Woods Weller Bikeway

Woods Weller front

Project Summary

The Wood-Weller Street Bikeway route is a strategic north-south route linking the City of Mitcham in the south via Cross Road with the Mike Turtur Bikeway and Charles Walk heading north.

To create a safer cycling environment, a series of raised slow points are spaced along the street, with bicycle bypasses protected with landscaped islands, as well as improvements at intersections for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Funding was allocated in Council’s 2021-22 annual budget for this project and part was also received from the State Government’s State Bicycle Fund.

Community Benefit

The cycling route provides a parallel north-south transport alternative to busy King William Road and supports a mixed traffic environment with lower vehicle speeds (less than 40 km/h) and reduced traffic volumes of less than 1,000 to 1,500 vehicles per day. 

Project Phases

Council will deliver the Wood Weller Bikeway in a number of stages in the coming years. The anticipated five key stages include the following:  

  • Stage 1 – Wood Street (Northgate Street / Mitchell Street) Completed in 2017
  • Stage 2 – Weller Street (Mitchell Street / Albert Street) Completed in 2020
  • Stage 3 – Weller Street (Albert Street / Simpson Parade)

    Currently in progress, to be completed in 2022, in conjunction with funding support from the South Australian Government’s State Bicycle Fund.

  • Stage 4 – King William Road (Simpson Parade to Mike Turtur Bikeway)

    This phase to undertaken in future, subject to Council budgets and external funding opportunities.

  • Stage 5 –  Wood Street to Cross Road

This phase to be undertaken in future, subject to Council budgets and external funding opportunities.

 

Project Information

The Wood-Weller Street Bicycle Route is a key north-south route in the Unley area that links the City of Mitcham to the south at Cross Road, Charles Walk / Glen Osmond Trail to the east and Mike Turtur Bikeway to the north. The bicycle route has been delivered in stages, with the Wood Street section being delivered in 2017 and the Weller Street section between Mitchell and Albert Street being delivered in July 2020.

The bicycle route has been designed to be a low speed (< 40 km/h) and low trafficked (< 1,500 vehicles per day (vpd) ) environment to support a mixed traffic arrangement where less confident bike riders would feel comfortable to ride. This has been achieved through the installation of slow points including a raised hump, bicycle bypass and landscaped islands, as well as pedestrian and bicycle improvements at intersections.

Funding has been allocated in the 2021/22 Annual Business Plan & Budget to deliver the section of bicycle route along Weller Street (north of Albert Street) and Simpson Parade. State Government funding has also been received through the State Bicycle Fund to deliver this project. Construction is planned to commence in early 2022.

Cycling in Unley

A key objective in the Unley Integrated Transport Strategy  is that Unley is recognised as a leader in providing connected, efficient and safe active transport choices. 

To achieve this objective, our targets include:

  • Doubling the amount of active transport journeys to work by Unley residents (target of 9.4% walking and 7.4% cycling).
  • Recording the highest number (percentage of population) of sustainable transport journeys undertaken by our local community, when compared to the rest of metropolitan Adelaide.

To achieve these objectives we are delivering the cycling network and projects in the Walking and Cycling Plan, including the Wood-Weller Bikeway.

The Walking and Cycling Plan goal is to get more people bike riding and walking for transport and recreation purposes for people of all ages and abilities.

What are slow-points?

Slow points are local area traffic management devices aimed at reducing rat-running and lowering vehicle speeds on residential streets to improve conditions for the local community and encourage more people to walk and bike ride. The slow points include a bicycle bypass to improve accessibility for bike riders, as well as landscaping to improve public amenity.

Project Review

A project review was undertaken on the Weller Street section of the bicycle route between Mitchell Street and Albert Street in March-April 2021, 6 to 8 months post construction to provide adequate time for people to adjust to the new environment. The review document can be found here(PDF, 3MB)

The key findings from the project review include:

  • The use of the bicycle route is high with over 200 daily bike riders.
  • The bicycle bypasses within the slow points have worked well with bike riders observed to use them 93% of the time.
  • The average daily traffic volumes and vehicle speeds along the street have reduced to generally below 1,500 vpd and 40 km/h respectively, which is appropriate for a mixed ‘low-traffic’ bike route.
  • Parking occupancy along the street is low with an average occupancy of 20% and maximum occupancy of 27% (notwithstanding the loss of 24 on-street parks associated with the project).

A number of minor actions will be implemented resulting from the Project Review, which will be undertaken in 2021/22 FY, including:

  1. Repaint the retro-reflective white paint on the slow point raised humps and concrete islands.
  2. Relocate sharrows (advisory bicycle pavement symbols) along the street in accordance with the Department for Infrastructure and Transport’s operational instruction.
  3. Install bicycle symbols in the bicycle bypasses to reinforce Wood and Weller streets as a bicycle route.
  4. Continue traffic monitoring of Hardy Street.
  5. Review on-street parking between Lanor Avenue and the slow point (western side) to improve sight lines and access for people bike riding northbound.
  6. Review way-finding to Wood-Weller Bikeway at King William Road to create greater awareness of the bicycle route.
    

Wood Weller 01

Wood Weller 01

Woods Weller front

Wood Weller 02

Wood Weller 02

wood weller 1

Wood Weller 03

Wood Weller 03

wood weller 2

Location

Weller Street, Goodwood 5034  View Map

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