Advocacy by Bicycle User Groups is incredibly important to getting good outcomes for bike riders. BUG members have deep local knowledge of issues and opportunities in their areas. Their dedication to improving NSW for bike riding multiplies the efforts of Bicycle NSW many times over. Without their help, there is no way our tiny team could contribute to so many projects.
And the oldest BUG in NSW is in Newcastle
Newcastle Cycleways Movement (NCM) was founded in 1977, the year after the Bicycle Institute of NSW – which was to evolve into Bicycle BSW.
In 1978, Newcastle Cycleways Movement was instrumental in lobbying the NSW Government to form the State Bicycle Advisory Committee. Local cycling activists were soon on first name terms with Minister for Transport and senior public servants. Newcastle was chosen as for a pilot program to develop a city-wide bike plan. This was a great start!
Current NCM members at a recent event. President Sam Reich is second from left. (Image: NCM)
Early days
Newcastle is an ideal place to ride a bike, with great weather, closely spaced destinations and fewer hills than Sydney. The roads are wide and there is space to create dedicated bicycle infrastructure.
However, NCM’s first decades were marked by an adversarial relationship with City of Newcastle Council. Council was fighting widen roads and expand car parks to let in more cars.
This embrace of the automobile completely disregarded the importance of bike to Newcastle during the steel era. Bicycles were a popular mode of transport for workers at the steelworks with hundreds of bicycles making the journey on a daily basis.
Workers heading home by bike at the height of the Newcastle’s time as the steel city
(image: Cessnock Advertiser)
There have been some big wins
Advocates focused on key off-road paths that provided recreational and tourism benefits, steering away from politically difficult projects that challenged the status quo of car dependency.
Fernleigh Track:
This iconic 15km rail trail between Adamstown in Newcastle and Belmont in Lake Macquarie is the crowning achievement of NCM. It was opened in stages between 2003 and 2011. The railway line was operational until 1991 and many heritage railway relics remain along the shared path, including former stations, signage and old rail sleepers. The Fernleigh Track forms part of the Coastline R1 Regional Cycleway.
The highlight of the Fernleigh Track is the 180 m curved brick-lined tunnel beneath the Pacific Highway
(Image: Debbie Harris)
In 2024, the Fernleigh Awabakal Shared Track, known to locals as FAST, opened, filling a missing gap and extending the Fernleigh Track all the way to Murrays Beach. The stunning 3.5km project includes a landmark viewing platform, 400m of wetland boardwalk, separate footpath loops for bird-watching and a spectacular new bridge over Cold Tea Creek.
Glendale to Wallsend Tramway Track:
Another rail trail that provides a very useful commuter route between Lake Macquarie and key Newcastle destinations such at the university. The 3.9km corridor was part of the former steam tramway between West Wallsend and Speers Point, which operated from 1912 to 1930. Converting the tram line into a shared user path was an early campaign for NCM. It finally opened in 2012.
Speers Point to Glendale shared pathway:
A 2.5km shared path from Glendale that follows scenic Cockle Creek to Lake Macquarie at Speers Point Park. This section completes an almost wholly off-road 18 km route from Eleebana to the university. The 2021 path is part of the Speers Point to Newcastle R5 Regional Cycleway
The CycleSafe Network Proposal
Frustrated with piece-by-piece delivery of infrastructure that never joined up, NCM pulled together an incredible group of volunteers in around 2011. Their task? To develop a proposal for a cohesive, complete network of safe walking and cycling routes across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
The team started with a blank slate. 4 very intense years were spent analysing routes. Experts and academics from all over the world got involved as volunteers. The work was supported by a grant from the Heart Foundation.
The resulting CycleSafe Network connected 90km of existing paths with 140km of new construction. It was conceived as a single integrated transport infrastructure project, to be delivered in 3 phases over 7 to 10 years.
The CycleSafe Network is based on a system of nodes, which are familiar, easily identified locations, connected by family-safe links (Image: CycleSafe Network).
The 2015 CycleSafe Network report became a business case for investment. It was calculated that $164million was needed to complete the routes. The network was framed as a serious transport project which would deliver serious bang for buck. The outcomes would be measured and translated back to health benefits.
The NSW Government didn’t hand out as much funding as hoped (despite a windfall from the lease of the Port of Newcastle). However, the CycleSafe Network proposal was very instrumental in helping both councils to think about the bike infrastructure as a network linking key ‘nodes’.
The work fed into the Greater Newcastle Future Transport Strategy, which incorporated the CycleSafe Network and acknowledged the efforts of NCM.
City of Newcastle then relied heavily on the CycleSafe Network documents for its excellent On Our Bikes 2021-2030 cycling strategy. The same criteria, lines on map almost 100% align.
A victim of its own success
NCM currently has a membership of 348 and 220 subscribers. However, only 6 are currently active advocates. This is quite a decrease since the heyday in 2010 when 15-20 members were busy fighting for better infrastructure.
