Lord Mayor Calls For Cycleway Ramp On Harbour Bridge’s Southern Side

The new cycleway ramp adjoining the Harbour Bridge at Milsons Point has been well received, with Sydney’s Lord Mayor calling for another to be built on the bridge’s southern end.

Presently, on the southern side, the cycleway continues along Upper Fort Street, taking it past Fort Street Public School and onto a narrow bridge shared with pedestrians. Thereafter, it runs beside the on-ramp for the Harbour Bridge and ultimately onto Kent Street.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore argues that this arrangement, which sees cyclists share the corridor with arriving and departing school students, is dangerous. She is supported by North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker.

Cycleway ramp “reduces conflict” between cyclists and pedestrians, reduces traffic

The ramp’s construction was a joint project of the North Sydney Council and Transport for NSW. A spokesperson for the council said that its reception since opening on Tuesday 6 January “has been strongly positive, with support from riders and residents.”

“The new ramp removes the 55‑step barrier on the northern side of the Bridge, creating a smooth, accessible cycling connection between North Sydney and the CBD.”

“It supports safer trips and strengthens the regional cycling network identified in North Sydney Council’s Bike Action Plan.”

 The spokesperson outlined benefits for non-cyclists as well, saying that it “reduces conflict between people walking and riding, making the area safer and easier to move through.”

“It also helps cut traffic by shifting short trips from cars to bikes, which means less congestion, quieter streets and reduced emissions,” the spokesperson said.

Lord Mayor calls for southern ramp

The potential for a ramp on the southern end of the bridge was investigated by Transport for NSW in 2017, but nothing then came of it. Following the opening of the northern ramp on Tuesday 6 January, Moore publicly called for its construction.

“I would like to congratulate the Transport Minister John Graham and the State Government on the opening of the northern ramp,” she wrote.

“Now I look forward to Transport for NSW investigating and constructing the southern cycleway ramp near Fort Street Public School – as was originally intended in 2016 when the project was first tabled!”

A spokesperson for the Lord Mayor said that she “has been advocating to Transport for NSW for the southern Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway ramp since 2016 to help to address road safety issues.”

The spokespersons added that a southern ramp “is absolutely critical in improving safety where cyclists, vehicles and pedestrians, including students attending the Fort Street Public School, converge into a narrow road and then a shared path in Millers Point.”

“The recently opened northern Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway ramp is likely to result in increased riding on this route, so similar infrastructure is required at the southern ramp.”

David Levinson, Professor of Transport at the University of Sydney’s School of Civil Engineering, concurred. “Bikes, and e-bikes especially, coming off the bridge will collide with pedestrians and vehicles. Now, with the northern ramp, there will be more of them.”