Parramatta to Liverpool Bicycle Route Documents Bike North Bicycle User Group Press Release 1 December 2000

Liverpool to Parramata Cycle Route not a "Rail Trail"

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The opening of the $6 million Liverpool to Parramatta Cycle Route on Saturday, 2 December (at Cabravale Park, Railway Parade, Cabramatta) by NSW Transport Minister Carl Scully is not a cause for unrestrained celebration for Bike North Bicycle User Group (the primary promoters of cycling "Rail Trails" in Sydney) because it is not a "Rail Trail".

Bike North says a true "Rail Trail" is a high quality commuter cycleway which puts to best use under-utilised land inside the railway corridor. It is a dedicated, wide, fast and safe commuter route with low gradients, and separate from the roads. It is an "Urban Veloway".

While Bike North welcomes the NSW Government's initiative and vision in providing a 17 km cycleway in the Western Sydney region, the Minister should take a good hard look at world's best practice from Europe and the USA and see whether this new cycle route measures up. In the main, it consists of upgraded footpaths, with sections on existing roads or going through car parks, with a minority of completely separate pathways.

While a few sections of the cycle route are inside the rail corridor a glance across from most sections of it would clearly indicate that there is unused land in the rail corridor just begging to be used. It's clear that the planners and constructors of this new cycle route have made little attempt to make use of this wonderful opportunity. Bike North says that to have used some of the railway corridor, in many cases, would have been the have been the same cost and, in some parts, cheaper.

Bike North recognises that the route does provide local residents with much better cycle facilities and cycling conditions north and south, between Liverpool and Parramatta. It does contain some high quality sections, important key links such as bridges and provides connections between retail centres, but it needs to be pointed out that it falls short of what it could have and should have been.

Cyclists on the new cycle route will find difficulties in negotiating some sections that contain obstacles and others where there is still danger from cars.

Doug Stewart (Bike North's Advocacy Officer) said "the tests of a good cycleway are: whether you would be happy for your 12-year old child to use it without adult supervision; and whether a commuting cyclist would use it to get to work. This cycle facility fails those tests."

Yaffa Gould (Bike North Rail Trail Project Co-Convenor) said, "I was very disappointed when I saw the poor quality facility that Mr Scully wants me to use, when just over the fence for all to see is a wide open section of public land which is not being used. My safety deserves better than this!".

Carolyn New (Bike North's Rail Trail Project Co-Convenor) said, "a 'Rail Trail' is not just an upgraded footpath, fighting for space on some back roads! We don't want to gamble with reversing cars in railway station car parks and we shouldn't need to get off our bikes when using underpasses!"

Carolyn continued "what all cyclists need is the safest possible link between home and their destination. This should be continuous and direct, with separation from cars and pedestrians."

Bike North is concerned that this new cycle route will be used as a precedent for the future given the Minister's undertaking, in Bike Plan 2010, to construct many more kilometres of "Rail Trail" in Sydney. Bike North is very concerned about what the Minister calls a "Rail Trail".

Michael Chow (Bike North's President) said "calling the new route a "Rail Trail" is a real problem for us because it is not what we see a quality cycleway to be".

The new cycle route falls short of Bike North's vision of promoting alternative transport. In the shadow of huge problems such as declining fitness and health, increasing pollution, increasing greenhouse gases, traffic delays, parking problems and the price of petrol, cycling provides the one shining light. High quality cycleways will encourage cycling for transport and recreation - we don't think this new cycle route will do that.

High quality cycleways have been the dream and goal of Bike North for over four years. In 1996, Bike North realised the tremendous opportunity of using the surplus land inside the railway corridors in Sydney as high quality cycleways. Such cycleways should be wide, fast and safe with low gradients and separate from the roads. We called those cycleways "Rail Trails" and embarked on a campaign to ask the Minister to build them. In 1998, a petition with over 5,000 signatures was lodged in Parliament to show that there was a groundswell of support for them.

More information on Bike North, Rail Trails and promotion of cycling can be obtained from:

* The Rail Trail Web Site: http://www.bikenorth.org.au/railtrail/

* The Bike North Web Site: http://www.bikenorth.org.au/

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Media contacts:

Doug Stewart Bike North Advocacy Officer	9887 1478 (h)	speedwell74@yahoo.com
Carolyn New Rail Trail Project Co-Convenor	0427 018 516 (m), 9438 1903 (h)	carolynn@ihug.com.au
Yaffa Gould Rail Trail Project Co-Convenor	9966 9262 (h)	yaffa@sdr.com.au
Michael Chow Bike North President	9874 1461 (h)	mchow@cch.com.au