“I think that because we have been reasonably successful in achieving objectives,” said NCM President Sam Reich. “People are not so fired up now.”
Some older members are still very involved with advocating for specific projects – for example, the Richmond Vale Rail Trail. But it is a struggle to get younger people to get engaged enough to write letters and advocate for new cycleways.
NCM still holds quarterly meetings and attends local events with the marquee to educate the community about the cycling network and the benefits of bike riding. However, its advocacy is small ‘a’ these days. In fact, the BUG is thinking of dropping the word ‘Movement’ from its name. It doesn’t use it in sign offs any more.
“Although NCM is less active now, it’s really fantastic that the politics of walking and cycling have evolved so much across NSW,” says Sam. “Councils and State Government now ‘get’ active transport.”
“Governments are, of course, still challenged by car-brain but we have an excellent relationship with City of Newcastle. Staff and councillors really appreciate constructive advice for local experts.”
City of Newcastle has healthy capacity now to deliver quality walking and cycling projects. The transport team has staff dedicated to active transport, bike riding is well promoted and the cycling strategy is very good. The pipeline of projects is full!
Lake Macquarie Council also has an excellent strategy, supportive politicians and a strong enthusiastic team continuously delivering projects. Discover recent developments in our article, "New Paths Wind Through Lake Macquarie."
Future big projects
Among the steady stream of projects underway in Newcastle, one stands out - the Hunter Street separated cycleway.
Hunter Street is the main street in central Newcastle. A Copenhagen-style one-way pair of separated bicycle paths will reallocate vehicle lanes, providing all roads user with safe, separate spaces and reducing the volume and speed of traffic.
A pop-up trial has proven the concept and the planning is underway to extend the bicycle paths to Hamilton.
The pop-up bicycle path on Hunter Street (Image: Simone De Peak/Newcastle Herald)
Another very exciting project is the Shiraz to Shore, a 100km recreational and tourism trail that connects the picturesque wine country in the Hunter Valley to beaches of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. NCM developed the concept, but the project is now being managed by Hunter Joint Organisation of Councils.
The trail would be a game-changer for the region as it transitions away from coal toward more sustainable industries. It mostly follows unused rail corridors and would include the Richmond Vale Rail Trail. In August 2024, stakeholders celebrated the launch of the business case which predicts an injection of $119 million into the local economy. Federal and state government funding is now needed to progress the project in stages.
The route for the Shiraz to Shore trail (Image: Hunter Joint Organisation)
But NCM doesn’t forget the small projects
Neville Jones is new and active member of NCM. He has lived in Newcastle for 2 years and he is very impressed and inspired by city’s potential for active transport.
Neville has used his tech skills to develop an online register that lists and maps suggestions for small projects that would make a big difference to the safety and comfort of the cycling network.
The small projects map for City of Newcastle. The map has a layer for each type of works such as crossing, ramps, traffic signal phasing. The current Top 10 is in a separate layer (Image: Newcastle Cycleways Movement)
NCM is asking for Council to work its way through the list of priority projects – simple things like kerb ramps, crossings, signs and linemarking - whenever there is a gap in the schedule between large projects.
The map is public and contributions are welcome!
New maps and wayfinding resources
With Neville’s help, NCM is also developing its mapping of recommended cycling routes. Visitors and locals alike will enjoy the 4 circuits that take in the best of Newcastle. These tours feature on NCM’s excellent new Kamoot page, alongside detailed instructions for the major regional routes and the rail trails.
NCM is not a ‘full service’ BUG
NCM has few ride leaders among its members and does not offer group rides.
However, a new affiliated group has emerged in Newcastle. Bike About Town was set up by Phillipa Walsh with the aim of introducing locals to the joys of bike riding. Run as a Meetup group, Bike about Town offers regular free guided leisurely bike rides showcasing quiet cycle routes around Newcastle. Phillipa provides hand drawn maps and lots of advice about riding safely and graciously. Over 300 people have joined the rides.
This is advocacy in action!
Phillipa with a group of riders at beautiful Merewether Beach (Image: Bike About Town)
Would you like to get involved with a BUG?
“We are incredibly grateful to our BUG members who put in countless hours as volunteers. They really help Bicycle NSW achieve its mission of creating a better environment for all bike riders,” says Bicycle NSW CEO, Peter McLean. “Their knowledge of local conditions is unmatched, and their contribution hugely amplifies our advocacy.”
As case in point, BUG members were instrumental to our 2024 Election Campaign.
The work of several BUGs has been showcased in a series of recent articles. Dive in to learn more about the Inner West Bicycle Coalition, Bike North, BIKEast and CAMWEST.
Find out how to become a member of your local BUG or set up a new BUG.
And make sure you join Bicycle NSW to support our advocacy and benefit from top-of-the-range insurance and a myriad of member discounts!
Not ready to sign up? Then please buy Bicycle NSW a Coffee (or three!) to help our team to work each and every day, on the ground in NSW, to make NSW better for bike riding.
