Cyclists Elated By ‘MetroWay’ Announcement, Want To See More Like It
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A pedestrian and bicycle path will be built beside the Metro line from Sydenham to Bankstown — and cycling advocates hope that it is just the start.
The 13.8-kilometre ‘MetroWay’ was announced by New South Wales transport minister John Graham beside Summer Hill MP Jo Haylen on Monday 16 February. The two were unveiling the new Dulwich Hill station plaza.
At Dulwich Hill, the path will intersect with the GreenWay, which connects the Bay Run circling Iron Cove to the Cooks River. Having opened in December, the six-kilometre route — largely following the Inner West Light Rail — has proven popular.
More than 350 bicycle parking spots will be available at stations, an affordance which is hoped to reduce car usage. The Government says that the MetroWay will connect to “existing and planned” cycling routes.
Trees will be planted along the corridor, and lighting installed. The design, delivery, naming and management of the route will be determined by Sydney Metro in consultation with local councils. A tendering process for its construction has commenced.
Pathway an example of Metro’s “city-shaping” impact
Graham talked up the project’s significance. “When we say the Metro will be city-shaping, this is exactly what we mean.”
“Combining the MetroWay with the GreenWay will completely unlock the South West and the Inner West for runners, walkers and cyclists. This mega-project is about so much more than building a metro — it’s about housing uplift, new public spaces and ways of getting active.”
Haylen concurred. “The absolute success of our new GreenWay shows us how important it is to build active transport links alongside new public transport.”
Cyclists “very excited”
Tom Watson is the secretary for advocacy group Bike Marrickville. He said that the organisation “is very excited by the MetroWay announcement.”
“We’re still buzzing after the opening of the GreenWay, and this is another fantastic project for our area.”
“The best way to improve the safety and comfort of biking is by building high quality infrastructure that’s separated from cars. That safety and comfort translates to more people picking up their bike helmet instead of the car keys when heading out, meaning less traffic, lower carbon emissions and less noise in our beautiful city.”
Bike Marrickville hopes that the MetroWay becomes a “catalyst” for further investment. In particular, “improvements to walking and cycling connections north and south of the rail line, to improve access to and from the new Metro stations, so more people in the South West can reap the full benefits of the Metro conversion.”
More to be done?
Sarah Bickford is an urban planner working for Bicycle NSW, which provides insurance and other benefits to cyclists, whilst also conducting advocacy. “We hope that MetroWay will one day be the ‘spine’ of a dense network of local routes, ‘ribs’ that connect the fast-growing suburbs along the Metro corridor to local destinations, schools and town centres.”
“We also hope it will be a catalyst for many more active transport links within rail corridors.” Bickford identified the routes from Wolli Creek to Bexley, northwards from Chatswood, and “missing sections of the long-overdue route between Sutherland and Cronulla.”
She praised the “wonderful” GreenWay, for which “stakeholders collaborated to meet the challenge of negotiating very tricky infrastructure and heritage constraints, including building up against a working rail line, and over Sydney Water assets.”
David Levinson is Professor of Transport at the University of Sydney’s School of Civil Engineering. He opined that “MetroWay is presently a bit short on details, but the basic idea is a good one.” It would provide “safe” paths for those who live between stations, and might allow “e-bikes to stay off the Metro trains altogether,” he said.
He added, however, that it “should have been planned and delivered from the beginning, and should be proposed as part of a more complete network of separated bicycle facilities throughout New South Wales.”
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