Construction teams are very busy rolling out new protected cycleways in the centre of Sydney!
Work is underway to make the Pitt Street pop-up lane permanent and the cycleway on King Street between Pitt Street and Phillip Street is racing ahead. The reinstatement of the College Street cycleway will start within weeks and the Oxford Street to Liverpool Street route has been approved. The good news keeps coming. The City of Sydney is currently seeking feedback from the community on plans to install wider footpaths and a separated bicycle path on Castlereagh Street.
The separated bicycle path planned for Castlereagh Street. The project will include wider footpaths and new streets trees (Source: City of Sydney)
The delivery of a network of safe cycling infrastructure in the LGA has accelerated over the last 2 years. During the pandemic, over 10 km of pop-up lanes were installed to make getting around easier while space on public transport was limited. Permanent, landscaped bicycle paths were completed on Wilson Street in Darlington and Miller Street and Saunders Street in Pyrmont.
Smaller projects have also been finished recently. For instance, the short link on Liverpool Street to improve access to Darling Harbour, and the Chalmers Street cycleway that joins Castlereagh St to Prince Alfred Park and Redfern. This has greatly improved the connectivity of the existing network.
Exciting plans are now being drawn up for the reconfiguration of Broadway and Park Street as tree-lined boulevards with less through traffic and more space for active transport.
An extract from the bike network map for central Sydney. The dotted lines highlighted in yellow will soon be solid purple! (Source: City of Sydney)
Reallocating road space to active modes begins to address the unsustainable and inequitable nature of the current transport system. The road between the kerbs can no longer be the unchallenged domain of private cars if we want people to walk and cycle more and our cities to achieve their climate, health and liveability goals.
The reconfiguration of streets does not only achieve transport objectives. Projects such as Castlereagh Street are significant urban design proposals with a vision to deliver quieter, calmer, leafier streets. Every resident and visitor to the city benefits - even those with no intention of jumping on a bike!
Bicycle NSW would love Members to leave feedback about Castlereagh Street by 6th May. Funding to deliver more active transport infrastructure is much more likely to be granted if Council can demonstrate strong community support. Bicycle NSW has made a submission which can be read here.
The expanding network of safe infrastructure has resulted in a big growth in bike riding. The City of Sydney’s 2021 Active Transport Survey shows that the number of residents who ride regularly has increased from 7% in 2017 to18% now. We can’t wait to see what will happen when Pitt, Castlereagh, College, Liverpool and Oxford Streets have been added to the network!
Unfortunately, the western part of King Street is a missing piece of the puzzle.
“Once these separated cycleways have been delivered the glaring gap on King Street will become even more apparent. The bike riding community has long advocated for the 3-block cycleway between Pitt Street and Clarence Street to be constructed” says Bicycle NSW CEO Peter McLean.
“The time has come for Transport for NSW to implement its Road User Space Allocation policy and remove a vehicle lane to create space for a safe bicycle path. We urge the new Minister for Active Transport to place this project right at the top of his priority list”
If you live, work or bike in the area, please help us advocate for the rapid delivery of the City of Sydney bike network. Support our advocacy campaigns by joining the Bicycle NSW Family today!
