Designs have been called for on a new ramp which will double cycling capacity on Australia’s most iconic bridge and will address serious safety issues as well as improving pedestrian flow.

The New South Wales Government has announced a design competition for the new Sydney Harbour Bridge bike ramp which will extend from Bradford Park to the existing bridge deck cycleway.

The most heavily used cycleway in Sydney, the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway runs between Millers Point at the southern end and Milsons Point at the northern end along the Western Side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and connects the two sides of the harbour.

Around 2,000 cycling trips are taken across the cycleway each weekday, which serves as the only bike route which crosses the harbour in Eastern Sydney.

As things stand, however, riders who wish to access the cycleway at the northern end of the bridge to climb up 55 which connect with Bradfield Park at Millers Point and push their bikes through safety barriers at the top.

This makes cycling access difficult for older people, those with children and those with heavier e-bikes and thus deters a wider group of people from riding more often.

The steps also create a safety hazard and result in bottlenecks during peak periods as people access or exit the cycleway.

Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway

To solve this, the NSW Government will construct a linear ramp which will extend north above Milsons Point Station Plaza (see image).

This was preferred in community feedback to a second ramp option which would have involved extending a loop over the southern bowling green at Bradfield Park Central.

Other options considered included replacing the steps with lifts and travellators and moving the cycleway to the eastern side of the bridge.

These options were rejected as lifts and ramps would not have resolved crowding/bottleneck issues whilst the cycleway needed to remain on the west site of the bridge in order to connect t to the Kent Street cycleway and to cycle routes through to Darling Harbour and Pyrmont.

The preferred option of the linear ramp will deliver an effective doubling of the capacity of the cycleway and will thus help to meet cycling demand over the next fifteen to twenty years.

To access the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway, bikers now have to haul their bikes up 55 steps at the northern end. This creates bottlenecks and safety hazards and deters elderly/disabled riders or those with children. (image source: Bicycle NSW).

In a statement, Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the community will be asked for feedback on three shortlisted architectural designs before a winner is announced later this year.

“We’re after innovative designs that are not only worthy of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, but also respect the heritage of the area, embrace Aboriginal culture and enhance the open space for the Milsons Point community,” Constance said.

“The Harbour Bridge cycleway is one of the most popular bike routes in the city, with an average of 2,000 cyclists using it each day. Patronage is expected to increase once the ramp is built and cyclists no longer have to carry their bikes up the stairs.

“Transport for NSW will continue to engage with residents and community groups as the design process progresses, as well as with Heritage NSW.”

Member for North Shore Felicity Wilson has called on the community to help shape the project’s design.

“For more than a decade, design and consultation has been undertaken to try to find the best solution to the incredibly challenging problem of both increasing safety for pedestrians and meeting the need for improved cycle access to the bridge – all while protecting and preserving the open space and heritage we love,” Wilson said.

“The outcomes of this consultation demonstrate that the broad views across my own community, as well as the wider catchment, support this project proceeding.

“I want to thank the local community for their extensive engagement – and call on all our local residents to now help create the vision for the final cycleway.”

Information about the project can be seen here.

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