Cyclists slam temporary Sydney bike lane as ‘dangerous, pointless’
A Surry Hills bus lane that was turned into a bike path during the pandemic has been met with confusion from cyclists who say the poorly planned project could be dangerous for commuters.
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A new temporary bicycle lane in the inner city has been slammed by both cyclists and locals as pointless and dangerous, with its location forcing riders into hazardous turns and commuters to battle the bikes to get to buses.
The Fitzroy St lane in Surry Hills is among the temporary bike paths put down by Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s City of Sydney in a bid to get more people off public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The busy one-way street normally consists of two traffic lanes and a bus lane — but now council has converted the bus lane for bike use, pushing buses into the two general traffic lanes.
In the peak commuting time of 7am to 9am on Tuesday The Daily Telegraph saw 74 bikes on Fitzroy St, but only 63 used the lane.
Eleven chose to ignore the lane completely and sit in the regular flow of traffic, including four riders who instead took up both traffic lanes.
One cyclist said while the idea of having more bike lanes was good, the Fitzroy St example bordered on dangerous.
“The issue is if you go to the city you have to turn right … it’s pointless. You have to come off onto the bike path and I used to just go in the right lane, signal right and turn right, but now if you use the lane you can’t turn right easily,” cyclist Vanessa Duckworth said.
The temporary lane, situated on the left-hand side of the road, finished at the Bourke St intersection and gives no opportunity to turn right, forcing cyclists to either go onto the footpath and wait for the pedestrian crossing lights or make a dangerous diagonal turn in the intersection. “Other streets this works but it’s not suited to this one.”
For buses picking up and dropping off passengers has also become a tricky manoeuvre as the bike lane crosses over the bus stop. Buses now have to stop in the middle of the road and pedestrians have to cross into the cycle lane, dodging speedy riders.
The parallel lines on the cycle lane designed to alert the cyclists to slow down for bus passengers are often mistaken for a pedestrian crossing, with plenty of people walking out into the traffic in the middle of the road.
A City of Sydney spokesperson said the pop up lanes were essential to the council’s COVID response plan. “The recent breakout of COVID-19 cases in Victoria and NSW highlights the continuing risks posed by this virus,” the spokesperson said.
“We will be consulting with the community before any decisions are made on permanent versions.”