De Carle Street, Coburg Reconstruction and Traffic Calming

Construction: 2021/22 FY

Council’s Asset Management plan has highlighted that De Carle Street, Coburg (between Rennie Street and The Avenue) needs reconstruction.

In accordance with Merri-bek Integrated Transport Strategy (MITS), road reconstructions will aim to modify the road layout to promote sustainable modes of transport, and improve road safety.

During the development of Council’s 10 Year Capital Works Program for Cyclists, a route was proposed on De Carle Street to provide an alternative to Sydney Road on the eastern side.

MITS classifies De Carle Street as a local road however recent traffic count highlight that volumes are approaching and have exceeded the preferred maximum volumes of 3000 vehicles per day. Two traffic surveys were completed in DeCarle Street in 2019 which have been summarised below.

Council is proposing to narrow the road width and install protected bicycle lanes. The protected lanes provide a low stress environment that are essential to getting more people riding bicycles.

The preferred width of a local road is 7.2m which allows parking on both sides and a single lane of traffic. The bottleneck created when vehicles park opposite each other slows traffic by requiring drivers to give way to oncoming vehicles. This is a form of passive traffic calming and is desirable in local streets as it discourages through traffic.

De Carle Street is narrower between Rennie Street and The Grove, as such parking needs to be removed from one side of the road. Consultation was undertaken with local residents, and during at the 8 July 2020 Council Meeting a report regarding the project and community feedback was considered.  The Council voted to support the recommendation of the report.

Council acknowledges that protected bicycle lanes for only two blocks would be an ineffective length of treatment. As such, Council is proposing to install protected bicycle lanes from The Avenue to Merri-bek Road and modify the roundabouts with funding from the 10 Year Capital Works Program for Cyclists. An example cross section and plans has been provided.