Centennial Parklands bike wars reignite with calls for a separated cycleway

Clashes between cyclists and other park users have once again flared at Centennial Parklands with debates about whether off road biking should be allowed and if there should be a separated cycleway on Grand Drive.

Tensions are rising in Australia’s most popular park with young families, ‘roadies’, commuting cyclists and pedestrians clamouring for their slice of Centennial Parklands.

With lockdowns now over, Centennial Parklands – which sees 31 million visitors annually – is no longer allowing off road and mountain biking due to the impact on the environment.

Parents have told the Wentworth Courier their children have been verbally abused by other park users for riding off road around the park’s perimeter.

The parents believed a spate of recent tyre punctures may even be due to the deliberate scattering of metal tacks on the track.

Meanwhile road cyclists, who are often accused of speeding beyond the 30km/h limit, continue to butt heads with cars, pedestrians and amateur riders which has led to calls for a separated cycleway.

Bike riding is extremely popular in the park.

Greater Sydney Parklands saw an enormous increase in off road and mountain biking during lockdown which they permitted at the time due to the circumstances.

However, the park authority wants to make clear that it’s no longer allowed.

“We are committed to protecting the green space and natural bushland of Centennial Parklands and ensuring the community understands how to share the Parklands safely,” a GSP spokeswoman said.

“We have taken action to limit mountain biking in the Parklands, including: increasing ranger patrols; fencing off critical environmental areas; removing illegal jumps, repairing damage caused by mountain bikes; installing signage, and launching an education campaign for riders and parents to help them understand the impact of their actions on our precious parkland.”

Unfortunately accidents are common.

Centennial Park Cycles manager James Demetriou oversees a fleet of more than 100 rental bikes in the parklands and also has a store nearby on Clovelly Rd in Randwick.

He said he was all too familiar with the ongoing feud between park visitors.

“If you’re talking to ‘roadies’ who do training, they treat it as a racetrack and it’s not – it’s a public park,” Mr Demetriou said.

“They’re causing trouble breaking the speed limit and yelling at pedestrians.

“On other side of the coin, you get these first timers who are not familiar with the rules of the park riding in the wrong direction and doing all sorts of other things they shouldn’t.

“The problem is with the way the park is designed. We need more dedicated, better signage and a cycleway which is literally separated from the road so there is no chance of getting hit by a car, but that takes a lot of investment.”

BIKEast president Mark Worthington believed an investment in a separated cycleway was best directed towards treacherous stretches like New South Head Rd where plans for the Rose Bay Promenade have stalled.

“A lot of people tell us Centennial Parklands is one of their favourite places to ride – it’s just a very difficult space to manage,” Mr Worthington said.

“We’re not a racing or road cyclist group, we represent people who use the park as their route to commute.

“I’d love to wave a magic wand and make cyclists better behaved. I think a lot of us are very well behaved already and I also think that wand needs to waved across everyone – cars that don’t indicate, pedestrians that don’t look.

“Jumping to a very expensive solution like a separated cycleway is a lot of money to invest in what is really a behavioural problem rather than an infrastructure problem.”