The controversial Bourke Road cycleway will undergo further reviews despite the City of Sydney Council declaring the cycleway “does not present an unacceptable risk.”
On Monday 18 June the Council’s Planning Development and Transport Committee (Planning Policy Sub-Committee) endorsed 26 actions to monitor and improve the cycleway. Reviews will include an economic impact assessment and a local crime study. Council will also collect crash data and continue to monitor route safety.
A City of Sydney spokesperson stated that the cost of any recommended action is currently unknown.
An August 2010 challenge in the Land and Environment Court asked for the relocation of the cycleway along the Alexandria Canal. An out-of-court settlement required an independent report of the cycleway.
The report by consultants GHD was released in April 2012 and states that current risks are not serious enough to warrant relocation. However, the report calls for further examination of the cycleway. An additional risk assessment in May 2012 by Parsons Brinckerhoff identified 63 hazards along the route.
Mr. David Hannan, the Manager of the Sydney Corporate Park who initiated the 2010 legal challenge, criticised the report, which he called a “typical no-decision” review.
Mr. Hannan supports cycling but said the Bourke Road cycleway is dangerous and inappropriately situated.
“The Bourke Street, Surrey Hills end, I love it; the Bourke Road, Alexandria end, in industrial land, is simply insane.”
“I think that, tragically, there are going to be further deaths at each end.”
Robert, a local cyclist who requested his last name not be published, uses Bourke Road instead of the cycleway and was critical of the report.
“That is a lot of reporting about something that was very obvious, there are parts of the cycleway which are unsafe.”
However, a City of Sydney spokesperson has highlighted the improved safety record of Bourke Road.
“In the five years prior to the cycleway opening in March 2010, total Bourke Road crashes averaged 21 per year. In the 12 months following the cycleway opening the figure fell to just 6.”
The City of Sydney spokesperson stated that independent bike counts showed a 42 per cent increase in use during morning and evening peak from December 2010 to January 2012.
Mr. Nick Bonich, spokesperson for cycling advocacy group BIKESydney, supported improved infrastructure but highlighted that a behavioural shift will “define the success of this program.”
“You don’t want to regulate on infrastructure at the expense of going through this natural and important behaviour change.”
Mr. Bonich also emphasised that patience and a willingness to share was required from cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.
A City of Sydney spokesperson confirmed plans for the long-term development of a cycle path along the Alexandria Canal.
By Adrian March
