Riders heading north following their nose

worzel
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Riders heading north following their nose

Postby worzel » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:43 pm

For the second Wednesday in a row last night I observed a number of people riding north from the CBD after work without knowing where they were going (easily done, the PSP has more twists and turns than a whodunit and it is poorly signed).

Last week I was asked on Loftus Street where the Mitchell PSP was (virtually underneath him) and he was not the only one asking for directions. Last night a guy called out to me on Telford Crescent as he thought he must have taken a wrong turn because he could not see the freeway anymore. Another bloke went straight on at Greenwood where you cross to the other side of the freeway but clearly was not sure if he was going the right way when others were crossing over. And another got to Moore Drive and turned round.

So I am just curious why so many people are heading north on a route they clearly are not familiar with. Is there a group ride /time trial etc? Most of the blokes looked like they were in their 40’s and 50’s.

It interests me as I am considering doing the opposite - riding from Joondalup through the city and heading south but I wonder if I will get as lost on the Kwinana PSP as I did when I first started using the Mitchell PSP.

wellington_street
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby wellington_street » Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:26 pm

worzel wrote:It interests me as I am considering doing the opposite - riding from Joondalup through the city and heading south but I wonder if I will get as lost on the Kwinana PSP as I did when I first started using the Mitchell PSP.
You shouldn't, there's only two locations where the path might be a slight bit confusing for first time users:
1. Cranford Ave crossing at Mt Pleasant - just cross the road, go left down the ramp and follow the freeway until the path begins again on the left.
2. Farrington Rd - need to turn left just before you hit Farrington Rd and go under the freeway on-ramp.

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Red Rider
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby Red Rider » Thu Feb 05, 2015 11:35 pm

It's good news that it seems like there are new riders getting out there. Report your observations to DoT, it may lead to better signage.

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rolandp
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby rolandp » Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:04 am

Definitely report to DoT.

If there has been a significant increase in traffic, it will show up in DoT's Cycle data and surveys. Or it would if DoT refreshed this data, still only available up to Mar-2014.

worzel
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby worzel » Fri Feb 06, 2015 11:50 am

Reported. Still curious whether this is part of a group ride though.

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Tornado
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby Tornado » Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:31 pm

I did a Mandurah to Joondalup ride last year to knock off a strava 130 g fondo. The north section wasn't too hard to follow. A bit of a pain, but not impossible to navigate.
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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Fri Feb 06, 2015 4:18 pm

wellington_street wrote:
worzel wrote:It interests me as I am considering doing the opposite - riding from Joondalup through the city and heading south but I wonder if I will get as lost on the Kwinana PSP as I did when I first started using the Mitchell PSP.
You shouldn't, there's only two locations where the path might be a slight bit confusing for first time users:
1. Cranford Ave crossing at Mt Pleasant - just cross the road, go left down the ramp and follow the freeway until the path begins again on the left.
2. Farrington Rd - need to turn left just before you hit Farrington Rd and go under the freeway on-ramp.

WS is exactly right. South of the Narrows is a breeze if just heading south. Even Cranford Ave will only cause you short pause, though the Farrington Rd is not quite adequately signposted at the first of a pair of intersections. Just turn left for a few metres for a better sign.
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rodneythellama
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby rodneythellama » Sun Feb 08, 2015 6:33 pm

worzel wrote:It interests me as I am considering doing the opposite - riding from Joondalup through the city and heading south but I wonder if I will get as lost on the Kwinana PSP as I did when I first started using the Mitchell PSP.
I have to admit I took wrong turns the first few times I went south on the PSP towards Success.

A few weeks ago I stopped to advise a man who wasn't sure where to go heading from Selway Rd in Brentwood.

