Dulwich Hill to the CBD

Our submission

Here is our submission to the light rail project. Its long and detailed so we have summarised our view below. There is a quick version on the right.

Write now!

Here is our press release.

Please click this button to write to the light rail project, the Transport Minister and the Premier.

We need this bike route

The government has released a plan for the Dulwich Hill rail corridor. In this study bikes are clearly second class citizens.

First the study has assumed that the bike route should be downgraded to allow two-way light rail operation all along the corridor.

Second the study fails to outline a separated link for the bike route from Iron Cove to the Anzac Bridge ignoring the regional transport role of the bike route.

(Download Transport and Infrastructure study by GHD 2Mb.)

A 3m wide cycleway along the goods line linking to the Anzac Bridge will:

• be one of the busiest bike routes in the country

• give people in the inner west a cheap, fast and reliable way into the City.

• deliver a benefit cost ratio of 20 compared to 1.6 for the light rail.

The Government says we need this bike route

It has the highest priority rating in the NSW Bike plan. (Page 11)

Write today otherwise we will lose it

Write now!

Please click this button to write to the light rail project, the Transport Minister and the Premier.

Please, please be positive. Cranky letters will work against us.

If you live in the area say why you will use the route. If you live in another part of town say why you support routes like this – every good route that gets built helps all the others.

Spread the word

Please forward this page and tell your friends. The URL cycleway.com.au leads to this page.

Please write now – the consultation closes next Monday 7 June 2010

A summary of our submission

17 May 2010. Sydney Light Rail -Inner West Extension Study released, your input needed now.

A study into extending light rail services from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill has just been released by the NSW Department of Transport and Infrastructure. The report includes some analysis of building a cycleway alongside the light rail extension.

Unfortunately the study has placed the proposed cycleway as a secondary project that has to fit around a light rail system operating on dual tracks.

The Government would like to hear the community's views on this study. Please send comments to lightrail@transport.nsw.gov.au by 7 June.

Your comments are needed to make sure a quality cycleway is constructed. You can read the Bicycle Network’s full submission here.

While the Bicycle Network is supportive of the light rail extension we do not accept that the quality of the cycleway should be compromised to facilitate dual track light rail. In fact, on economic and transport figures, the cycleway should be given priority. See below for more details.

Fortunately we believe both a quality cycleway and light rail system can be accommodated in the easement.

The cycleway we need:

A cycleway for inner western Sydney must link to the Anzac Bridge and it must be separated from motor vehicle traffic for its entire length. The current proposal provides neither of these fundamental requirements.

The best way to link to the Anzac Bridge is to construct the cycleway through the railway tunnels under Balmain Road and City Link West Road. This is shown in green on the map to the left.

This cycleway would only require the light rail to run on a single track for a distance of approximately 900 metres from Lilyfield Station to Blackmore Park. A smart signaling system that provides priority to light rail services traveling in the peak direction will overcome most if not all operational issues of this one section of single track operation.

A less desirable cycleway alternative on Lilyfield Road (shown in blue to the left) could be considered. It would require the existing bike lanes to be upgraded to a fully separated cycleway that would force the removal of parking on one side of Lilyfield Road or the widening the road surface.

Blackmore Park to Lewisham

The most effective way to separate the cycleway from motor vehicle traffic is quite simple from Blackmore Park to Parramatta Road as there is sufficient space for a 3 metre wide cycleway to be constructed adjacent to a dual track light rail system. This is shown in green on the map to the left. The blue option can be constructed to provide a link to Iron Cove and Lilyfield Road.

Lewisham to Dulwich Hill

However, separation from motor vehicle traffic is not provided by the current proposal for the cycleway south of Parramatta Road.

To overcome this we propose a cycleway constructed on the rail corridor formation (track area) adjacent to a single track light rail service. This would only occur where there is not enough room in the easement to accommodate a dual track service. The map to the right shows in green the areas where a single track will be required and in blue the areas where dual track would remain.

Linking the cycleway to the Cook’s River Cycleway is also extremely important as it will drive transport trips to destinations such as the airport and enable significant recreational bike riding for residents in the inner west.

 

A completely separated cycleway will need to be constructed along roads to get to the Cook’s River, there are no major issues in completing this link and the proposal in the study is sound.

Why the cycleway is better value than dual track light rail.

A cycleway linking Dulwich Hill to the Anzac Bridge via the disused Rozelle freight line route is identified in the NSW Bike Plan as one of the major missing links to be completed.

This route will provide direct access to the CBD for commuters from the inner western suburbs of Sydney, such as Dulwich Hill, Lewisham. Summer Hill, Ashfield, Petersham, Haberfield and Leichhardt.

AECOM has estimated that the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) arising from the development of cycling infrastructure for the following inner-west origin/destinations are:
• Marrickville – Sydney CBD – 21.29
• Leichhardt – Sydney CBD – 13.24
• Ashfield – Sydney CBD – 4.65

The light rail extension from Lilyfield to Lewisham has a BCR of 1.6 and from Lewisham to Dulwich Hill the BCR is an even 1.0. To quote the consultants “The results of the preliminary benefit cost analysis indicate that extending Sydney's light rail system to Dulwich Hill is justifiable on economic grounds, albeit at the margin.”

Following that logic the development of a cycleway linking the inner west to the CBD is strongly justifiable on economic grounds. In fact, each dollar spent will deliver at least four times the benefit of each dollar spent on the light rail extension.

Friends of Greenway report 2010

Aecom report on Benefit cost ratios in inner Sydney (4Mg) on the City of Sydney website

 

cycleway.com.au

 

Quick quiz on our submission

Do you support a 3m cycleway all along the goods line? - Yes.

Yes we think the bike route will easily outperform the light rail option in trips per dollar.
1 The bike route will be cheaper to build and run
2 The bike route will offer a faster more convenient service
3 The bike route goes to the CBD, the light rail goes to Central. The bike route will be separated all the way, the light rail goes onto the road at Paddy’s Market.
4 The bike service is 24/7 and leaves whenever you want.
We think the bike route will carry more people each day than the light rail

Are you against the light rail service?
No, it is a good but expensive transport option. It will suit people for whom time is less critical.

Can we fit both into the rail corridor?
No and yes. No we can't have a 3m bike route and a dual track light rail service from Dulwich Hill to Lilyfield. Yes we can if the light rail operates on a single track in a few tight sections.

Won’t single track stuff up the light rail service?
No. In the morning peak you would set the preference for inbound light rail and switch it in the afternoon.

How is your submission different to the Greenway proposal?
We emphasise bicycle transport trips to the CBD and show that the Lilyfield to Anzac Bridge section is vital for these trips. They talk about local bike trips and stop at Iron Cove and expect riders to use the road from there.
We say the bike route should take priority over dual track light rail. They are prepared to compromise the bike route to allow dual track all the way.

So what do we do now?
We have to get the government to look at the Dulwich Hill corridor as a dual mode transport corridor to the CBD. The current study fails to consider the cost benefit of bicycle transport trips to the CBD along this corridor.
Write today to the light rail project, the Transport Minister and the Premier with this link.

What are you going to do?
Build support from bike riders in Sydney for this route.
Lobby State and Federal Governments to fund the dual mode solution.

Contact Us