Sydney City News October 2019
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GOOD NEWS FOR SYDNEY PEDESTRIANS October 2019 Improving pedestrian safety in Sydney Transport for NSW and the City of 10 YEAR PLAN TO COMPLETE Sydney have agreed to jointly develop Bike trips on Kent Street have our next five-year action plan for the SYDNEY’S CYCLING NETWORK increased 757 per cent since 2010 Sydney CBD as part of the Sydney City Access Strategy. Pedestrian countdown timers already installed at Martin Place Around one million people live Our top priority is connecting the bike network within With a focus on improving access within a 30-minute bike ride our local area, but we’re also working with neighbouring for pedestrians and cyclists, this will • College and Park streets Transport for NSW is also supporting to the city centre. Not councils on connections for people riding beyond our city include the installation of nine new the introduction of 40 km/h speed everyone can ride a bike boundaries. pedestrian countdown timers in the • Macquarie and Albert streets limits in appropriate locations to work or school, but if we Sydney CBD, at the following locations: • Kent and Margaret streets Priority connections include: where there are large numbers of can get as many people • King and George streets • Lee Street and Railway Square pedestrians, including Ultimo, as possible using active • Connections to and around Central Station. • College and Stanley streets Pedestrian countdown timers Barangaroo, Dawes Point, Millers transport, we will further • Final designs for extending the King Street cycleway in reduce our city’s greenhouse • Castlereagh and Market streets encourage pedestrians to clear Point and the Sydney CBD, as well the inner city, and for the extension of the Castlereagh the intersection within the as additional zones in Green Square gas emissions and congestion. Street cycleway. • Pitt Street and Angel Place indicated and allotted time. and Waterloo. Cycling is also good for air • Park and Elizabeth streets quality and our residents’ • New cycleways linking Green Square to Randwick and health and wellbeing. connecting Redfern and Newtown. In Sustainable Sydney 2030, we • Working with Transport for NSW and Roads and committed to building a safe and Maritime Services to finalise a step-free design for a bike Crisis in building and construction sector connected, destination-based connection between Kent Street in the city centre and The building defects crisis is undermining confidence in the construction industry and causing heartbreak and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Light Rail Testing bike network to make riding a financial difficulty for owners and residents of affected multi-storey buildings. For over a decade, we have advocated for light rail to When the NSW healthier and safer option. • More safe bike connections to Pyrmont and Glebe. A number of apartment buildings in the City of Sydney have ease inner city congestion and create more space for Government agreed to the LordChris Mayor Tamwoy Clover Moore Since 2007, we have created celebrates Ride2School Day • Bondi to the city centre along Moore Park Road, which recently made the news due to defects that, in some cases, It is essential that certification of all buildings, particularly pedestrians and cyclists. CBD and South East Light Rail Project, 15.4 kilometres of separated at Darlinghurst Public School is the NSW Government’s highest priority bike link. have left them unfit for occupation due to faults that have multi-storey residential buildings, be carried out by a third we responded by committing $220 million to achieve our cycleways, 60 kilometres of The light rail track is now 100 per cent complete and tram occurred in the construction process. These include structural party independent of the builder. This would ensure proper vision for a world-class boulevard on George Street, lined shared paths and 40 kilometres of other infrastructure, Construction of the Green Square to Randwick cycleway testing has been taking place since June, including the first tram cracks, problems with water proofing, inadequate fire safety checks and balances to protect amenity and the environment, with street trees and new street furniture. Soon, the City which includes bike lanes and traffic calmed streets. along Epsom Road is almost complete and construction to travel along George Street past Sydney Town Hall in 61 years! and soil contamination. and address the conflict of interest that currently exists when will be installing new benches and planters in George As a result, bike trips have trebled. of the Wilson and Burren streets cycleway is Street, to replace the temporary concrete blocks. well underway. It is utterly irresponsible that successive state governments private certifiers are being paid by the building contractor. We also support people to ride, with free courses, balance have allowed this to occur by removing independent It is right that the NSW Government has established a Tram testing outside Sydney Town Hall, July 2019 We’ve also worked