Adelaide City Council could lose $3m funding if work does not start on East-West Bikeway

Councillors have been arguing over a new bikeway through the city for years. Now they could lose $3m in funding if they don’t have it finished by next June.

Cyclist Amy Gillett’s parents Mary and Denis Safe on the Frome St bikeway. Picture: David Cronin

Repeated delays look set to cost Adelaide City Council $3m in grant funding for a new bikeway through the CBD.

The Department of Infrastructure and Transport has told the council it will lose the money if the much-debated east-west bikeway is not completed by June next year.

The seven-month deadline seems highly unlikely to be met as the council has yet to decide on the route of the bikeway or finalise guidelines on their construction.

Elected members remain divided, with key figures within the dominant Team Adelaide faction pushing for Grote St and Wakefield St, while Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor has voiced interest in Waymouth St and Pirie St.

The possible route of the East-West Bikeway, along Franklin St into Flinders St through James Place and on to Wakefield St. Picture: Adelaide City Council

Meanwhile, planning staff are recommending Franklin St to Flinders St and Wakefield St, connected by Gawler Place.

This route already has resulted in some businesses, particularly legal firms, threatening to take legal action against the council if it is chosen.

It would also require Franklin St being reduced from two lanes to one lane and the loss of 66 parking spaces, with the introduction of parallel parking rather than angled parking.

Carparking would also need to be reduced on the eastern end of Wakefield St and some bus stops would be moved.

The new deadline prompted a special workshop on Monday, where councillors were urged to make a decision to ensure the State Government funding was not lost.

Possible cycling routes around Victoria Square. Picture: Adelaide City Council

In a report to be presented to the meeting, infrastructure officers Daniel Keller and Anna McDonald said the north-south and east-west bikeways were the subject of a deed signed between the council and the Transport Minister.

“$12 million has been allocated to these two bikeways, $6 million each from the State Government and City of Adelaide,” they said.

“The City Bikeways Funding Deed ends on June 30, 2021. The Department of Infrastructure and Transport has notified City of Adelaide that the deed is unlikely to be extended.”

While work on the north-south bikeway was continuing, there was “a risk the State Government grant funding allocated to the east-west bikeway will be withdrawn if the bikeway is not delivered by June 30, 2021”.

“If council is to deliver the east-west bikeway in line with the requirements of the deed, the route alignment and delivery method need to be agreed before the end of December 2020,” said the report.

Elected members will debate the matter again at their monthly meeting in a fortnight.

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Originally published as Adelaide City Council could lose $3m funding if work does not start on East-West Bikeway