cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

Upfield railway line The Upfield railway line is a commuter rail service operating between Flinders Street in the Melbourne central business district through Melbourne's northern suburbs including West Melbourne, North Melbourne, Parkville, Brunswick, Coburg, Cobu ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

Fawkner Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Fawkner recorded a population of 14,274 at the 2021 census. The ma ...

Gowrie railway station Gowrie railway station is located on the Upfield line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the northern Melbourne suburb of Fawkner, and it opened on 16 October 1928 as Rail Motor Stopping Place 21. It closed on 5 May 1956, and reopened on 17 May ...

Anstey railway station Anstey railway station is located on the Upfield line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the northern Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, and it opened on 15 December 1926 as North Brunswick. It was renamed Anstey on 1 December 1942.Bell Street was completed by 2006 by

City of Moreland The City of Merri-bek is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre, Melbourne CBD. The ...

Council and

VicRoads VicRoads is a government joint venture in the state of Victoria, Australia. In the state, it is responsible for driver licensing and vehicle registration. It is owned and operated through a joint venture between the Victorian government and a c ...

. An extension to Box Forest Road was completed in September 2008. An interactive map of the trail as well as others in the Melbourne area is availabl
here

Following the path

The southern end of the Upfield Bike Path connects to the

Capital City Trail __NOTOC__ The Capital City Trail is a shared use path in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, which circles the city centre and some inner eastern and northern suburbs. It is 29km in length, and mostly consists of sections of other trails, such a ...

on the old

Inner Circle railway line The Inner Circle Line was a steam era suburban railway line (later electrified) in Melbourne, Australia. It served the inner-northern suburbs of Parkville, Carlton North, Fitzroy North, and Fitzroy. At its closure, it ran from Royal Par ...

reservation which provides access to the

Merri Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Merri Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians that follows the Merri Creek through the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Route The path commences at Dights Falls near where Merri Creek ente ...

at

Rushall railway station Rushall railway station is located on the Mernda line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the north-eastern Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy North, and it opened on 1 January 1927. History Named after a nearby street, itself possibly named after ...

; and in the other direction it passes near the

Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo is a zoo in Melbourne, Australia. It is located within Royal Park in Parkville, approximately north of the centre of Melbourne. It is the primary zoo serving Melbourne. The zoo contains more than 320 animal species from Austra ...

before connecting with the

Moonee Ponds Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Moonee Ponds Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows the Moonee Ponds Creek through the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. History A public meeting called by State Member of P ...

. Alternatively, at Park Street cyclists can join the Royal Parade bike path and on road bike lane which provides access to

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

main campus in Parkville.

City of Moreland The City of Merri-bek is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre, Melbourne CBD. The ...

Council has reported the number of people counted riding on the Upfield Bike Path and

Sydney Road Sydney Road (in its northernmost part also known as the Hume Highway) is a major urban arterial in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Geography Sydney Road starts at the northern end of Royal Parade at the boundary of P ...

at Park Street has almost quadrupled from 1992 to 2003. The 24-hour weekday average was 804 in February 2008. The Upfield path parallels Sydney Road shopping strip in Brunswick and

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...

, and is often used by pedestrians and cyclists for shopping, dog walking as well as commuter cycling. Historic buildings along the path include the Brunswick Baths at Dawson Street and the Railway Hotel (now a Backpackers Hostel) at Albert Street, Brunswick.

Landmarks

Upfield railway line The Upfield railway line is a commuter rail service operating between Flinders Street in the Melbourne central business district through Melbourne's northern suburbs including West Melbourne, North Melbourne, Parkville, Brunswick, Coburg, Cobu ...

,

Melbourne Zoo Melbourne Zoo is a zoo in Melbourne, Australia. It is located within Royal Park in Parkville, approximately north of the centre of Melbourne. It is the primary zoo serving Melbourne. The zoo contains more than 320 animal species from Austra ...

.

Solar lighting at Fawkner Cemetery

The section passing the Fawkner Cemetery was upgraded in February 2009 to include the world's first shared-pathway, solar lighting schema. Stonnington City Council introduced solar lighting on the

Gardiners Creek Trail __NOTOC__ The Gardiners Creek Trail is a shared use path for cyclists and pedestrians, which follows Gardiners Creek through the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Bicycle Victoria is campaigning for a connection between Wint ...

in May 2007. However they did not make use of a color schema as seen on the Upfield Bike path. Previously the path was without lights and unfriendly to riders. The new array of red LED on the left and white LED on the right, creates a delineated "airport runway" style, visually stunning, lighting grid, providing up to 600 meters of visible pathway for riders, even at the darkest hours. Hazards are indicated using amber LED. For safety, the lights are mounted flush with the ground where they absorb more than enough energy, stored in their environmentally friendly super capacitors during daylight, to provide up to 14 hours of continuous lighting.

Connections

*The path comes to a dead end in the north at Box Forest Road at

Fawkner Cemetery Fawkner Memorial Park is located in the north-western Melbourne suburb of Fawkner, Victoria, Australia. It is the largest cemetery by land size in the state, and managed by Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. Merlynston Creek, a tributary ...

. *It meets the

Capital City Trail __NOTOC__ The Capital City Trail is a shared use path in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, which circles the city centre and some inner eastern and northern suburbs. It is 29km in length, and mostly consists of sections of other trails, such a ...

in the south. The

Western Ring Road Trail __NOTOC__ The M80 Trail (previously known as the Western Ring Road Trail) is a shared-use path for cyclists and pedestrians that bridges the northern suburbs and follows the Western Ring Road/Metropolitan Ring Road (M80) freeway in Melbourne, Au ...

is 1.4 km to the north, up Sydney Road, from the most northerly end of the trail. North end at . South end at .

Cultural references

Upfield Bike Path is the name and subject matter of a song by Melbourne indie band ''Huon''. The track appears on the compilation album ''Kraftworks''.Huon
appears on the compilation album
Kraftworks
', which is published by the ''Spill'' label and contains various interpretations of Kraftwerk tracks performed at a show at the

Empress Hotel, Fitzroy North The Empress Hotel (formerly the Empress of India Hotel) is a public house, pub located at 714 Nicholson Street, in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy North. The Empress Hotel closed in December 2013, and reopened in its current form in early ...

on 27 November 1999 by various indie Australian musicians.

References

*''Bike rides around Melbourne'' 3rd edition, 2009, Julia Blunden, Open Spaces Publishing, * ''Bike Paths Victoria'' sixth edition, 2004. Edited and published by Sabey & Associates pp132. {{Bicycle Trails in Melbourne Bike paths in Melbourne