The advocacy team at Bicycle NSW attended a site walk with Transport for NSW Sydney Gateway team and Michael Bishop, Policy Director for the Minister for Active Transport, Rob Stokes.
Liz Hirst, Bradley Birnie and Elisha Pearce of Transport for NSW with Michael Bishop and Francis O’Neill, Bicycle NSW Head of Advocacy (Image: Bicycle NSW)
The walk started with a stroll along the amazing new shared path along the north side of the Alexandra Canal. This path, which links Tempe Reserve with Nigel Love Bridge, is the result of a huge advocacy effort by the cycling community over many years. Bicycle NSW, BUG members and councils worked hard to ensure that the Gateway project, which creates a new motorway connecting Westconnex at St Peters Interchange with the two terminals at Sydney Airport, delivers really positive outcomes for active transport.
If you can’t get there for a ride, check out this video by Bicycle NSW friend Garry Robinson of BikeTrail.Blog The future rest areas with views of the airport and planes coming into land will attract plane spotters as well as bike riders!
The final Active Transport Link (ATL) will include an elegant new bridge over the canal and a new connection to the Domestic Terminal. Find out more about the ATL here.
A map showing the Active Transport Link delivered by Sydney Gateway. The section is yellow has been open since June 2022 (Source: TfNSW)
Our concerns
Although we are delighted by the ATL, connections to the wider active transport network have not been resolved. Construction of the motorway is racing ahead and opportunities to accommodate future links may soon be concreted over – literally!
Bicycle NSW recently wrote an issues paper that asked stakeholders:
- to review the possible options for a cycleway heading north-west to Sydenham and,
- ensure that the high-quality pedestrian routes from Domestic Terminal to Mascot town centre are delivered.
It was very helpful to discuss the challenges with the team on site.
The Sydenham connection would involve bridging two overlapping motorways with an active transport bridge to reach Bellevue Street. The maximum heights are limited at this point by the airport’s prescribed airspace and obstacle limitation surface (OLS). It may be many years before funding is available. However, it is important to future-proof the motorway structure by including structural elements that could carry an elevated cycleway. All possible options must be assessed. If nothing is done now, the completed motorway structure will lock out the provision of a Sydenham Connection for decades to come.
An ideal pedestrian and cycle route to Mascot would involve a clear, uncluttered and shaded shared path, with a buffer to fast traffic, and intersections that prioritise pedestrians. Unfortunately, the project team only plans to reinstate the existing pedestrian facilities at Qantas Drive, which involve a multi-stage crossing over a very wide road. Once on O’Riordan Street, the shared path is broken by dangerous intersections, where wide, sweeping kerbs allow cars to turn at speed. It is not safe for the young, old and less-able.
A missed opportunity?
With so much construction work underway, it would be a desperate shame not to take the opportunity to enlarge medians and refuges, reduce slip lanes, and adjust the phasing of the lights to give extra priority to pedestrians.
“Resolving these critical links will not be easy but Transport for NSW has a mandate to find a solution if it has real intent to deliver the strategic cycleway corridors” says Francis O’Neill, Bicycle NSW Head of Advocacy
The Sydney Gateway project offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for significant investment in mode shift and behaviour change and its influence must be far-reaching. There is a huge appetite for public and active mobility and if the correct infrastructure is provided, many people will happily drive less, benefiting the entire community with less pollution and congestion.
Bicycle NSW fights hard for the best outcomes for pedestrians and bike riders when major infrastructure projects are being planned and delivered. Please support our advocacy work on active transport infrastructure across NSW by joining the Bicycle NSW family today
