A $57 million project has become a major problem for residents living in Sydney\u2019s Inner West who say it has attracted obnoxious crowds, dog poo and bike raves. <\/p>\n
The Greenway, a 5.8km trail that links the public green space and transport, opened December of last year almost 20 years after it was first conceptualised. <\/p>\n
What was meant to be an urban green utopia has turned into friction on the residential streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat it failed to do is really deeply consider the social aspects of it and the community,\u201d engineer Felicity Furey said. <\/p>\n
Issue for the Inner West<\/b><\/p>\n
The environmental corridor has predictably brought large crowds into the quiet and narrow streets of the Inner West. <\/p>\n
The residents of Weston Street and the surrounding Waratah Mills have raised alarms. <\/p>\n
The core of the dispute lies in a 500-metre \u201con-road\u201d segment that ends the trail and dumps thousands of users into a narrow suburban street. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think what engineers really need to do here is use their judgement to really consider the user but the context and the community the Greenway is in,\u201d Mrs Furey said. <\/p>\n
For the 80 residents on Weston Street, the trail has turned a quiet residential pocket into a high foot and wheel traffic route. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had the privilege of meeting with the residents who walked me through their concerns,\u201d Greens councillor for the Ashfield-Djarrawunang ward, Izabella Antoniou said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIts council\u2019s role to ensure safety while delivering amenity and I look forward to working with residents and Greenway users on that, now and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Locals have labelled the design as \u201chalf-assed\u201d for its failure to provide a separate path. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople that use the Greenway don\u2019t enjoy that section, you\u2019ll regularly see people confused and unsure if they\u2019re still going the right way when they meet it. Poor planning all around,\u201d a user commented. <\/p>\n
Going in loops <\/b><\/p>\n
Locals on social media have shared that the same issue was seen previously in the Nepean Trail, Penrith as the route \u201cchucks all the runners\/cyclists on Nepean Ave.\u201d <\/p>\n
A survey conducted during Covid-19, saw Nepean Ave being used by 500 pedestrians per hour with a weekly average of 32,500 pedestrians. <\/p>\n
\u201cWithout formal pedestrian infrastructure on Nepean Ave and because room on the western side road verge is limited, pedestrians typically walk on the road. This represents a clear safety risk, particularly for vulnerable road users,\u201d Penrith Mayor Tricia Hitchen said. <\/p>\n
Despite this, the Greenway was rolled out with the same flaw. <\/p>\n
With more than 48,000 people already living within the 5.8km Inner West corridor, an area that’s already dense and expected to grow further, the lack of separate path appears to be a repetitive error. <\/p>\n
Darcy Bryne, the Inner West Council mayor, says that the hilly geography and narrow streets make building on-road cycle paths a challenge. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have some of the oldest roads in Sydney, they weren\u2019t designed for active transport \u2026 it can be extraordinarily dangerous for cyclists on non-dedicated lanes in the inner west and all over Sydney,\u201d Cr Bryne said. <\/p>\n
Victim to its success<\/b><\/p>\n
Beyond the lanes, the corridor is becoming a victim of its own success. <\/p>\n
According to a spokesman for the Inner West Council, the route is \u201cperforming above expectation\u201d and has been \u201cincredibly popular\u201d, a trend that has left locals overwhelmed by the resulting noise. <\/p>\n
The popularity of the route caught the eye of a \u201cBike Rave\u201d club, which saw a group of more than 50 cyclist pedalling past Weston Street while blasting music. <\/p>\n
Frustrated residents reaching their breaking point posted a sign reading, \u201cFINISH THE GREENWAY\u201d, a demand for the route to be diverted away from residential Weston Street. <\/p>\n
With more events including run clubs planned for the near future, locals are pleading for the council to listen. <\/p>\n