Battling bollards: A progress update

A BIKEast member after a crash on the Muddy Creek path, Kyeemagh. Designers, engineers and contractors need guidance to make better decisions about bollards. In general, the asset owner bears the cost of any damage to the asset but not the cost of injuries to user. As a result, there is an unfortunate tendency to add protection for the asset when it is not required - or safe. (Image: Adrian Boss)

1.  A meeting with Transport for NSW

• Seeking systemic change, we have asked Transport for NSW to update guidelines and standards relating to bridges and bicycle paths. The changes would ensure that bollards are no longer used by default. If a terminal treatment is being considered, a proper risk comparison would be required to ensure the risk to the user is not greater than the risk to the asset.
• In July, Bicycle NSW and Bike North met the Active Transport team at Transport for NSW to hear Transport’s thoughts about the best way forward.
• The team plan to start with a new section in the NSW Cycleway Design Toolbox. This document was first published in 2021 and is due for a revision to reflect broader changes to micromobility over the last few years. It is ‘owned’ by the Active Transport team and therefore easy to amend without multi-agency collaboration.
• Pages to guide designers on terminal treatment have already been drafted. Contributing factors will explain why and when bollards are a hazards. Standard options for terminal treatments, including bollards, will be clearly set out. There will be a specific instruction to undertake a risk assessment and evaluation, comparing the risks to the user and asset, and record the outcomes in writing.
• We were promised that the draft amendments will be available for review in August.
• Although the NSW Cycleway Design Toolbox is not a statutory document, Transport for NSW now includes compliance with both the Toolbox and the Walking Space Guide as part of project briefs. The Toolbox therefore has significance weight in the design and tendering process.
• The NSW supplement to the Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 6A: Paths for Walking and Cycling is due to be reviewed for a variety of reasons in 2026. The guidance added to the Toolbox will be replicated in the supplement, adding regulatory weight.
• We reminded Transport of the importance of updating the bridge design guidance and standards in alignment with these changes.

Some of the documents that need to be revised – The NSW Cycleway Design Toolbox, the Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 6A Pedestrian and Cyclist Paths, the Austroads Guide to Bridge Technology, and Australian Standard 5100 series on bridge design.

2.  A chink in the armour at Parramatta Light Rail

• Transport for NSW has confirmed that bollards on the active transport bridge over the Parramatta River adjacent to the Parramatta Light Rail will not be removed.
• This is not ideal as several bike riders have been injured here, with some ending up in intensive care.
• However, in correspondence about these bollards, Transport for NSW explicitly stated that a direct comparison between risk to the asset from removing bollards and risk to the path users from retaining the bollards had been made. And it was decided that the asset won!
• This is the first time such a comparison has been mentioned and provides evidence that Transport for NSW is beginning to change its approach to bollards.
• Bicycle NSW and Bike North asked the PLR team for the assessment results and methodology. We want to know how a quantitative comparison of risks was undertaken for this project, and what the results matrix looks like.  This example could be a good starting point the explicit and documented comparison required by the Toolbox.
• We are still waiting for a response...

The bollards at the entrances to the Parramatta Light Rail active transport bridge over the Parramatta River have a reflective strip and simple line markings but they are small, grey and blend into the shadows (Image: Google Maps)

3.  Bollards will be removed from a shared path in Homebush

• After detailed representation and follow up by Bike North, Strathfield Council has agreed to remove two bollards from the popular shared path beside Powells Creek.
• These bollards are at both ends of a pedestrian bridge. Bike North advocated that there was simply no vehicular access available to the bridge and the bollards were therefore unnecessary.
• We thank Strathfield Council for clarifying, in writing, that the bollards are not required as vehicles cannot access this location.

"This is another small win on existing bollards," said David Thomson, Advocacy Coordinator at Bike North. "But it would be preferable if they are not automatically installed in the first place!"

4.  A bike rider has sued Sydney Olympic Park for $70,000

• Bicycle NSW Member Belinda’s horrible injuries from a collision with a bollard on the riverside shared path near the Olympic Park ferry wharf back in 2020 were shared in our March article.
• In short – Belinda suffered a broken finger, a broken collarbone, a broken rib, cracked bones in her face, concussion and a punctured lung. She spent 5 days in hospital, and her brain injury led to 2 years of depression.
• Two years of legal wrangling has led to a settlement with Sydney Olympic Park – and some significant improvements to path safety in the area.

Belinda spent several days in hospital and took two years to recover fully from her injuries (Images: Belinda Payne)

A bollard battle with a silver lining

“Once I had recovered from my crash, I contacted a law firm who thought that I had a good chance of winning if I sued the owners of the path for injuries resulting from the poor design,” wrote Belinda. “It took the lawyer many months to find out who the path belonged to. We thought it was Parramatta City Council, but it turned out that the path along the south bank of the Parramatta River is actually owned and maintained by Sydney Olympic Park.

“For a long time, the opposing lawyers tried to blame me for being careless and not looking where I was going, and being too close to the centre of the path.

"However, I was riding behind my husband. He almost hit the bollard as it was grey, and simply blended into the colour of the path in the shade of some small trees. He saw it just in time to swerve and avoid it. It didn’t help that the path was very busy on a sunny public holiday which made the bollard even harder to spot.”

Spot the bollard that injured Belinda…. “It's clear that the people who design and build these paths don't ride bikes and don't bother to consider the dangers to the people who use them,” said Belinda (Image: Bicycle NSW)

“After over two years my lawyers finally confronted Sydney Olympic Park with the fact that they had totally ignored every piece of advice in Austroads Guide to Road Design. Finally, they begrudgingly offered to settle the week before the case was due in court.”

“It is really significant that they have had to pay out $70,000 plus their own lawyer's costs. I think makes them take the situation more seriously.”

Although most of the money will go to legal fees, there will be a modest payment for Belinda. But it is the positive outcome for everyone else that Belinda is most pleased about.

“The best part is that there have already been big improvements to the path. The bollard which caused my accident is gone. The detour around a nearby construction site has been marked with thick stripes of yellow paint like little judder bars, which are easy to see and feel, at all the junctions with other paths and roads. Further along towards the Silverwater Bridge, bright yellow bollards are out in the open. The vegetation has been cut back a lot near the bridge where there is another bollard which used to be hidden in the shadows.”

Bicycle NSW and Bike North thank Belinda for her hard work in getting the landowners to take responsibility for dangerous infrastructure.

“More riders should be encouraged to take similar action against the asset owners who endanger path users in their attempts to preserve the asset at all costs,” said David Thomson of Bike North.

What you can do to help us bust bollards

• The Bicycle NSW bollard database is still open for entries. Please head here to contribute photos and crash reports to support our advocacy for change.
• Contact your council, parks authority or state government if there are bollards or barriers that should be removed. Explain why they are a risk to the safe and equitable use of the infrastructure. Suggest alternatives treatments or contact Bicycle NSW for assistance. Councils are increasingly accepting removal is when given clear information about the dangers.
• If you are injured by a bollard, consider taking action against the asset owner, usually the council or Transport for NSW, to recover medical and other costs. Bicycle NSW can support you on this journey.
• Join Bicycle NSW today and be part of a movement dedicated to safer streets and better infrastructure. Not only will you fund our vital advocacy efforts, but you'll also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with our comprehensive insurance and exclusive Member-only perks. Ride easy, ride with us!

If you are not ready to join the Bicycle NSW family, then we would love you to donate to the Australian Bicycle Advocacy Fund.