Lilyfield Road Cycleway Vision Unveiled
Image: Inner West Council
The Inner West Council has released plans for a cycleway connecting the Bay Run to the upcoming Bays West development.
Running the length of Lilyfield Road, it will commence near the mouth of the Hawthorne Canal, climbing to the intersection with Mary and James streets. At Norton Street, it will cross to the southern side of the road. After merging into the Rozelle Parklands cycleway, the corridor will end at Victoria Road.
In addition to the construction of the path between Iron Cove and the parklands, infrastructure upgrades will take place along the route. This will include angle parking, speed humps and a new roundabout at Denison Street.
Local MP welcomes proposal, calls for more
Balmain MLA Kobi Shetty said it is “fantastic that plans are finally progressing to deliver a separated cycleway for Lilyfield Road, after years of false starts and delays from the Inner West Council.”
“This is the missing link between the GreenWay and Rozelle Parklands, and it’s one of the most used cycling corridors in Sydney.” Separately, a pedestrian and bicycle corridor along the Bankstown railway line is slated to adjoin the GreenWay at its southern end.
“It’s so important that the council gets the job done and delivers a safe separated cycleway that will encourage more people to ride their bikes,” the local member continued.
“Since the opening of the Rozelle Interchange, traffic congestion in the area has meant that it can actually be quicker for people to jump on their bikes and ride into the city. But until now they haven’t had a safe way to do that.”
Whilst praising the progress made by the council, Shetty remained critical.
“It’s been so disappointing to see the Inner West Council fail to prioritise the delivery of a safe cycling network for our community. Inner West is miles behind the City of Sydney when it comes to safe places to ride your bike. The plans for the Lilyfield cycleway are a really important step, and I encourage the council to be more proactive in planning and delivering cycling projects going forward.”
Advocacy group says design “falls short” on safety
Robert Moore is the vice president of Bike Leichhardt, a local advocacy group representing cyclists. He wrote that several previous plans for a cycleway “have failed due to resident opposition to too ambitious designs, such as making Lilyfield Road one way or too much parking loss.”
“At last, separated bike paths are being built in the Inner West. Council has growing expertise in their design and the equally important skills in selling the benefits of cycling and overcoming resident opposition.”
Nonetheless, the group believes that the proposed design “falls short in a number of respects.”
“The width is generally below the minimum standard of 3 metres for a bi-directional bike path. The section between Mary Street and Hawthorne Canal is 2.6 metres wide, running between parked cars and footpath on the north side, where most houses are, with a steep 8 per cent gradient. Bike paths are generally not recommended with over 5 per cent gradient and, if built, should be wider, according to the standards.”
“Given the possible downhill speeds of riders and the slowness and weaving of uphill riders, or even the need to dismount, and the Maliyawul Street intersection at the bottom, we think there is the risk of collisions or crashes and injuries. We are asking that a Road Safety Audit of this section, by an independent body, be carried out.”
The group suggests that downhill cyclists could ride along the roadway, in conjunction with a new 40 km/h or lower speed limit. This would leave the full width of the cycle path for uphill riders. Elsewhere, they would like to see parking spaces removed east of Balmain Road to allow for a wider path, and added cycling connections.
Moore noted that Lilyfield Road is part of “the main bicycle commuter route into the City from the Inner West and as far as Parramatta,” via the Anzac Bridge.
“The cycleway also serves local short trips, to the GreenWay, the new Parklands and, in the future, Bays West, the White Bay Metro and Pyrmont.”
Members of the public are invited to submit feedback on the proposal by 6 April.
The Inner West Council was contacted for comment.
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