Battle for Bourke Street rages
The battle over the design of the proposed cycleway in Bourke Street Surry Hills dominated the City’s first community meeting held in the new Surry Hills Community Centre on 30 June.
About 100 residents packed the small meeting room as Michael Leyland, Director of City Projects, faced a barrage of questions.
David Potts hoped Council, lobby groups and the RTA could sit down with residents and change the design from the present two-way segregated cycleway to the residents’ plan – a “safer, higher capacity boulevarde” shared by cyclists and traffic which would allow most parking spots to be retained.
He said Bourke Street was safe for riders now but too narrow for a bi-directional cycleway. Safety was compromised on both sides of parked cars – on the cycleway side, car doors would open directly onto the bike path and passengers including children and elderly people would risk collision with bikes. On the drivers’ side, the narrowed street made it dangerous for drivers to exit as the moving traffic would be closer to parked cars. At his age, 67, Mr Potts said it took him 15–20 seconds to get out of a car which gave plenty of time for approaching cars or bikes to be a threat.
“Who will be liable when accidents happen?” he asked. “Cyclists are not identifiable unless they choose to stop after an accident.”
Mr Leyland replied that Council had designed-in a buffer zone between the parked cars and the bike path and had looked at the size of car doors and were convinced of the design’s safety. “We are firm in our views,” he said. “Council will be well placed to defend any actions.”
The design complied with all existing design standards, he said.
However residents say the bi-directional design contravenes a host of overseas safety standards and can provide a series of web links to support their case.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore gave her own impromptu response, outlining how Council was responding to residents’ concerns about parking by negotiating with the RTA in an attempt to “claw back as many spots as we can.” Council argued that RTA rules setting back parking greater distances from intersections tended to treat inner city streets, where space was limited, just like any suburban street.
“We’re seeing if we can get extra parking for small cars, motorbikes cabs or whatever in those spaces,” she said.
“We want an inclusive culture where the cars look out for the cyclists, the cyclists look out for pedestrians, and people don’t get uptight about people doing something a bit different.”
It was vital for the City to address climate change by reducing vehicle emissions, and separated cycleways would encourage people who were now too nervous to ride amongst traffic to start using bikes.
“We went to the election on this and got strong support for cycleways, and we are doing the job we were elected to do,” said Ms Moore.
Residents however feel they are being ignored. Penny Sharpe, Labor’s Duty MLC for the City, met several on Bourke Street to listen to their concerns.
“I understand the issues raised by the residents of Bourke St are mainly about safety. I am concerned that they feel that the City of Sydney’s consultation process has not taken into account their safety concerns or alternative proposal,” she said.
“The residents have put forward some suggestions that I will pass onto Kristina Kenneally and the RTA for examination.”
by Michael Gormly
