Harbour Bridge ramp

[CXCommuter]

Was advised that funding has been approved for a new harbour bridge ramp by bicycle nsw staff at the base of the bridge stairs this afternoon.
Heres hoping this true and funding included earlier than 2030

Possibly it may include more stairs and steeper (Drunken's preferred plan)

[find_bruce]

According to the ABC its a real thing Sydney Harbour Bridge cyclists can expect $35 million bike ramp and upgrade by 2020 Hopefully this will actually result in construction beginning & completed, unlike say, the Spit Bridge replacement or hundreds of other projects that are promised but don't get built. I am sufficiently cynical experienced to point out that the projected end date is 2020, while the next state election is 2019.

[AndrewCowley]

Will believe it when I see it. To be honest I find the current arrangement ok.

[find_bruce]

Will believe it when I see it. To be honest I find the current arrangement ok.

By definition, people who currently use the Harbour Bridge find it ok - to increase the number of cyclists we need make it ok for people who don't currently ride.

[CXCommuter]

I use the steps because that is what is there. I hate those steps and do not think they are okay.

[biker jk]

I use the steps because that is what is there. I hate those steps and do not think they are okay.

I would imagine that 99% of cyclists would agree. Interesting that the ABC story found a cyclist who didn't think that spending $35 million on cycling infrastructure was a good idea. I wonder whether he thinks likewise about the tens of billions wasted on building more roads.

[find_bruce]

Probably doesn't realise that it's cheaper than the Tibby Cotter bridge that no-one uses

[mikesbytes]

$35M sounds a lot higher than I would of thought. However it needs to be put in perspective. A small 2 lane (1 lane each way) bridge near me over cooks river is getting some routine maintenance and the budget for this maintenance is $2.4Mil. This is a pin drop in the road budget for NSW

Don't mention the westconnex

[trailgumby]

Perspective: Building 4-lane roads is in the vicinity of $1mil per lineal metre. Cycling infrastructure is typically a mere 1% of this number.

Considering the re-routing that needs to be done at the southern end, which will likely involve some excavation and a lot of cubic metres of concrete, $35mil is not unreasonable when you include the cost of consultants and community consultation.

Removal of the toll gates and reconfiguration of the lanes at the southern end is tied up with this re-routing to avoid conflict between he growing number of cyclists and student drop-off and pickup at the Fort St Public School

I heard this was coming last night but was bound to secrecy as it had been embargoed until 1pm today.

A sign that trust has been severely damaged by the NSW government's recent behaviour is the sentiment of "what's the catch?" that is common among cyclists hearing this news for the first time.

SMH artice here:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/new-ramps-and ... t5niy.html

BNSW announcement here:
https://bicyclensw.org.au/shb-ramp/

[ft_critical]

2020 will be a big year for me then, new ramp and a brand new building to work in

[mikesbytes]

Didn't know it was a secret, especially as this video was out there https://vimeo.com/spatialau/review/193102987/edee10d505

I recall in the 90's or thereabouts there was a plan to put a bike path up the side of the motorway and it $6Mil for whole thing.

Anyway I'm not trying to bag the project, its an important piece of infrastructure. And once its in we will see an increase in those riding across the bridge. Even more when it gets connected to the Narrabeen path.

BTW have a look at the future route to Narrabeen on the video, it looks like they are planning to take it up the Pacific HWY

[Sparx]

You got me excited for a minute there - it's Naremburn, not Narrabeen

$35 Million seems like a lot to me!

[g-boaf]

But will there be boom gates to stop cyclists so they can be checked for the all important bells and reflectors?

Call me cynical, but I treat any positive news like this with suspicion. What's the catch indeed...

[biker jk]

But will there be boom gates to stop cyclists so they can be checked for the all important bells and reflectors?

Call me cynical, but I treat any positive news like this with suspicion. What's the catch indeed...

Maybe a toll booth?

[mikesbytes]

You got me excited for a minute there - it's Naremburn, not Narrabeen

$35 Million seems like a lot to me!

Knew I had the wrong spelling, but I had more important 1st world problems to deal with

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Will believe it when I see it. To be honest I find the current arrangement ok.

Not that I'm in Sydney any more, but once I became an amputee cyclist, I no longer rode over the bridge because of the stairs. I used to use it quite a bit, most days when I lived in Crows Nest and less often when I moved to inner west. But once the leg was gone and walking on what is effective a peg leg (my cycling leg) is no fun and quite dangerous up those stairs. Bad enough walking a few metres to get into a cafe.

[find_bruce]

Thanks for chiming in Alex. One of the things that gets my goat is the repeated failure to make infrastructure accessible, there seems to be some assumption that if you are on a bike you can walk & if you are in a chair, bad luck - you can catch the lift at Circular Quay, roll across the Harbour Bridge to Milson's Point & then turn around & come back because there is no way down.

One of the things I think cycling advocacy can do better is use it as an opportunity to build common interest by promoting accessible infrastructure.

Yes it also annoys me that my building at work is not wheelchair accessible.

[mikesbytes]

Is it possible that the 35m includes all of the works, ie the new heritage lights, removal of the toll boths, new toll monitoring and some changes to the road way

[tcdev]

Is it possible that the 35m includes all of the works, ie the new heritage lights, removal of the toll boths, new toll monitoring and some changes to the road way

No, it more likely includes the kick-backs to those who signed off on it and the 500% increase in costs because it's a Govt contract.

[Warin]

Yes it also annoys me that my building at work is not wheelchair accessible.

Few consider wheelchairs ... putting in a lift is just a small part ... toilets, wide doorways, emergency exitS (should be at least 2 - one at either end) .... it is not cheap to do, certainly much more than a lift.

For the bridge ... without looking at it in much detail! ... my preferred option is a side extension cantilevered off the railway - this would produce a much better management of height loss/gain for cyclists. The thing I don't know is the North Sydney end .. is there some form of access there? Possibly to the signalling equipment shed...

However .. they say it is a 200 metre ramp .. so not as 'good' as the above cantilevered path. At 20m ... (source abc), that is 0.1m per meter ... probably not 4 lanes wide. Bet there is a sharp corner at the bottom

They are doing a cycleway on the southern side to keep the cars away. At 15m .... and the artist impression shows cyclist and pedestrians (source abc) ... if they open the western side up to pedestrians then they should also open the eastern side for cyclists.

[Mulger bill]

Yes it also annoys me that my building at work is not wheelchair accessible.

There's always an easy fix

[Howzat]

Is that a prototype of Duncan Gay's preferred bike ramp design?

[Mulger bill]

Is that a prototype of Duncan Gay's preferred bike ramp design?

Wouldn't surprise me, with the contract pre-awarded to the Tibby Cotter mob....

[AUbicycles]

I think that improved access is important but also that the decision is probably political. Bicycle NSW has certainly been active for many years in lobbying for this infrastructure improvement so it is a credit to them and the other individuals who have been involved.

It will be difficult to get a cost breakdown. Based on the actions of the minister and department to date, I am viewing this with caution. The minister has not been transparent, has created hurdles to cycling participation, has instructed cyclists to be targeted by police and allocates less than 0.5% of the departments budget for infrastructure on pedestrian and cycling infrastructure combined - an allocation which they have also reduced.



Blame autocorrect

[sir_camel]

I'm also nervous that when it is being constructed they will close the bridge to bikes for a year or something crazy.