Sydney to Launch New Bike Lane with Roll Through Redfern
No more swapping dirty looks with four-wheelin' road ragers.
Now, you can cycle all the way from Green Square to Central Station without having to shake off a dirty look from a single road raging driver. The City of Sydney has created a 2.4 kilometre long bike path, keeping two-wheelers entirely separated from four-wheelers; linking Zetland, Waterloo, Alexandria and Redfern.
"It’s a really important route," says City of Sydney Cycling Strategy Manager Fiona Campbell. "Green Square’s going to see 40,000 new residents in coming years and those people are only fifteen minutes’ ride from the city... It’s going to be such an attractive option that I think lots of people are going to use it."
In addition to functioning as a commuter route, the path will also serve as an arts-leisure adventure. "There’s the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence [at 166-180 George St]," Campbell explains. "There’s also Prince Alfred Pool at one end, a skate park in Waterloo and the City’s Library and facilities at Joynton Park, which it connects to."
On Saturday, June 14, between 11am and 2pm, Prince Alfred Park will host a massive launch party, dubbed Roll Through Redfern. Australian Balkan Gypsy trio Lolo Lovina will provide the live soundtrack, the Veggie Patch Van will be selling gourmet delights and there’ll be pedal-powered smoothies, as well as free coffee (yes, you read that right, FREE COFFEE). You’ll also be able to score bike help without spending a cent — whether you need safety tips, route advice or assistance of the mechanical variety.
Meanwhile, Green Square’s regular markets will be happening at Joynton Park between 9am and 2pm. Everyone who gets themselves a stamp either there or at Prince Alfred Park will enter a draw to win a $1,000 bike package, a Magellan bike computer or a bunch of Prince Alfred Park Pool multi-visit passes.
The Green Square-Central cycle way brings the Council one step closer to the realisation of its masterplan — to ensure that Sydney cyclists can enjoy at least 200 kilometres of bike paths by 2030. "We’ve already got about 110, 120 kilometres of network, though much of it’s not separated," Campbell says. "We’ve got twelve kilometres so far of separated cycleways. The 200 is going to be made up of mixed traffic streets and shared cycle paths as well. A lot of it just needs upgrading."
The statistics indicate that pro-cycling campaigns and infrastructural changes, particularly segregated paths, are making a big impact at road level. "Each facility that we open sees a massive increase in cycling," Campbell confirms. "Accounts of the Bourke Street cycleway, for example, show that there are five times as many riders on Bourke Street, near the Phelps intersection, as there were four years ago. Whenever we put it in a new cycle way, it just booms. People really, really want to ride. Give them the option to do that in a comfortable, beautiful, pleasant way, and they’ll be in there."
If you’re curious about cycling in the city but still feeling reluctant to take the plunge, check out the free bike maintenance classes and cycling in the city courses happening every single week at both Sydney Park and Joynton Park.
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