“Effectively invisible”: New North Melbourne bike lane “blackspot”

David Britt has been cycling along North Melbourne’s streets for close to a decade, but there’s one intersection he fears more than most.

At the corner of Arden and Leveson streets, a blind spot has become a notorious hazard for commuters, due to the separated bike lanes that run along Arden St between Wreckyn and Dryburgh streets.

The blind spot is caused by two parking spaces on Arden St that block the cyclist’s view of oncoming traffic, and the driver’s view of Leveson St, obscuring their view of one another.

Cyclists are effectively invisible to motorists. It’s a serious hazard,” Mr Britt said. “Heading west from the roundabout towards Leveson St, you’re completely separated from traffic.

“As a cyclist, in a motorist’s mind, you basically don’t exist. If a car’s turning, I can’t see their indicators or brake lights – and they can’t see me.”

Mr Britt said he had experienced near misses at this spot every couple of days, and a cyclist was recently hospitalised with serious facial injuries.

According to Mr Britt, the separated bike path was a good idea in theory, but it’s had the opposite effect at this intersection.

He has since raised his concerns with the City of Melbourne but believes safety issues aren’t being addressed with the urgency they require.

“The biggest frustration for me as a resident is the council’s attitude,” he said. “They’ve treated this like a political issue – like they’re afraid to touch parking – and they’ve just tinkered around the edges. We need action, not delays.”

A City of Melbourne spokesperson said, “Protected bike lanes have now been installed along Arden St between Wreckyn St and Dryburgh St, with some design changes already planned in response to community feedback.”

As part of this, the council will improve sightlines for drivers at Leveson St. However, Mr Britt does not believe this goes far enough and would like to see the two car spaces that create the blind spot removed.

“I’m not trying to stir the pot or point fingers. I just want to see some urgency around fixing what is clearly a dangerous situation before someone else gets seriously hurt – or worse,” he said.

As the council continues to deliver on its cycling infrastructure program, Mr Britt wants to see new bike lanes that are safe for both cyclists and drivers.

At its June 30 meeting, councillors voted to invest $15 million in cycling infrastructure over the 2025-29 term.

This followed public backlash after the draft budget reduced the council’s commitment to the cycling infrastructure program to around $9 million over the same period.

More than 1450 budget submissions specifically focused on bike lanes, prompting the council to increase its spending.

While Mr Britt acknowledges the funding will deliver benefits for Melbourne, he hopes the council will concentrate on building infrastructure that makes the roads safer for everyone.

“It needs to be spent to solve problems, not just spent for the sake of spending $15 million,” he said. •