Waverley on wheels: a coastal cycleway

Over one in six Waverley residents rides a bicycle every week, but more needs to be done to accommodate cyclists.

That was the consensus at a Waverley Council workshop held last week.

As part of a plan to overhaul Waverley’s current roads and infrastructure, several options are being investigated including shared paths, separated cycleways, dedicated bike lanes and on-road mixed traffic lanes.

Secretary of BIKEast Adrian Boss said Council should develop Curlewis St as a bi-directional cycleway.

“Curlewis St is the best route between Bondi Beach to connect through to the two Rose Bay shopping areas, the [Rose Bay] Wharf and to schools in between the beach and harbour,” he said.

“It should be safe and attractive to ordinary people interested in riding for pleasure, to schools, the ferry and even for shopping.”

Councillor Leon Goltsman said Waverley’s existing system was first outlined in the Inner Sydney Bike Plan 1982, but the current scheme does not accommodate “all of the road users”.

Mark Worthington, President of the BIKEast group and local resident, said Council have not been willing to spend the money required to improve the existing infrastructure.

“They’ve got a bike plan which is obviously a start, but they … haven’t really kept up pace with the original bike plans,” he said.

“They’ve separated the bicycleways like the City of Sydney [Bourke St model], which is great but … because it’s such a busy community, there needs to be a central bike facility [through Bondi Junction]. There have been issues with people riding through the pedestrian mall [and] we want to see those clashes come to an end just as much as Council do.”

Mr Goltsman said the key aims of the plan are to address Waverley’s environmental sustainable goals and to meet the State Government’s target of doubling the proportion of local journeys using a bicycle by 2016.

“It’s going to cost between four and five million dollars to put in bicycle tracks and paths through Waverley,” he said.

“It will ensure that roads and intersections are safer and less congested. It will also … reduce parking pressures in Waverley while improving the health and amenity of our area.”

A key aspect in Council’s Bondi Beach, Park and Pavilion Plan Of Management is the plan to create a shared pedestrian and traffic path along Notts Ave to help accommodate cyclists.

At the May 21 Council meeting, Mayor Sally Betts asked colleagues to consider providing dedicated parking for motorbikes along Notts Ave and assess the potential impacts on turn movements.

Councillor John Wakefield backed the initiative and said he had motioned Council to convert Notts Ave into a 10-kilometre shared pedestrian zone three years ago. Mr Wakefield said more motorcycle parking would help to alleviate the traffic along Bondi Rd, but the displacement of existing car spaces was an issue.

“Extra motorbike spaces should not [entirely] displace car spaces,” he said.

“If the turning circle can be maintained or adequate provisions can be made for a three-point turn in that location, then there may be space there for extra dedicated motorbike spaces. I’m willing to see one or two car spaces go if we get eight or 10 motorbike spaces.”

Garry Hardaker, Executive Director of the Bondi Icebergs, said the spaces would allow riders to “take advantage of the coastal walk facilities at the southern end of the beach, including the Bondi Baths amenities”.

Waverley Council will look to obtain finances for Notts Ave through external sources such as State Government grants, in addition to exploring funding opportunities through Woollahra and Randwick councils.

Public submissions on Notts Ave are available until May 31, but it is envisaged a new plan for Waverley’s bicycle paths will take up to five years to be implemented.