Molonglo River Reserve cycling summary

The Molonglo River Reserve protection makes the development of the Molonglo Valley future urban area difficult. Here is a summary of the Molonglo River Reserve Management Plan from the perspective of cycling.

Urban development in 8 steps

Good active travel infrastructure in the ACT requires some understanding of urban planning. The ACT Government provides many documents that are very detailed, and often highly technical, so that it is easy to become overwhelmed. A simple explanation of urban planning in Canberra is a good start.

Molonglo Valley: active travel Whitlam to Denman Prospect

A case study of Denman Prospect and Whitlam – two suburbs in the Molonglo Valley, south and north of the Molonglo River – that are of particular interest to active travel in the Monlonglo Valley.

Section 5.4 Active Travel Infrastructure Practitioner Tool

The ACT urban planning tool for the preservation of cycling corridors.

Good and direct bike paths save time

Cycle infrastructure is lagging in Coombs. Despite the Concept Plan being finalised in 2012 and the suburb established since 2015, the cycle infrastructure is still not complete or sufficient. As the crow flies, Coombs and Belconnen are about the same distance from Civic centre, however, while commuting from Civic to Belconnen in 30 minutes is possible, it is not from Coombs.

Isochrone plot infrastructure study

How easy it is to get around Canberra depends upon from where you start the trip. In some places the infrastructure is better than others. One way to study this is with isochrone plots. This article compares the distance one can ride in 60 minutes and 30 minutes from various town centres, testing the ease of cycling in Canberra.

Cycle infrastructure in Wright and Coombs

Once the suburb is built, its design is set in stone. A coherent network of continuous bike paths across the city needs a master plan for bike path infrastructure, upon which new suburbs can be designed and realised so that the new infrastructure interconnects. Suburb design starts with the end in mind. The suburb is a small unit of the much larger and longer endeavour, to build active travel networks across the city.