By Janet Oakley, Convenor, Transport & Traffic Subcommittee, August 2025, from Bulletin 6/2025
A great deal is being asked of Bridge Road. Before the closure of Pyrmont Bridge to vehicular traffic it was a major route into the City. Despite that closure, Bridge Road continues to be a major arterial route to and from the City. It is also a suburban street with houses, businesses, schools, child care centres, churches and parks along its length. Substantial work is currently being undertaken along Bridge Road, the precise nature of which has not been published. It is clear however, that none of the work undertaken so far relates to the pop-up cycleway which Transport for NSW has decided to make permanent.
Not surprisingly, the current work is proving to be noisy and at times significantly disruptive. For instance, between the evening of 5 July and 7am on the morning of 7 July residents on the southern side of Bridge Road between Glebe Point Road and Ross Street were prevented from accessing driveways and garages and there was no access from Bridge Road to Jarocin Avenue. Most people affected were unaware of the effect that the work would have on their access until work was underway.
A large trench was cut into the road which was then filled with concrete and topped with bitumen fill. The fill spalled almost immediately.
Bridge Road Public Meeting
In order to discuss issues concerning the cycleway, a public meeting organised by Bridge Road Friends was held on 6 July 2025. It was well attended by residents. The NSW Minister for Transport, John Graham, was invited but neither attended nor sent an apology. No one from his Department attended either. The local State Member, Kobi Shetty, was in attendance, as were City of Sydney Councillors Jess Miller and Yvonne Weldon.
The author of the Independent Safety Audit, Zoran Bakovic, spoke to his report and the response of Transport for NSW to each of the safety issues raised in his report. Few, if any, actually addressed the issues raised. Most consisted of an assurance that the cycleway would be consistent with appropriate standards without providing details. Mr Bakovic, who has undertaken nearly 1000 audits, said that he had never previously encountered responses like this in his career.
Mr Bakovic would not be drawn on alternatives to the current proposal as he had been only engaged to undertake a safety audit on the current proposal.
Ms Shetty, who uses the cycleway, expressed the view that it was not safe – particularly for people unfamiliar with it.
Ms Miller said that the safety issues would be added to the agenda of a meeting between the Lord Mayor and the Minister due to take place in the week following the meeting. This was surprising as Ms Moore has previously supported the cycleway and she and her team had previously voted against motions put by Councillor Weldon which sought to raise safety issues.
Ms Weldon has consistently sought to have safety issues concerning the cycleway addressed and said that she would continue to do so.
The meeting can be viewed on YouTube at ‘Have Your Say’ Meeting discussing Bridge Road cycleway safety risks at Glebe Town Hall 6.7.25
Press response
The meeting was well covered by the print press. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald was published under the heading The cycleway from hell was paved with good intentions and a follow-up editorial was entitled This isn’t the right road. The Sydney bike path that everyone opposes. The Daily Telegraph’s article was entitled Transport Minister John Graham snubs residents against Glebe cycleway.
Minister Graham did respond to correspondence from State Member Shetty concerning the cycleway. From this letter it seems that design safety concerns will be addressed by signage, line markings and two pedestrian crossings.
As you are aware, the Bridge Road Cycleway Upgrade project will convert the existing temporary cycleway to a permanent cycleway that will be separated from vehicles. Transport for NSW has worked closely with the City of Sydney to implement additional safety measures, including new and increased signage and line markings and two new raised pedestrian crossings into the final design. These measures will slow approaching vehicles, improve accessibility and increase visibility between vehicles and people walking, and are in addition to other safety-related changes already made such as the permanent reduction of speed to 40 km/hr.
Extract from letter to Kobi Shetty from John Graham
Conclusion
Meanwhile the substantial traffic flow on Bridge Road is only interrupted by the contractors’ traffic management operators. Most of the temporary cycleway has been removed to facilitate construction work and no alternative has been provided for cyclists. The surface is worse than ever and bears the scars of multiple incisions and temporary patches. Access for people who live, work and play along this stretch of road is constantly interrupted and the work is at times very noisy.
Stop Press: Transport for NSW has issued a Community Update for August with information about the current works.
One comment. Please add yours.
I really wish i’d kept accurate records of all the construction going on. I feel like it’s been going on since the end of the pandemic, seemingly random weekends of construction running through to 0400h. How tf is this noise legal through to 4 in the morning?
I’m near the corner of Bridge and Cross streets, and tonight is another night of bright flashing lights, jackhammers, construction vehicles, and the delightful stench of bitumen. I’m far from a NIMBY but i think the fish market owes everyone along the path of destruction free food for a year. The road has been torn up for power, water, and sewerage works according to the letterbox drops, as well as the bike path.
Most recently we’ve been advised that the small traffic island is being removed. It was demolished, and then temporarily re-marked out.
This is insane, and it’s smashed my sleep patterns multiple times, just ask my boss.