with the NSW Government to bike classes, cycling maps, bike tune-ups and regular certification and professional supervision of construction sites. Public Accountability Inquiry into the regulation of building achieve better outcomes in Devonshire Street. cycling events. In 1997, as Member for Bligh in State Parliament, I was one of standards, building quality and building disputes. We look forward to seeing light rail up and running More than 7,000 people now ride to work in the city centre only two MPs to oppose changes to the in the coming months and we will continue to advocate The City has made a submission to the inquiry and we look – the equivalent of seven full trains or 116 full buses. and Assessment Act 1979 Environmental Planning to the NSW Government for mass transit options in that handed over authority to private forward to seeing its recommendations for independent and Businesses are also strong supporters of increasing cycling certifiers to approve certain categories of development. Green Square. professional oversight acted on as a matter of great urgency. and have invested $57 million in end-of-trip facilities in their I told the NSW Parliament that self-regulation would not work, For more information, visit own properties over the last four years, because their staff and that public interest would be put at risk by time and cost sydneylightrail.transport.nsw.gov.au Residents in Green Square ride more want to ride to work. than those who live elsewhere in Sydney saving pressures put on private building certifiers to keep the person who pays their wages on side. These warnings were sadly prophetic. Now the NSW Government must act urgently to reinstate independent onsite construction The NSW Government inspectors, and ensure engineers and similar professionals are Lord Mayor of Sydney Alexandria to Moore Park has recently confirmed $7.5 million adequately accredited. @CloverMoore in funding for four priority cycleways – @clovermooresydney connector scaled back Liverpool Street (Sussex to Harbour streets), Saunders and Miller streets Join The Big Adventure at Sydney Park, Following years of community opposition to the Alexandria in Pyrmont (linking Anzac Bridge and the Alexandria, on Saturday 9 November 2019 to Moore Park connector, which grew out of the destructive Union Street cycleway), Chalmers Street WestConnex toll road project, the NSW Government has (between Prince Alfred Park and Randle Street in SYDNEY RIDES OUR SUBMISSION agreed to scale back its plans. Surry Hills), and Lawson Street between Little Eveleigh and Wells streets in Newtown. From September to November, the City of Sydney will present The Alexandria to Moore Park connector was designed to take a diverse program of events as part of Sydney Rides 2019. TO THE BUILDING tens of thousands of cars directly through Alexandria and our This is fantastic news for people who want to Green Square urban renewal area, impacting quality of life ride in our community! Now in its eighth year, the program features dozens of family STANDARDS INQUIRY friendly events, with lots of opportunities to celebrate cycling and and raising major road safety concerns, as well as threatening Visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/cycling The NSW Government established a parliamentary inquiry embark on urban adventures across the city. investment in the $13 billion redevelopment. It was also going for more information. into Sydney’s building standards, building quality and building disputes in July 2019. to destroy mature trees in Waterloo and Moore Park and Last year more than 20,000 people took part in the The City of Sydney’s submission calls for: • A complete overhaul of private certification exacerbate rat running in residential areas like Alexandria. Sydney Rides Festival, so head to sydneyrides.com for all • The Planning Act to be urgently amended, including clear regulations and monitoring. This scale back is better news for our community. The City the information. removing the ability for private certifiers • A long-term plan to ensure buildings of of Sydney will continue to work with Transport for NSW on Mature trees marked for removal in Help shape the future of Sydney. to issue ‘interim occupation certificates’ adequate quality are constructed in the transport solutions for our communities, including mass transit McEvoy Street, Waterloo, February 2018 Have your say at If you require this information in an alternative format please contact: allowing residents to move into incomplete first place. for Green Square and Waterloo. We will also continue our efforts developments. to mitigate the impacts of WestConnex on our local neighbourhoods. SydneyYourSay.com.au City of Sydney: 02 9265 9333 [email protected] • Certification of multi-storey buildings and Translating & Interpreting Service (TIS): • A return to quality control during the construction supervision to be carried out How to contact the City Visit: City of Sydney, Town Hall House, 456 Kent Street, Sydney 13 14 50 Online: construction phase, which means by third parties independent of the builder.