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