Holroyd Council
Interview with Mr Borger
In Oct I was invited to a short discussion with Mr. Borger regarding cycling in Holroyd in response to a letter I had written under the CAMWEST name regarding the ‘Cumberland Valley’ cycle path.
1 — Fox Hills M4 Underpass
The Minister has promised to request an answer from the RTA on when this will be connected. When I explained tat since the new development of the suburb of Pemulwuy ( western Greystanes ) this connection will create continuous shared path from Hoxton Park to Windsor and connect the two T-Way projects he understood the ‘regional significance’ of this link. It’s about 2 km but must cross both the M4 and Great Western Highway and therefore will only be possible with RTA assistance.
2 — Reconciliation Drive Bridge at Prospect
Both RTA and minister’s office is very negative about this bridge — our best bet is to leave it to CRAG as we are only going to get people offside by pursuing it. After mentioning this issue nothing else I brought up got a decent hearing.
3 — Rail Trail from Merrylands to Harris Park
This section of the rail trail is well below Austroads standard. Problems are that the wide concrete path simply stops north of Merrylands and riders are left with back streets and a footpath to find their own way to the Church St underpass. The Woodville Road underpass is 1.5 metres wide with a wall on one side and a busy road (read trucks) on the other, a cyclist death trap. I suggested joining the rail trail at Merrylands to the Fox Street path via the new development at the old brickworks site; but this means a new bridge over the railway line: more dollars.
Since the meeting I have realised that it may be possible to route the rail trail over the Neil Street bridge, though this bridge is quite narrow and the whole point is to create a 2.5 metre wide path the entire route. More concrete is also needed between the M4 path and Harris park station to fully define the route where it mixes with car traffic in a narrow street.
4 — Xmas Party or Community Ride
Mr Borger offered us some finds for a cyclist Xmas party that he would attend, however time is short and this may not be organised in time, so instead the funds may be used for a Bay to Mountains style community ride in March just prior to the state election.
Holroyd Happenings June 2010
Holroyd Bike Plan
Holroyd Council have plans to complete the path gap between the M4 path at Fox St and the T-Way path at Coleman St. This will be the beginning of the “M4 from Auburn to ? path”. Where it ends will be up to how much effort is put into demanding it.
Pemulwuy
Internal cycleways in this new estate and the opening of a small road link toward Blacktown now make this a through route for cyclists from Blacktown to the Lower prospect canal path. The connection of Pemulwuy to the Prospect Canal cycleway is another example of advocacy in action as we wouldn’t have this link without it. A ride from Northmead to Greystanes is now possible, making a neat triangle with the two T-Way paths. An idea for a Spring ride perhaps. Here is the route.
Liverpool T-Way
There appears to be no progress on the last kilometre up the hill to Coleman St, which the RTA is reluctant to build as there is already concrete there but the path is less than 1.8 metres wide. This kilometre is subject of pictorial article on Camwest website. RTA show no interest in completing this km to Austroads standard. This needs to be addressed in Holroyd’s bike plan, as engineering director has the opinion that ALL paths should be to Austroads standard. The ‘completed’ T-way still has some uncontrolled road crossings at Coleman St, Burnett St, Widemere Rd. In Bossley Park 100% of the T- Way road crossings are controlled by traffic lights, but in Holroyd that is not the case. This is because the path route diverges from the bus lane route. Camwest needs to carry out a path audit of the entire T-Way, split into the relevant Council area sections.
Closure of Canal path at Prospect
The cyclepath through to Prospect Reservoir is now open most days of the week between 8.30 am and 5pm. The path is not great, but at least normal access is restored, the fight for a bridge over the eventual road continues.
Assessing a Cycle Path Scientifically
More good ideas from the fine mind of Mark Robson: how can we develop a methodology for an objective measurement of the quality of a bicycle path?
The Path by the New North-West T-Way
Mark Robson has written an interesting article about problems with the path next to the new North-West T-Way. I will include the photos as soon as they arrive.
News From Holroyd — 26 October 2006
The bulldozers are active at the Northern end of the old Boral site and the small gap in the fence where the new cyclepath will be joined to the Canal cyclepath is clearly visible. In the very near future cyclists will have direct off-road access from the Canal into Pemulway. The rest area near the man-made lake and also the coffee shop will make a pleasant pit stop for those using the Canal cyclepaths. When access into Cowra Street is included at the other end of the development, a short footpath diversion to Fox Hills Golf Course will complete a family friendly route from Prospect to Toongabbie. Stay tuned for a ride to this coffee shop early in the new year.
The new bridge over Findlayson Creek at South Wentworthville is complete there are some small issues that have been reported to the RTA and Council. The worst issue is that on the downhill run the drainage dip as you come off the bridge is hit at about 35 km/h and can easily cause a crash. Cyclists should cross the bridge at moderate speed until they become familiar with it. The RTA fought for a straight design to maximise cycle speed; thought also needs to be given to the integrity of the surface when design speeds are high.
Council have proposed to upgrade the line marking in Coleman Street; and have agreed to make the shoulder a minimum of 1.2 metres wide to accomodate cyclists; and also add some cyclist warning signs to the approaches to the spot where the off-road cycleway crosses Coleman Street, particularly for traffic exiting the M4 on the exit ramp.
Comparing three commuting routes in Holroyd
Mark Robson has written an article comparing three ways of commuting from Greystanes to Parramatta: over the off-road bicycle track, on a route using a bus lane, and over an on-road path chosen by him. He investigated the time and other issues while riding each route, and draws interesting conclusions.
