Decision details

The original Notice of Motion was moved by Councillor Weldon, seconded by Councillor Jarrett –

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note:

(i)         the City of Sydney has the highest number of cyclists and pedestrians of any NSW Local Government Area, having worked on infrastructure and with our community to help more people feel safe riding, and so have achieved the highest percentage of trips made by bike to date;

(ii)        nearly one third of our residents already ride a bike or walk to work (as outlined in our Cycling Strategy and Action Plan). In our Local Government Area the number of bike riders involved in a reported crash has fallen by a third since 2010 while bike trips have doubled. We support and are working towards the NSW Government’s goal of zero road fatalities;

(iii)       the City is committed to making bicycle transport easier and safer by connecting our cycling network, so it’s an attractive option for more people, and to working with the community to shift attitudes to active transport;

(iv)       the City ensures that any cycleway in its Local Government Area is subject to a safety audit only encouraging cyclists to use it after all safety issues have been fully assessed;

(v)        under normal circumstances, it is the long-standing practice of the City to conduct thorough consultation processes with residents and other stakeholders affected by installation of cycleways by loss of access, convenience and enjoyment of their residences or places of work, removal of parking spaces, including disability parking and safety impacts;

(vi)       pop-up cycleways were identified by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and the City in March 2020 as part of a temporary solution to ease demand for public transport during the Covid-19 pandemic;

(vii)      in an 18 May 2020 Lord Mayoral Minute, the Lord Mayor announced that "the NSW Government will provide an additional $3,680,000 to deliver six new temporary cycleways in partnership with the City of Sydney";

(viii)    these six temporary pop-up cycleways were created under an Order of the Minister for Planning due to expire on 31 March 2021 which was extended until 31 March 2022;

(ix)       the City delivered cycleways on: Bridge Street, Railway Parade and Henderson Road connecting Erskineville to Eveleigh, Dunning Avenue in Rosebery, and Pitt Street North;

(x)        the NSW Government delivered cycleways on: Moore Park Road and Fitzroy Street, connecting the Eastern Suburbs to the Bourke Street cycleway; Pyrmont Bridge Road and Bridge Road, connecting the Inner West with the central business district; and through Forest Lodge and Glebe and Sydney Park Road in Alexandria;

(xi)       the City will also soon start work to adapt the pop-up cycleway on Moore Park Road to allow for overnight parking at residents’ homes now that the works have been approved by Transport for NSW;

(xii)      in March 2021, Transport for NSW invited the community to share their views about the Bridge Road, Glebe and Sydney Park Road, Erskineville pop-up cycleways for which it is responsible, before any decision was made on whether to make the cycleway permanent;

(xiii)    Transport for NSW have since announced they will make the Sydney Park Road cycleway permanent as part of the Sydney Park Junction Project;

(xiv)    Transport for NSW also handed back responsibility for the Moore Park and Fitzroy Street cycleways to the City;

(xv)     the City followed the proper planning processes to keep the Moore Park and Dunning Avenue cycleways in place for two years, and to make the Pitt Street and Henderson Road cycleways permanent. This included the exhibition of the Review of Environmental Factors for the cycleways;

(xvi)    these were endorsed by Council in May 2021;

(xvii)   the City also consulted residents, businesses, and other organisations before Council endorsed the status of the cycleways and the engagement reports are available on the City’s website;

(xviii)  the Pitt Street cycleway is so popular it has seen an average of 6000 weekly trips, an increase of 500 per cent since its installation, making it the most used of the eight inner-city routes on which cyclists are now taking between 10,000 and 20,000 trips per week;

(xix)    Road Safety Audits are undertaken at different phases of a project. They identify any outstanding safety risks to assist the project team to further minimise risks through additional mitigation measures, if practicable. Road Safety Audits do not make comparisons with the risks of the pre-existing road conditions, for cyclists or other users, and recognise that it is not possible to eliminate all risks; and

(xx)     City staff advise that the latest crash data we have from the Centre for Road Safety at Transport for NSW is September 2020 – which predates installation of the pop up cycleways.

(B)       the Lord Mayor be requested to write to the Minister for Transport to request:

(i)         community consultation reports undertaken in March 2021 for the Bridge Road, Glebe pop-up cycleway;

(i)         a status update on any consideration to make the Bridge Road cycleway permanent including any designs; and

(ii)        a status update on the proposed cycleway on Oxford Street from Taylor Square to Centennial Park announced to replace the Moore Park Pop Up Cycleway, including any designs and timetable or community consultation;

(C)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)         provide community consultation reports undertaken by Council on the Dunning Avenue, Pitt Street, Henderson Road, Moore Park Road and Fitzroy Streets pop up cycleways. These are also available on the City of Sydney website; and

(ii)        provide all the above information to Councillors via the CEO Update.

The amended motion was carried on the following show of hands:

Ayes (8)           The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Ellsmore, Chan, Davis, Gannon, Kok, Scott and Scully

Noes (2)          Councillors Jarrett and Weldon.

Amended motion carried.

X086653