Decision details

Original motion moved by Councillor Weldon, seconded by Councillor Jarrett.

It is resolved that:

(A)        Council note:

(i)           our public duty to ensure that all cycleways (including pop-up cycleways) installed by the City of Sydney Council are safe before and after opening, encouraging cyclists to use them in the reasonable expectation that all safety issues have been fully assessed;

(ii)         the similarly titled October 2023 Council motion documenting serious safety concerns with the Bridge Road Temporary Cycleway;

(iii)        during the four years the cycleway has been operating on Bridge Road there have been several accidents on the cycleway and officials in Transport for NSW and City of Sydney have warned that the temporary cycleway on Bridge Road is dangerous;

(iv)        Transport for NSW’s cycling counts dashboard reports an average of 512 bike trips per day on the Bridge Road cycleway over the last 12 month period; 

(v)         according to NSW Centre for Road Safety data 16 crashes have occurred on the Bridge Road pop-up cycleway between Lyons Road and Taylor Street between September 2020 when the pop-up cycleway was installed and December 2022. Of those, seven crashes involved people riding with five of those caused by vehicle drivers;

(vi)        in March 2022, the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) was finalised enabling the pop up cycleway to remain in place;

(vii)      the REF for the permanent cycleway on Bridge Road was released to the public for the first time as part of the May 2024 Community Update on the cycleway by Transport for NSW in an email advising it "is closer to delivering the upgraded and permanent cycleway on Bridge Road";

(viii)     the REF has been criticised for failing to examine safety issues and negative impacts on resident safety and access to their properties;

(ix)        in April 2023 a Road Safety Auditor who is part of CCHD PTY LTD conducted a so-called Independent Road Safety Audit on the project phase of Pre-construction Detail Design developed by the same company;

(x)         the CCHD PTY LTD audit excluded the following elements:

(a)         the street lighting design;

(b)         stormwater drainage regime; and

(c)         right turn turning lane lengths;

(xi)        other issues of concern regarding the thoroughness of the Design Stage Road Safety Audit conducted for Transport for NSW are:

(a)         no night time inspection was conducted by the auditor contrary to usual practice;

(b)         vehicle swept path drawings and utility relocations were not provided to the auditor;

(c)         traffic counts were not provided to the auditor;

(d)         pre-existing asset protection issues which have significant road safety impacts were not part of the scope; and

(e)         traffic accidents involving cyclists, motorists and pedestrians were not properly quantified and only included reportable accidents which are 12 months behind real time on the Road Safety website; 

(xii)      City staff have repeatedly raised safety concerns about the design proposed by Transport for NSW for a permanent cycleway on Bridge Road Glebe; and

(xiii)     Councillor Weldon has received complaints from residents and cyclists that there was no media release or letterbox drop to the wider Forest Lodge and Glebe community about the timetable for delivering a permanent cycleway on Bridge Road;

(B)        Council also note:

(i)           over the past four years, discussions have taken place between the City of Sydney and Transport for NSW officials about reducing the length of sections where people need to ride in mixed traffic conditions by increasing the length of separated cycleways along the route;

(ii)         Transport for NSW have recently advised via an Addendum to the REF that, after construction of the rest of the cycleway is completed, it will implement a trial of shorter right turn bays at the Ross Street and Glebe Point Road intersections, enabling the cycleway to extend closer to intersections, using temporary materials and will be evaluated to determine if there are any safety or traffic congestion issues; 

(iii)        Transport for NSW states, if the reduced right turn bays cause safety issues or unacceptable impacts to the road corridor, the temporary materials would be removed, and the length of the right turn bays would be adjusted to be consistent with the Addendum REF design; and

(iv)        if the evaluation determines that the trial of reduced right turn bays is successful, the arrangement would be made permanent. The trial will only commence once the permanent cycleway has been constructed. There is no plan to shorten the bus right hand turn lane into Ross Street;

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

(i)           noting that the Independent Road Safety Audit conducted in 2023 on the design for the permanent cycleway on Bridge Road Glebe for Transport for NSW did not include in the audit the right turn bays at the Ross Street and Glebe Point Road intersections and other serious safety issues but we welcome Transport for NSW’s commitment to monitoring the impacts of the changes and addressing any safety issues identified with them during the trials;

(ii)          recommending that Transport for NSW ensure that the lighting scheme on Bridge Road is of a sufficient standard for safe cycling in the evening and the bus stops to address safety risks for pedestrians and cyclists; and

(iii)        noting that not all residents in Glebe are registered for community updates via email and suggest a letter box drop be arranged by Transport to all residences within 1km of the cycleway to inform them about the release of the REF and Addendum REF pertaining to the cycleway and the final design; and

(D)        the Chief Executive Officer be requested to provide an update to Councillors on outstanding safety issues for the Bridge Road Cycleway.

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

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

Noes (2)     Councillors Jarrett* and Weldon.

Amended motion carried.

*Note – Councillor Jarrett abstained from voting on this matter. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 10.4 of the Code of Meeting Practice, Councillor Jarrett is taken to have voted against the motion.

X086653