Liberal Wentworth candidate Ro Knox champions petition to bin Oxford St cycleway

A controversial proposal to replace half the lanes of a major Sydney road with a bike path — which has sparked fury from locals — could hold the key to the coalition clawing back the eastern suburbs.

A controversial plan to replace half the lanes of a major city road with a cycle path is the subject of a new petition calling for the project to be scrapped.

Wentworth candidate Ro Knox, who is the Liberals’ shot at winning back the eastern suburbs in the federal election, has thrown herself into battling the divisive Oxford St cycleway.

With the help of numerous stakeholders, including aggrieved small business owners, Ms Knox has launched a petition for NSW parliament to bin the $70m project.

Wentworth candidate for the LNP Ro Knox stands on Oxford St.

The two-way bike path, which is a joint funding exercise by the state government and City of Sydney council, would run between Taylor Square in Darlinghurst and Centennial Park.

Accommodating the 1.8km path would mean Oxford St, which hosts 30,000 vehicles travelling daily between the CBD and east, would go from having four lanes of traffic to just two.

According to the state government, downsizing the road would “free up more space for walking, bike riding and outdoor dining” and “create a continuous separated cycle way corridor between the Eastern Suburbs and Sydney CBD”.

However, Ms Knox’s petition warns the cycleway will “irreparably damage” communities in Sydney’s inner east.

An artist’s impression of the cycleway. Picture: Transport NSW

“Oxford Street East Cycle way will irreparably damage the Paddington, Woollahra and Darlinghurst communities, local businesses and Eastern Suburbs accessibility,” the petition states.

“It will become the only NSW arterial road reduced in size and speed for a separated cycleway, compromising essential bus routes.”

A laundry list of consequences outlined in the petition includes exacerbating existing traffic and parking woes, less accessible public transport and added burden on first responders, specifically ambulances travelling to St Vincents Hospital.

Co-owner of the Beacham Hotel in Darlinghurst, Sue Ritchie, says her business is already suffering after works began on a nearby portion of Oxford St.

“The result is traffic jams around our business, cars blowing horns, rat-runs in small streets, people avoiding the area and suppliers complaining they can’t deliver,” she said

“We stand with the massive objection to the cycleway and want our voices heard, the proposal is madness.”

Ro Knox stands with Oxford St business owners.

In order to be tabled to parliament, the petition will need 20,000 signatures in six months.

Ms Knox said the intended aim was “for parliament to get a sense of how many people are against this bike lane”.

“People don’t want this bike lane. I’ve been out door knocking in Woollahra and Paddington, and the message is clear – the Oxford Street bike lane project will cost too much money and hurt our local community,” she said.

She said the situation was borne from “a lack of listening at all levels of government”, combined with “unnecessary government spending without proper consultation”.

Meanwhile, incumbent Wentworth MP, teal independent Allegra Spender, said while she supported a dedicated bike path between the city and east, the community needed “better answers to the concerns raised”.

“I support a dedicated cycleway between the east and the city, but the community has very valid concerns with the current plan which have not been addressed and there is real frustration that a Moore Park Road option hasn’t been considered more deeply,” she said

Cyclists on the road at Oxford St, Paddington between Oatley Rd and Moore Park Rd.

“I won’t support any proposal until the community’s legitimate concerns are properly addressed.”

A Transport NSW spokesman said a recent round of community consultation had resulted in “valuable insights” from more than 1000 responses.

“Transport is committed to providing a safe bike riding connection for all ages and abilities on Oxford Street. It remains a more direct, better connected and more popular route with bike riders than Moore Park Road,” the spokesman said

Last year a group of Paddington residents called for intervention from the Australian Human Rights Commission, claiming the cycleway was discriminatory to the elderly and disabled.