Pick up drop off bays for car passengers to be rolled out across Waverley Council
Dropping off or picking up someone in your car in the hustle and bustle of the east can be interesting – if not downright dangerous. But Waverley council says they’ve got the perfect solution.
Wentworth Courier
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If you’ve ever done a dodgy drop off in a side street off Bondi Beach or risked your life to deposit a mate outside the bus interchange these new pick up and drop off bays will change everything.
Nine locations across Waverley council have been marked in bright orange with matching signage with a 10th to come after the Bondi Junction Cycleway is completed and a tenth spot to be announced in coming weeks.
On Monday two apps which locate your closest bay went live.
Officers from Waverley council have been working on the innovative solution to ease congestion in the gridlocked and parking poor eastern suburbs for almost two years.
The Smart City Transport and Parking initiative involved collating data from Transport for NSW about public transport movements as well as taxi companies and rideshare operators about their most used drop off points.
The concept of the bays, which can be used by both the general public and taxis or rideshare drivers, will be trialled for a 12 month period with councils across the country already looking to the eastern suburbs to roll out their own version.
The pick up, drop off bays will soon appear on Google Maps as points of interest and it is hoped they will eventually be incorporated into Uber and Ola apps as recommended safe places to meet.
Mayor Paula Masselos said as one of the most densely populated councils in Australia, Waverley was eager to innovate to improve traffic flow and safety.
“It’s a really simple, elegant solution,” Mayor Masselos said.
“Before I’d see cars queuing outside the interchange every morning because there was nowhere safe or legal to drop people off. We had a situation where you would see cars and buses vying for space.”
Waverley council project manager strategic transport Leo Huertas said he would be collecting data on the usage of the bays throughout the trial period.
“That way we can draw conclusions as to how this could be scalable for other council,” Mr Huertas said.
“We’re thinking big with this.”
The bays can be found by downloading either the Moovit app, an international transport technology provider, or the Wave app by local Sydney start-up Swiftfare.
PICK UP DROP OFF LOCATIONS
- Glenayr Ave south side between Glasgow Ave and Beach Road
- Curlewis Street north side between Campbell Parade and Gould Street
- Roscoe Street north side between Gould Street and Gould Lane
- Hall Street north side between Gould Lane and Campbell Parade
- Campbell Parade west side between Lamrock Ave and Hall Street
- Hall Street north side between O’Brien Street and Gould Street
- Adelaide Street west side between Oxford Street and Grafton Street
- Bondi Junction bus interchange on Grafton St
- Rear of Eastgate Shopping Centre on Ebley St
- Bronte Road west side between Ebley Street and Spring Street (to be installed following completion of the Bondi Junction Cycleway)