What trail am I riding on?

Although not a common issue on Melbourne's bicycle network, in the eastern suburbs, there is an emerging problem with the newly implemented trails which have recently been constructed. It is hard to know what trail you are actually riding on!

Take the example of these four trails: The Mullum Mullum Creek Trail, Koonung Creek Trail, EastLink Trail and Dandenong Creek Trail all intertwine and link and it has only been since June this year that the problem has been created. The simple question of "What trail am I riding on" needs to be answered. I will explain it as easily as I can here.

There are 2 parts to this post. The first is actually finding out what each stretch of trail is named. The second is an analysis of the intersection signage and why this confuses so many people! I will go through the first part initially. Please click the map below to view the full size.

ORANGE: Mullum Mullum Creek Trail
GREEN: Koonung Creek Trail
RED: EastLink Trail
BLUE: Dandenong Creek Trail
GREY: Other major trails
Dotted lines: Proposed trail / trail under construction
I will go through the intersections at a future date.

In quick site news, I have also updated the top banner. I will change the banner on a regular basis to show the site is still active as well as places along Melbourne's network which I believe are perfect for placement in the top banner.

Blind Creek Trail signage improvements made thanks to MBR?

You are probably getting abit tired of Blind Creek Trail directional signage posts but this should be the last one unless major improvement works are taken out.
Over a month ago I emailed Melissa Sparrow, Sustainable Transport Minister for Knox Council with suggestions for improvements they could make to the directional signage they are currently installing around the minicipality. I have had no reply so after the new year begins, I will send a follow-up email to the generic general equiries department of the council to find out if she has at least acknowledged my opinion.

Since all the signage was installed in early November, there have been two improvements made to the signage, but another error is made which adds to the lack of planning.

I present to you audience, the life of the installation of a bicycle trail directional sign:

The final product is shown above! It only took abit over 1 month to cook up. As you can see, we now have another reference to the Stud Road Trail, this time in the form of "Dandenong Creek Trail (Via Stud Road)", which is more in keeping with the sign at the Stud Road traffic lights, but is still slightly confusing with the other sign listed below...

At the intersection of the southern Burwood Highway Trail and the Blind Creek Trail, the sign was initally placed off the actual path where users will never see it. Since I posted the photo and my diagnosis on this blog, the sign has since been relocated along with the planks being swapped around for some reason, probably by workers re-assembling the sign and simply placing them in the wrong order. There has also been some minor tagging by vandals, but that is naturally expected in these areas and the signs look like they have been made to be vandal-resistant like the Metlink signage used around Melbourne.

Now I need to e-mail Parks Victoria to voice my opinion on the current state of the sub-standard signage of the area around the intersection of Dandenong Creek Trail and the Blind Creek Trail as well as Jells Park, again all after the new year.

All trail intersection signage should be like this...

If there is one thing I love with our bicycle network, it is the feeling I get when I reach an intersection where two or more trails meet and seeing high quality accurate directional signage! Here is a fantastic example of planning gone right with the intersection of the Dandenong Creek Trail and the EastLink Trail in Jells Park South. It makes me wonder how they managed to stuff up the signage at all the other intersections along the EastLink Trail while this intersection gets the royal treatment!

I am just happy that the signs also have correct grammar as well as arrows that point in the right direction. Does anyone else know of any other perfectly signed intersections around Melbourne besides my example and the one near Dights Falls?

(Thanks to the Bicycle Victoria website for these two images.)

Gallery: More new Blind Creek Trail directional signage

When you ride a trail, and notice only some of it has new signage? Unwillingly wait a month and ride it again! It looks like signage installation by Knox Council is complete for the trail now with the exception of at Manuka Drive east of Scoresby Road. Let's get on with it:

This was the sign which was under construction earlier. Looks odd because the destination plank is in the wrong spot.

 

New signage at Stud Road on the eastern side where the trail changes to the dodgy footpath. Only improvement here would be to have installed the sign on abit of an angle to be perpendicular with the path.

 

Sign near the Knox Council Depot and the Skate Park.

 Sign where the Lewis Park shared path meets the Blind Creek Trail near Lewis Road. The position of the sign is not great but line markings help to ensure users stay on the right trail.

Sign on the eastern side of Lewis Road. Again, line marking saves the rider from heading the wrong way, as the left arrows are pointing towards Lewis Road instead of the underpass under Lewis Road.

Sign on the west side of Scoresby Road. As I expected, no mention of the Scoresby Road Trail.

