Sydney cycle lanes in Paddington, Erskineville, Glebe ruled ‘unlawful’ by a solicitor

But attorney Fozzard – himself a keen cyclist – reviewed redacted copies of the REF documents and said he believed they contained nothing that overruled the original order banning development after May.

“The terms of the ministerial decree were clear and expressed in the language of an order. In my view, this order must be carried out,” he wrote.

Young said if the government wanted to make the bike path permanent, they should do it through the proper development process “which includes making sure the damn thing is safe.”

“The big problem, and I think it’s compelling, is that it’s a terrible road for a bike lane,” Young said. “This thing can never be safe. I will wake up one morning and find a dead cyclist in my front yard.”

All six temporary bike lanes are either being reviewed to become permanent or being relocated. The one at Moore Park Road is controlled by the City of Sydney and will remain as a pop-up while the proposed Oxford Street cycle lane is designed.

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But the city has pledged to remove a pop-up bike lane on Dunning Avenue, Rosebery, by May next year to replace it with a “quiet lane” on a parallel street. A quiet lane is a mixed-use zone that reduces traffic speeds and gives more priority to cyclists and pedestrians.

Bicycle NSW CEO Peter McLean said the pop-ups are a fantastic attempt, particularly the Glebe Cycle Path as it provides a crucial east-west link. He looked forward to permanent connections to a city-wide network.

“There’s a lot of work being done to make sure they’re legit, so I would trust the government’s decisions,” he said. “We all need to be aware that roads are shared land owned by the whole community. They are not just the domain of the vehicles.”

Young claimed that the Glebe bike path is not well frequented. A March 2020 census by the City of Sydney found 447 daily bicycle movements at the corner of Bridge Road and Glebe Point Road and 413 further west at the corner of Bridge Road and Lyons Road.

There were 795 bicycle movements at the corner of Anzac Parade, Flinders Street and Moore Park Road and 93 at the corner of Dunning Avenue and Queen Street in Rosebery.

The busiest intersection for bicycles was where Oxford Street, Moore Park Road, Carrington Drive, Parkes Drive and Lang Road meet in Paddington, with 2254 movements in one day.

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