Infrastructure Briefs – Some Good News!
Two Key Sydney Infrastructure Projects Underway
Construction work has begun on the much anticipated and “controversial” Liverpool St / Oxford St protected cycleway that will run from the city centre to the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
Subject to approvals of future sections, the $7 million 1.8 km route underway now will eventually form part of a protected cycleway connecting the Sydney CBD to Bondi Junction.
Meanwhile, construction of a long-delayed cycle ramp at the northern end of the Sydney Harbour Bridge will start in the middle of the year – six months later than planned. It will cost nearly $39 million to complete.
Cyclists keen to use the ramp to bypass the dozens of stairs, however, will still face an 18-month wait until construction is finished.
The state’s transport agency has awarded the $38.9 million contract to build the three-metre wide path from the bridge into Bradfield Park at Milsons Point to construction company Arenco.
Transport for NSW’s deputy secretary of cities and active transport, Anna Bradley, said the “critical piece of infrastructure” would make the cycling route more accessible for young families, the elderly and those who were less able to carry a push-bike or e-bike up 55 stairs.
“The [Harbour] Bridge continues to evolve to meet the needs of the people of Sydney, and we’re thrilled that we’re moving closer to the next iteration – a new cycleway ramp on the northern side.”
The 200-metre-long ramp will feature an Aboriginal artwork depicting eels and an Indigenous name to mark the famous bridge’s location spanning the lands of the Gadigal and Cammeraygal people.
The ramp will connect to an upgraded cycle route linking Middlemiss Street and the existing bicycle network. A new zebra crossing will be installed on Alfred Street South, next to Bradfield Park North, to enable pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross the street.
In 2023, North Sydney councillors voted at a fiery meeting to give the state government access to Bradfield Park to build the cycleway in exchange for $2.5 million to fund upgrades to the space.
A longer version of the Harbour Bridge part of this article was first published in the Sydney Morning Herald
Victorian E-Scooter Trial Extended – Yet Again!
Victoria’s e-scooter trial has just been extended for the fourth time since it was commenced in 2022.
The latest trial period was due to expire on 5th April 2024.
“We have more work to do on safety and compliance to ensure that e-scooters are safe when they’re made permanent later this year,” Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams said.
The long-running trial shows in the Yarra, Melbourne and Port Phillip council areas there are 1247 scooters for hire.
Since the trial started, 7.7 million trips have been ridden.
The average trip speed is 9km/h, with e-scooters only allowed to be ridden in bike lanes, bike paths and roads with a 60km/h limit.
“E-scooters are here to stay – they’ve proven popular among commuters, especially shift workers, providing an additional option to travel home safely,” Ms Williams said.
There are an estimated 100,000 privately owned e-scooters in use in Victoria.
In extending the program previously, Ms Williams and Road Safety Minister Melissa Horne signalled the longer the trial, the better the data.
“While we’ve undertaken extensive trials on e-scooters under the shared rider scheme, we’re taking the time to analyse the use of private e-scooters to ensure our roads are as safe as possible,” Ms Horne said in October.
Most of this article was first published on news.com.au
Which Council Has Become the First to Offer E-Bike Subsidies, Adelaide or Holdfast Bay?
The City of Holdfast Bay is a local government area (LGA) in suburban Adelaide South Australia, best known for its beachside suburb of Glenelg. It’s a compact LGA with just 37,543 residents and an area of 13.72 square kilometres.
It has become the first council on mainland Australia to offer rebates for e-bikes and cargo bikes. A rebate of $300 can now be claimed on electric cargo bikes – as well as $200 for regular e-bikes.
Holdfast Bay offers Green Living Rebates on more than a dozen items that can assist their community to live a greener, healthier lifestyle, from energy-efficient electrical appliances to worm farms, double glazing on windows and modern cloth nappies.
Cargo bikes and e-bikes has recently been added to the list following a move in 2023 by the Tasmanian government which introduced subsidies for e-bikes.
Meanwhile in a photo finish, the nearby City of Adelaide which covers the city centre has also launched e-bike subsidies, about which we previously reported their approval by Council here.
The program is now live, with the specific subsidies being 20% up to $500 for an e-bike for commuting purposes, 20% up to $1,000 for an e-bike conversion kit, 20% up to $1,000 for a cargo bikes and 20% up to $200 for bike parking racks.
These subsidies are part of a wide suite of subsidies that cover energy monitoring, appliance electrification, EV charging stations, water saving devices, solar PV, Battery storage, green waste and more.
Share Bike Parking Zones
The City of Sydney is piloting new designated parking zones for shared bikes in the suburb of Pyrmont to reduce clutter on the street.
The City is working with shared bike operators to trial a programme that incentivises people to park in 19 zones across the area or risk further charges or fines.
Users will be directed to only park in designated areas on the operator’s app, with signs on the ground to reinforce the message.
If a person who rides parks their bike outside these areas, the share bike operator will not recognise the trip as being completed and will continue charging the user. Repeat offenders may face further penalty.
The City selected Pyrmont because it’s popular with share bike riders and is an area where communities expressed concerns about bike parking.
During the trial, the City will monitor parking compliance with a view to introducing similar programmes in other areas with a high movement of people.
Paris Creating Hundreds of School Streets Now
The city of Paris has set a target of creating 300 school streets during the current electoral term of Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
But unlike other cities that set targets and then do little or nothing to achieve them, Paris has already created 180 school streets as of early 2024.
This typically means permanently closing to cars about 300 metres to 400 metres of the street that a local school opens onto. Then adding play equipment, green landscaping and other amenities.
This was documented recently in an excellent video by Clarence Eckerson Jnr of Streetfilms.
If you’re not aware of Streetfilms, it’s a resource of over 500 videos that have to date had over six million views in total, made with the aim of showing how smart transportation design and policy can result in better places to live, work and play. It is liked to www.streetsblog.org
You can see the Paris school streets video here.