Revealed: Council’s grand plan to fix Victoria Road once bypass opens
Part of Victoria Road would be reduced to one car lane in each direction with a 40km/h limit and a new cycleway would link the Bay Run and The Bays precinct under plans to transform one of Sydney’s least hospitable traffic-choked thoroughfares.
The WestConnex tunnel bypass from Iron Cove Bridge to Rozelle Interchange is expected to open later this year and significantly reduce traffic on the Rozelle section of Victoria Road, creating an opportunity to revitalise the much-maligned stretch.
An artist’s impression of the council vision for Victoria Road, looking south-east toward the Sydney CBD.
Now the Inner West Council has released its vision, which includes slashing the number of traffic lanes to four (a bus lane and a car lane in each direction), installing a separated bike path, widening the footpaths and planting trees.
The plan also would reduce the Rozelle section of Darling Street to 30km/h, halve the road area and double the pedestrian space, its aim to make Rozelle “more comparable to its desirable sister suburb, Balmain”.
However, as Victoria Road is state-owned, most of the ideas hinge on government investment and co-operation. Inner West Labor mayor Darcy Byrne also disputes the likelihood of a serious reduction in traffic, calling into question the practicality of his own council’s plan.
“The former government’s repeated assertions that traffic volumes would be reduced by 50 per cent or more is not supported by a single piece of data,” he said. “We took their assertions at face value given they were made so frequently [but] we’ve got to be honest and realistic with our community.”
The exhaust stack at Iron Cove, photographed under construction in May, at the entrance to the tunnel that will take cars off Victoria Road.Credit: Brook Mitchell
Byrne said he had constructive meetings with the Labor government, and it had confirmed no money was budgeted for Victoria Road upgrades before the election. “They promised us a Parisian boulevard and all we’ve got is an industrial wasteland,” he said.
Anticipating that state government approval and funding would take time, the council is urging interim changes as soon as the bypass opens, including closing one lane in each direction and installing a pop-up cycleway separated by a buffer, “to reduce the traffic capacity on the surface corridor”.
The WestConnex project has frayed relations between Transport for NSW and Inner West Council, as acknowledged in a letter to Byrne from acting secretary Howard Collins last month regarding Rozelle Parklands, above the underground interchange. Collins said the circumstances had been “challenging” and assigned a deputy secretary to help reset the relationship.
In a statement, Transport for NSW said it was finalising a future strategy for Victoria Road, which would include better public transport access, greening and improved amenity for local businesses.
The department intends to assess traffic impacts 12 months after Rozelle Interchange opens. It will investigate opportunities for cycling and footpath upgrades “over time”, working with the council and industry.
Last month the Committee for Sydney lobby group released its own impressions of Victoria Road reimagined as a high street, agreeing changes need to be made as soon as the interchange opens.
Any proposal to reduce lanes for cars would also face resistance from other stakeholders, such as nearby Ryde Council. “We don’t have proper public transport, that’s why people still drive their cars,” said mayor Sarkis Yedelian. “I don’t think cutting lanes will solve the traffic problem.”
Neil Tonkin, advocate for the Inner West Bicycle Coalition, said current cycling conditions were “pathetic” and the path should ultimately go well beyond linking the Bay Run to White Bay.
“The entire corridor from Ryde across the Gladesville Bridge through Drummoyne and into the city is what we’re talking about, not just fiddling around with people going around in circles on the Bay Run,” he said.
The council’s master plan does not propose changes to land use in the area, but canvasses the possibility of establishing an “enterprise corridor” on parts of Victoria Road, which would entail rezoning. It recommends further study into future needs.
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