Designs for the new Bridge Mall

Renders for the new Bridge Mall design (via CoB)

The City of Ballarat's chosen design firm, Hassell, has come back with a preferred design option for the Bridge Mall. It's going before Council for approval tonight, so let's take a look. 

Updated drafts for Deer Park level crossings

The new design for Robinsons Rd, looking south (via LXRA)

About nine months after releasing their first draft designs, the Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA) have released updated drafts for the Robinsons Rd, Deer Park and Fitzgerald Rd, Ardeer level crossing removals. I made some suggestions when the initial drafts were released, so let's take a look and see what's different. 

New Ballarat bus timetables

A bus heading down Sturt Street

With very substantial changes to the timetables on the Ballarat rail line introduced at the end of January, the Department of Transport has revamped the timetables for the Ballarat bus network, and launched them last weekend. Let's take a look at what this means. 

Why Dutch Bikes are Better (and why I bought one)

A little bit of #LazyPosting on the blog this week. 

Railway Archaeology: London Transport Museum

The London Transport Museum is housed in the former Flower Market building in Covent Garden, and I gave it a visit on my trip to London in October 2019 (yes, I am VERY behind on these writeups). 

Travel Diaries: London

On my first trip to the UK, I really just passed through London on my way to and from the North. So about a month after I got home to Amsterdam, I went back for a long weekender in the great city itself. 

What are the State's cycling priorities for Ballarat?

The State's Strategic Cycling Corridors for Ballarat (via DoT)

The Victorian Department of Transport has recently updated its Strategic Cycling Corridors - a statewide framework of cycling "arterial" routes that are designed to provide a network of safe, direct paths for people of all ages and abilities to get from A to B by bike. There's obviously a lot of key priorities in Melbourne, but there are also routes in regional cities like Ballarat - so let's take a close look at these, and how they compare to the local council's plans.