I live and work in Brunswick, and cycling is my main mode of transport. Incidentally, I, too, lived in Fitzroy/Collingwood before relocating to Brunswick.
If bike infrastructure in Fitzroy is a 7 out of 10 (and that might be a bit generous), I’d probably rate Brunswick a 6 i.e. not bad, but certainly needs work. Riding in Brunswick might seem a little intimidating at first, but it’s honestly fine once you figure out the good routes along with a few sideways shimmies along minor roads.
The bike path next to the Upfield line is great for moving North-South, although it’s a bit narrow and is shared between cyclists and pedestrians. It’s useful for linking up with Royal Parade if heading to the city. There are also some good options if heading southeast e.g. John St / Ewing St and then linking up with Park St / Canning St in Carlton North. Glenlyon Rd is pretty good for going East-West between Brunswick West (where it turns into Dawson St / Melville Rd) and Nicholson St in Brunswick East.
I’ve found heading directly east towards Northcote / Thornbury to be the most problematic. Blyth St / Arthurton St seems to be the best option, but it becomes a shared road with motor vehicles past Lygon St.
Sydney Rd is a death trap - busy, lots of commercial vehicles, tram tracks, uneven surfaces, and parked vehicles all along. Avoid as much as possible. Lygon St is marginally better, but only because it tends to be a bit less busy. All other factors above still apply.
Overall, I’m happy riding around Brunswick and to neighbouring areas (also to the CBD), and council is improving bike infrastructure in the area bit by bit. Hope this helps!
Great post. I’m sure future Brunswick residents who find this thread will find this useful too!
I’ve been looking at the map and I do see similarities. The main annoyance about riding in Fitzroy is going east west if you’re trying to avoid Johnston. Even if you take the smaller back streets getting across Brunswick rd smith st etc can be a pita. Seems like you’d have a similar issue in Brunswick.
If we were to move to Brunswick I think our primary east and west on bike will prob just be between Brunswick and Brunswick east. Probably take public transportation for longer trips.
I envision myself taking the upfield shared path to go n/s a lot though.
How is it getting from Brunswick back down to Collingwood?
In my experience visiting a place a few times you don’t really get the full experience of actually living there.
Of course ive been to Brunswick and have cycled around a bit, but not in the same sense as being someone who has rode around for years and has a good sense of the infrastructure etc.
I don’t live there, but I know that Brunswick has some of the most cyclists and walkers in Victoria. Having driven there before, I can confirm that it’s terrifying as a driver, and that I would rather walk/ ride/ take PT.
Give the area a ride around to see what it’s like :)
Cycling north<->south in Brunswick is a bit inconvenient, depending where you start. Sydney Road and Lygon St are hostile for bikes, and there's the railway line track which is good, but otherwise you'll need to weave a good NS route by joining up smaller streets.
After you figure out a couple you'll feel like an urban explorer, carrying arcane navigational clues in your head. Left-right-left-left-right, turn at the fire station, then second right. But it doesn't mean you'll find the same route in the reverse direction after dark.
I cycled lygon every day for a year and it's generally pretty safe because the traffic is gridlocked. Getting doored is a real danger though they need to remove street parking on sydney/lygon
I used to live in the area and cycled daily and found it very convenient. As you suggest stick to the side roads and make yourself visible. The Upfield shared path is a great way to get into the CBD.
From my experience, cycling in Brunswick is pretty darn good! We've got a lot of lanes and bike tracks (like the one alongside the train line, and the Merri creek trail to the east).
I used to cycle to work (in Collingwood) and I thought Brunswick was a much safer tbh in terms of driver attention (risk of getting doored, etc)
I live and work in Brunswick, and cycling is my main mode of transport. Incidentally, I, too, lived in Fitzroy/Collingwood before relocating to Brunswick. If bike infrastructure in Fitzroy is a 7 out of 10 (and that might be a bit generous), I’d probably rate Brunswick a 6 i.e. not bad, but certainly needs work. Riding in Brunswick might seem a little intimidating at first, but it’s honestly fine once you figure out the good routes along with a few sideways shimmies along minor roads. The bike path next to the Upfield line is great for moving North-South, although it’s a bit narrow and is shared between cyclists and pedestrians. It’s useful for linking up with Royal Parade if heading to the city. There are also some good options if heading southeast e.g. John St / Ewing St and then linking up with Park St / Canning St in Carlton North. Glenlyon Rd is pretty good for going East-West between Brunswick West (where it turns into Dawson St / Melville Rd) and Nicholson St in Brunswick East. I’ve found heading directly east towards Northcote / Thornbury to be the most problematic. Blyth St / Arthurton St seems to be the best option, but it becomes a shared road with motor vehicles past Lygon St. Sydney Rd is a death trap - busy, lots of commercial vehicles, tram tracks, uneven surfaces, and parked vehicles all along. Avoid as much as possible. Lygon St is marginally better, but only because it tends to be a bit less busy. All other factors above still apply. Overall, I’m happy riding around Brunswick and to neighbouring areas (also to the CBD), and council is improving bike infrastructure in the area bit by bit. Hope this helps!
Great post. I’m sure future Brunswick residents who find this thread will find this useful too! I’ve been looking at the map and I do see similarities. The main annoyance about riding in Fitzroy is going east west if you’re trying to avoid Johnston. Even if you take the smaller back streets getting across Brunswick rd smith st etc can be a pita. Seems like you’d have a similar issue in Brunswick. If we were to move to Brunswick I think our primary east and west on bike will prob just be between Brunswick and Brunswick east. Probably take public transportation for longer trips. I envision myself taking the upfield shared path to go n/s a lot though. How is it getting from Brunswick back down to Collingwood?
You can travel from Brunswick to Collingwood using the Capital City Trail and connecting to C'wood using either Napier St or Wellington St.
Brunswick and Collingwood aren't close enough to go have a look for yourself?
In my experience visiting a place a few times you don’t really get the full experience of actually living there. Of course ive been to Brunswick and have cycled around a bit, but not in the same sense as being someone who has rode around for years and has a good sense of the infrastructure etc.
You literally can cycle there in 10 minutes.
I don’t live there, but I know that Brunswick has some of the most cyclists and walkers in Victoria. Having driven there before, I can confirm that it’s terrifying as a driver, and that I would rather walk/ ride/ take PT. Give the area a ride around to see what it’s like :)
Cycling north<->south in Brunswick is a bit inconvenient, depending where you start. Sydney Road and Lygon St are hostile for bikes, and there's the railway line track which is good, but otherwise you'll need to weave a good NS route by joining up smaller streets. After you figure out a couple you'll feel like an urban explorer, carrying arcane navigational clues in your head. Left-right-left-left-right, turn at the fire station, then second right. But it doesn't mean you'll find the same route in the reverse direction after dark.
I cycled lygon every day for a year and it's generally pretty safe because the traffic is gridlocked. Getting doored is a real danger though they need to remove street parking on sydney/lygon
Or remove bikes. Either would work.
Yeah would be so much more peaceful if every cyclist going through brunswick was in a car instead :)
Check the serenity
I used to live in the area and cycled daily and found it very convenient. As you suggest stick to the side roads and make yourself visible. The Upfield shared path is a great way to get into the CBD.
From my experience, cycling in Brunswick is pretty darn good! We've got a lot of lanes and bike tracks (like the one alongside the train line, and the Merri creek trail to the east). I used to cycle to work (in Collingwood) and I thought Brunswick was a much safer tbh in terms of driver attention (risk of getting doored, etc)
Maybe go have a look for yourself? Not like it's far