Image: Bike SA
The Mike Turtur Bikeway has always had the makings of the best easy ride in Adelaide: nine and a half kilometres of sealed, near-flat path running beside the tramline from South Terrace to Glenelg, with very little traffic to contend with. The difficulty was always the four roads in the middle of it.
South Road, Marion Road, Cross Road and Morphett Road are now underneath you rather than in front of you. With the last of the elevated sections open, cyclists, walkers and runners can travel the length of the corridor without stopping at a single major intersection. Anyone who has waited at Cross Road on a bike, with three lanes of traffic idling alongside, will appreciate this rather more than the press release suggests.
What’s changed
Almost 1.4 kilometres of the path now sits above the road, built from eighty prefabricated deck panels and fitted with lighting, handrails and barriers. The work forms part of the $870 million tram grade separation project, funded fifty-fifty by the state and federal governments. The elevated sections are wide, smooth and well-lit, transforming what were once the least pleasant parts of the journey into some of the most interesting.
More than a thousand people use the bikeway daily, a number that seems likely to rise now the frustrations of stop-start traffic crossings have been engineered away. The path is now continuous, which changes the experience entirely. What was once a commuter route with interruptions is now a proper recreational corridor.
Planning your ride
Start at South Terrace and allow around forty minutes at an unhurried pace. The gradient is negligible for most of the route, with a gentle downhill tendency as you head toward the coast. You’ll pass through a mix of residential areas and green corridors, with the tram occasionally gliding past on your left.
The surface is sealed throughout and suitable for road bikes, hybrids or e-bikes. Walking and running the full length is equally straightforward, though you’ll want to allow a little longer. The path is shared, so expect other users, particularly on weekends and in the morning commute.
Allow considerably longer if you intend to stop at the Glenelg end, which you should. The beach, Jetty Road’s cafes and the general atmosphere of the foreshore make for a natural destination rather than a turnaround point. This is a ride to build a morning around.
The details
Distance: 9.5 kilometres one way
Time: Around 40 minutes by bike at a relaxed pace
Start: South Terrace, Adelaide
Finish: Moseley Square, Glenelg
Surface: Sealed throughout
The bikeway is named for Mike Turtur, the South Australian cyclist who won gold in the team pursuit at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. It’s a fitting tribute: a piece of cycling infrastructure that actually works, in a city that’s increasingly designed for it.
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