Bondi Junction Cycleway Route Hits Roadblock

By Marcus Braid on August 12, 2015 in News

The route for the proposed Bondi Junction cycleway appears far from settled after Waverley Council moved to give further consideration to the $5 million plan.

Council has approved cycleway and streetscape plans, but deferred the design of some intersections for safety reasons.

Councillor Andrew Cusack said the issue is far from resolved after a cycleway route workshop took place on June 30.

“There are so many issues with the current cycle path I can’t even begin to tell you,” he said.

“Let me tell you the current route is not a fait accompli. It is fraught with issues that need to be resolved.

“I hope we get the best route for cyclists and what they want to do. That has to be first and foremost. And how do we provide something that provides that but doesn’t completely f**k up everything else?”

Cr Cusack said he is particularly concerned about the plan to run a cycleway along Spring Street.

“I think the cart has been put before the horse. I don’t think we’ve properly looked at where the cyclists want to go,” he said.

“I’ve had complaints from a lot of the business owners along Spring Street who are obviously anxious and nervous.

“There are so many demands on that street already with car and trucks, deliveries and workmen; I’m not convinced yet that it’s the best route.”

The Bondi Junction cycleway is seen as an important route connecting the Eastern Suburbs to Sydney’s CBD, and its development and construction has been made a priority by Council and the State Government.

“I would love the help of someone like The Beast to say, ‘Where do cyclists want to go?’” Cr Cusack said. “I don’t know and when I asked questions in the workshop, I don’t think they knew either.

“I don’t want to see anyone killed or injured. Where Spring Street is going to meet Bronte Road and then into the bus lane, to have cyclists going through there with the intensity of buses there just scares the shit out of me.”

Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said the necessary information to make a decision on the cycleway route was not yet at hand.

“We need to look at numbers, efficiencies, where it would be and what side of Syd Einfeld Drive it would be,” she said.

“Although we are moving forward on Spring Street, we’re moving forward slowly to work out the different intersections while we look at the feasibility of Syd Einfeld Drive.

“We don’t have the results yet, so people are not able to make up their minds.”

Cr Betts said the RMS, RTA and police are still having discussions about certain intersections under the plan.

“We are looking to see if it’s possible to put a cycleway on Syd Einfeld Drive,” she said.

“That was always on the agenda, but it was on the agenda for next year to look at it as a separate issue. We brought that forward just to work out the pros and cons. That is quite a complex discussion that needs to take place.”