By Megan Gorrey
Inner Sydney residents are fighting a rearguard battle against the state government’s plan to replace a pop-up cycleway with a permanent bike lane along Bridge Road in Glebe, arguing the critical route from the inner west to the city is dangerous and puts people at risk of collisions.
The 1.2-kilometre cycleway was one of six pop-up lanes installed during the pandemic in 2020 and runs from Lyons Road in Camperdown to Taylor Street in Glebe near the new Sydney Fish Market.
Transport for NSW says the number of trips on the pop-up path on Bridge Road nearly doubled between 2021 and 2024. Credit: Janie Barrett
Transport for NSW has started work to make the lane permanent, much to the chagrin of some residents, who believe it is in the wrong spot and unsafe due to sections that force cyclists to merge back into traffic lanes.
The local Greens MP and a City of Sydney councillor have also expressed reservations about the path, which the transport agency says is used for about 500 trips a day.
Balmain MP Kobi Shetty, who uses the cycleway to get to work, said cyclists “get chucked back into traffic three or four times along the route”.
“I’m an experienced, lifelong cyclist, and I have to be hypervigilant. I wouldn’t let my kids near it.”
It’s the latest inner-city cycleway to cause tensions, after Paddington residents stepped up their fight against the Oxford Street cycleway by launching court action against the state government.
Shetty said community tensions were high over the conversion to a permanent separated cycleway, but emphasised that many residents had voiced “significant and real concerns” about its design.
She said the route was crucial given the higher density development planned for the area, and the cycleway would not be serving its purpose if it did not encourage more people to use bikes.
An artist’s impression of the permanent Bridge Road cycleway, due for completion in early 2026.Credit: Transport for NSW
“It’s not a good outcome for cyclists to have a substandard cycleway,” she said.
An independent safety audit in 2020 highlighted locations where bus stops interfered with the dedicated cycle lanes on Bridge Road, forcing riders into traffic lanes where they could be put at risk. Transport officials said there was ample sight distance to merge.
City of Sydney councillor Jess Miller, who also rides the cycleway, said: “You need to be a pretty experienced cyclist to feel safe on it, and as it stands, it’s not awesome.
“There are spots where it ends abruptly, and you think, where do I go? I think we all agree we all want a safe outcome.”
The cycleway runs from Camperdown to Glebe.Credit: Transport for NSW
Bridge Road Friends founder Di Anstey said the barriers for the pop-up path were falling apart, the cycleway “stops and starts” along the route, and she witnessed “near misses every day” between cyclists and motorists at the busy Ross Street and Glebe Point Road intersections.
Anstey says authorities should have considered alternatives, such as nearby St Johns Road.
“This just isn’t the right road for it,” she said. “It’s supposedly part of a connected cycleway, but it doesn’t connect to anything. There is no plan for a separated cycleway in front of the new Fish Market.”
Miller said the council was also concerned about plans for a shared path along the front of the Fish Market on Bridge Road, particularly given thousands more homes were planned, and about 6 million visitors were expected to visit the new market each year. She said the council was pushing for a two-way separated cycleway to replace one of the four traffic lanes on Bridge Road.
Locals are worried about plans for a shared path by the Sydney Fish Market, which is expected to attract 6 million visitors a year.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
“We absolutely think it’s a dumb idea to have a shared cycle and pedestrian path there.
“We’ll take the density, we love it, but we need a really thoughtful solution for non-car traffic.”
Bicycle NSW chief executive Peter McLean said the permanent lane would form part of the cycling network, which comprised “all these fragmented pieces of infrastructure that must be connected”.
“It looks dangerous, it’s falling apart, it needs realignment. It’s not fit for purpose for an intermediate rider. The densification is coming – we need a permanent and safe route for people.”
Transport for NSW said the permanent cycleway was designed to improve safety for everyone. It would also create a more accessible and safer travel option for people riding between the inner west and the city, including to the Fish Market, a spokeswoman said.
“The upgrade will better integrate the cycleway with the area by replacing the lightweight barrier between the cycleway and traffic lanes with a more durable barrier made of concrete separators.”
Transport for NSW said it had worked with the City of Sydney to incorporate additional safety measures into the final design, including increased signage and line marking and two additional raised pedestrian crossings to prioritise pedestrians and increase their visibility.
The Bridge Road Cycleway at the junction with Glebe Point Road in Glebe, where cyclists merge from their protected path with cars. Credit: Janie Barrett
The findings of an independent road safety audit in 2023 were incorporated into the final design, and further safety audits would be carried out. Workers have completed one-third of trenching works, to be followed by line marking and signage, before the concrete barriers are installed.
The cycleway is due for completion in early 2026.
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