Inner-West residents who emerge from isolation in a few months’ time, bleary-eyed and sun-deprived, may notice a few cosmetic changes to their area.
The state government has granted $20 million to the Inner West Council to spend on small projects around the area, ranging from cycle paths linking the Inner West’s suburbs, to beautifying stretches of the notoriously unsightly Parramatta Road. The money has come from a $198 million state government program aimed at revitalising the 20-kilometre Parramatta Road.
“Right at this time, this is precisely the sort of grant funding to local councils that state and federal governments should be engaging in across the board,” Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne tells Broadsheet. “Because these are going to be undertaken quickly, [they] can generate jobs in every local community across New South Wales and Australia while leaving a positive lasting legacy.”
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SIGN UPThe main focus of the grant will be in establishing a network of cycleways between the Leichhardt, Annandale and Petersham stretches of Parramatta Road.
“We’ve got a series of projects … to make it easy for people in the inner west to be able to ride their bikes into the city,” says Byrne. “Sydney’s roads are the best part of two centuries old, so they weren’t designed to be usable for pedestrians and cyclists.”
That means commuters expecting a seamless, uninterrupted cycle down Parramatta Road into the CBD will have a while to wait yet – reformatting laneways across the inner west is an immense task.
“It’s a patchwork – basically we’re trying to retrofit the Parramatta Road corridor to be more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians. But it’s reliant upon councils doing bits and pieces and eventually connecting them all up,” says Byrne. “I think we’ve got to be realistic about what can be achieved.”
The longest cycle paths to be installed using the grant include a shared pedestrian and cycle path in Annandale from Wigram Road to Chester Street and a cycleway at Pyrmont Bridge Road.
Other projects to look forward to include a new public park adjacent to Parramatta Road in Petersham, and smaller upgrades throughout the stretch, including more trees and new benches and lights.
“The truth is [Parramatta Road] is still an eyesore. That’s only going to improve gradually, over time,” says Byrne. “Until you make Parramatta Road a place that pedestrians want to go to … then it’s not going to be transformed.”
The new projects are currently in planning stages. Construction is expected to begin in September.