In general the blue and white cycle "network" signs aren't particularly helpful.

lowros
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby lowros » Tue Feb 17, 2015 1:51 pm

I've only headed north of the river once but I got very confused, especially when leaving the city. It resulted in me backtracking a few times. Looking to head north a little more though, so for the uninitiated would anyone be so kind as to explain how to exit the city efficiently on the northern PSP? I would be coming from the southern PSP and up the wonderful hill next to parliament house.

wellington_street
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby wellington_street » Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:00 pm

lowros wrote:I've only headed north of the river once but I got very confused, especially when leaving the city. It resulted in me backtracking a few times. Looking to head north a little more though, so for the uninitiated would anyone be so kind as to explain how to exit the city efficiently on the northern PSP? I would be coming from the southern PSP and up the wonderful hill next to parliament house.
Best way is to continue along the Kwinana PSP until you hit the Fremantle rail line next to Harbour Town. Turn left onto the Fremantle PSP and follow that past City West and up the hill. Take the path branch to the left just before Loftus St and follow Loftus St across the freeway, turn right down the ramp and then right again (basically a u-turn) onto the freeway north. That sounds much more difficult than it actually is - if you're riding in the arvo just follow the crowd.

After you pass Leederville there are two options to keep going north - either follow the path up and over Glendalough footbridge (very steep) or turn right just after Powis St and loop under the freeway and follow the path up its western side.

worzel
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby worzel » Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:40 pm

wellington_street wrote:
lowros wrote:I've only headed north of the river once but I got very confused, especially when leaving the city. It resulted in me backtracking a few times. Looking to head north a little more though, so for the uninitiated would anyone be so kind as to explain how to exit the city efficiently on the northern PSP? I would be coming from the southern PSP and up the wonderful hill next to parliament house.
Best way is to continue along the Kwinana PSP until you hit the Fremantle rail line next to Harbour Town. Turn left onto the Fremantle PSP and follow that past City West and up the hill. Take the path branch to the left just before Loftus St and follow Loftus St across the freeway, turn right down the ramp and then right again (basically a u-turn) onto the freeway north. That sounds much more difficult than it actually is - if you're riding in the arvo just follow the crowd.

After you pass Leederville there are two options to keep going north - either follow the path up and over Glendalough footbridge (very steep) or turn right just after Powis St and loop under the freeway and follow the path up its western side.
It depends how far the OP is looking to go but from there:

-Go through Osbourne Park, crossing a couple of busy side roads from the left (both one way, the first westerly, the second easterly)
-Cross Hutton St diagonally ahead/right. PSP signs say cross northbound first then eastbound but the opposite is usually the better option. Careful with this one - the gaps between lights are about a second or two usually.
-The path then veers well away from the freeway along Telford Crescent (don't worry, you are not lost). Keep going and bear left up a short hill adjacent to the Stirling Gardens park.
-Cross over Cedric Street. Easiest is straight across then turn left but many join the road westbound and then turn right at the junction into the hospital.
-Follow the winding path between car parks and turn left where it ends.
-You will come to a steep / narrow footbridge to cross to the west of the freeway. Bear right after you cross.
-There is now a long straight section to Karrinyup Road. Cross this one carefully, keeping to the west of the freeway.
-There is now a 4km section without turning (woohoo). The first 2km is bumpy as, the next (after the underpass) is lovvvely there is a S section past the lake.
-Watch out for the fox at the top.
-From there you are on and off shared path / suburban road several times but stay in a generally northerly direction
-Just before you get to Greenwood station cross to the east of the freeway again (the next 1km is very bumpy)
-Again you are on / off shared path / quiet roads.
-Turn left through Trailwood Park/ under Whitfords Ave then left again to join the road, and there is another left turn at the top of the hill.
-After a couple of km you turn left again to finally get onto a decent path all the way to Moore Drive. Go under a few underpasses.
-If you want to go further north still you have to loop around left and left again after crossing the freeway.

Better still, follow someone! :shock: :lol:

matthecat
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby matthecat » Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:48 pm

Gosh I'm lucky - usually head east towards Midland with the occassional south to the M-I-L (for roast night) - nothing like the drama above

lowros
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby lowros » Tue Feb 17, 2015 6:15 pm

thanks worzel and wellington_street for the detailed response. I am planning a ride from Mandurah to Joondalup soon but that looks remarkably complicated compared to what I'm used to in the south!

ikm
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Re: Riders heading north following their nose

Postby ikm » Tue Feb 17, 2015 11:04 pm

Well written summary. It's certainly an adventure. I suppose we will never get bored riding that route.

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