Sign on the east side of Scoresby Road.

Signs at Rankin Road in Ferntree Gully. An improvement here would be to remove the metal fence and place the sign in its place as a barrier. Serves the same purpose of slowing down cyclists before the road.

Signs at Wattleview Road in Ferntree Gully. Perfect installation of the signs here.

Sign west of Dorset Road.

Sign east of Dorset Road.

Sign at the turn-off of the short shared path to Francis Crescent at the Tim Neville Arboretum.

Bind Creek Trail sign at the intersection of the Ringwood - Belgrave Rail Trail. No problem with this sign.

THIS sign I do have a problem with. For some unknown reason, this sign has incorrectly been given the "Blind Creek Trail" sign when it should say "Ringwood - Belgrave Rail Trail".

In conclusion to this review of the signage, I am going to be voicing my concerns to the Knox City Council sustainable transport minister in the hope the signs will be rectified to meet signage guidelines set by Bicycle Victoria and Parks Victoria.

Gallery: New Blind Creek Trail directional signage

Sorry for the delay. I am currently studying and taking exams until November 17, so don't be alarmed, I am not going to let this blog die.

I thought I would post a gallery of the new Blind Creek Trail directional signage I spotted on a recent bike ride through Knox. When I rode on October 19, new signs had been installed between EastLink and Lewis Park (the park at the back of Knox City Shopping Centre), so hopefully more have been placed along the trail since that ride. The signage is of high quality wood, and the destinations are adequate for the trail, but could be better. I will review each sign and it's location under each of the following photos:



At the back of Knox City, with the sign telling riders there is a long and short way to Scoresby Road. Going right takes you along the actual trail while left goes along the northern border of Lewis Park. The destination of the Rail Trail helps keep the rider on the right trail.

On this note, I believe EVERY sign needs to have an arrow or arrows beside the trail name to clearly indicate which direction the official trail leads.


Same location as above, but heading the other way. Besides the lack of arrows (which I will no longer mention in this post), this sign is a good example of showing local destinations (Knox City and Stud Road) while also pointing out links to upcoming trail turn-offs.


Simple sign at the turn-off for the short track which leads to the entry to Knox City near the post office.


Now, this is where you just want to slam your head against a brick wall. First, there is no signage for the dangerous section beside Stud Road between the back of Knox City and the intersection, but the new signage has NO MENTION OF THE STUD ROAD TRAIL AT ALL!!! I wonder who was responsible for this oversight. A major trail, running along Stud Road from the Dandenong Creek Trail to George Street and from Ferntree Gully Road to Rowville. How could this not be included. But I do like the inclusion of the 2 destinations for the two different ways to get to the Dandenong Creek Trail. Points on the board for that.

Another one without any mention of the Stud Road Trail, at the southern intersection of the Blind Creek Trail and the Stud Road Trail.

This is at the intersection of the Burwood Highway Trail on the northern side of Burwood Highway. The holes have been dug but no sign here yet.

Now, this sign is my favourite blooper. First of all, they put the sign in a spot where nobody riding on the Blind Creek Trail will read it, it is on the Burwood Highway Trail on the southern side of Burwood Highway instead. No mention of the Burwood Highway Trail, but amazingly, THERE IS A MENTION OF THE STUD ROAD TRAIL!!! These signs boggle the mind!

Eastern side of the Timothy Drive underpass.

Western side of the Timothy Drive underpass.

Strange setup here at the small link trail to Renou Road between High Street Road and Timothy Drive with the metal handrail obscuring the sign somewhat, but I guess there is not much choice of where to put it here!

Sign at the small link trail to Cathies Lane.

Sign at the small link trail to High Street Road on the northern side. Jells Park should have been included on this sign in my opinion.

Shockingly placed sign which makes it look like the trail runs on the southern side of High Street Road (the trail going off to the left of the pic) instead of going past where the photographer is standing.

The back of the same sign as above, facing open grass where nobody will read it, let alone know that there are directions on this side! This intersection needed a 2 sign setup here.

This sign was installed when the EastLink Trail opened, and was the first Blind Creek Trail directional signage installed. This sign was installed by EastLink, while the other signs featured were installed by Knox City Council.

The sign has the directional arrows next to the title which should be standard on all signs, as I mentioned above, but this intersection needed a 2 sign setup. One sign does not cover all directions and destinations, especially at such an important intersection.

Thats all for now! If they have been installed, I will post up pics of any new signs that have been installed around my area, along with my gruelling commentary!