efficient transport.''

Bicycle Victoria's Jason den Hollander said he hoped the plan would ensure an improved cycling network with greater separation from road traffic, more bike lane connections and traffic light priority for cyclists.

''A route that is highlighted for cycling means that we no longer have to compete for road space behind other modes,'' he said.

Public Transport Users' Association president Daniel Bowen said it was a recognition that the car should no longer receive priority by default.

VicRoads would not release the latest versions of the road hierarchy maps or their guidelines but said plans would be released shortly that ''[combine] key road infrastructure improvements with a comprehensive plan of how our metropolitan road network will work sustainably into the future''.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said road congestion had soared over the past 10 years under Labor's poor management of Melbourne's road and public transport networks.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/national/transport-revolution-to-get-city-moving-20100206-njxf.html