New Waverley Council cycle path leads directly into pole

Cyclists in Sydney’s eastern suburbs have been urged to watch out after a bike path was opened despite having a power pole slap bang in the middle of it.

A council has been ridiculed after opening a new cycle path... with a large power pole smack bang in the middle of it.

Waverley Council, in Sydney’s east, has pressed ahead with opening the new cycle lane despite the obvious obstruction..

The pole now sits in the centre of the lane that connects the cycleway to the footpath, with a jaunty arrow pointing bicycles directly towards it.

Two orange traffic cones identify the hazard, which is wrapped in blue plastic cladding – presumably to protect any unfortunate cyclists hurtling towards it.

The new Sydney cycleway leads directly into a pole. Picture: Supplied.

The hazard has been padded in blue plastic and flanked by traffic cones. Picture: Supplied.

An attached notice informs residents that the cycleway is open, but will likely be disrupted by the pole for another month.

“This section of the Bondi Junction Cycleway is now operational,” the notice reads.

“Temporary barriers will remain in place over the holiday period and final streetscape works will be completed in February 2023, including: installation of bus shelters, removal of Ausgrid poles and installation of multifunctional poles, installation of bus stop medium fencing.

“This project is fully funded by the Australian and NSW governments.”

A sign attached to the pole signals it could be there until February – but the cycleway is nonetheless open. Picture: Supplied.

Councils have made a habit of conducting road maintenance around Ausgrid infrastructure despite the dangerous hazards they pose.

In a separate incident, a bike path in Sydney’s inner west was upgraded despite having a large power pole sitting in the centre of it.

Confused locals described the plans as a “major fail”, suggesting it was an accident waiting to happen.

A separate Sydney cycleway was described as an accident waiting to happen. Picture: Phoebe Looms

That cycleway was called a planning disaster by Kerryn Phelps, a former City of Sydney councillor, who wondered why it was laid before the pole could be removed.

“I’ve been told this is going to be corrected, hopefully before someone slams into it,” Dr Phelps wrote on Facebook.

In Newcastle, too, the city council moved a kerb two metres back at an intersection in Wickham, before Ausgrid had shifted the power pole. The pole, as a result, was sitting in the middle of the road.

I'm reporting on @RNBreakfast from Newcastle today, where the top story is the local council moved the kerb at an intersection in Wickham before @ausgrid shifted the power pole - and let me tell you folks this story is lighting up @CoxDan and @jen_marchant's switchboard. pic.twitter.com/DymlytvHah

— Matt Bevan (@MatthewBevan) October 27, 2019

And in Drummoyne, a resident was forced to give up using his Mercedes sports car when Ausgrid placed a power pole at the end of his residential driveway. It took years for Ausgrid to install a new pole in a less hazardous location – and several more weeks before the old one was removed.