The ACT Government say their proposed new bicycle path along Sulwood Drive will make active travel easier for Southside dwellers – but some neighbours aren’t happy with its location.
Chris Steel, Minister for Transport and City Services, said Sulwood Drive had no formal off- or on-road cyclist or pedestrian facilities. “We are proposing to address this missing link and encourage active travel,” he said.
The new 4 km, 3-metre-wide shared path (with safety barriers) will be built between Drakeford Drive and Athllon Drive, linking Sulwood Drive to the ACT’s shared path network.
At the same time, new traffic lights at the intersection of Mannheim Street and Sulwood Drive, and a dedicated right-hand turn into the Mount Taylor car park will make it safer for vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians to access the popular nature reserve, Mr Steel said.
Ian Ross, CEO of Pedal Power ACT, said the new path would be “a genuine boon to active travel” for people in Kambah and Weston Creek.
“The road is currently twisty and narrow, many sections have little or no shoulder, and vehicles travel at up to 80kph,” he said.
However, Kambah residents David and Jan Raff disagree that it will be a boon. They believe that the other side of the road would be more appropriate, and claim that the community was not adequately consulted.
“There is a perfectly suitable location on the northern side of Sulwood Drive that is completely flat, and would involve less major construction, and not require removal of the berm that protects residents of Humble Court from noise,” they said.
Pedestrians and cyclists – including the Raffs themselves – already use the northern side; a large expanse of land, free from infrastructure, would be suitable for a bike path, they say.
Moreover, the Raffs argue, putting the bike path on the south side of Sulwood Drive would increase the risk of crashes, especially at sunset; and cyclists would have to dismount at three streets, reducing the flow of the ride.
They worry that mature trees will be cut down along the berm, removing a noise and pollution barrier from traffic on Sulwood Drive, and a visual buffer between Mount Taylor and back fences scorched in the 2003 bushfires.
The Raffs live directly below the berm, and fear the bike path would affect them and their neighbours. Noise and additional lighting would come into bedrooms, they say; passers-by and cyclists would be able to see into private gardens; guard rails, retaining walls, barriers, access stairs and ramps between the road and landscape would destroy the park-like environment; and house values would decrease.
“We paid significant money to experience this, and now our house values are going to be eroded by the building of this bike path, as well as losing privacy with pedestrians and cyclists overlooking us.”
An ACT Government spokesperson said they had ruled out a path on the northern side of Sulwood Drive, as it would conflict with the Mount Taylor car park and nature reserve (including a threatened grassy box gum woodland). They also ruled out other options on the southern side, due to water utilities (under the dirt path next to the residential boundary).
The Raffs thought the new traffic lights and redesigning the Mount Taylor car park were excellent ideas.
The ACT Government talked to residents in June and asked the public for feedback through YourSay on the planned bike path.
However, the Raffs say: “Consultation that starts with a government plan and asks for comment is the wrong way around. Surely there should be consultation prior to forming a government plan which has involved a great deal of money being spent on surveyors and land planners to come up with a plan about which many residents are unhappy. Community input ought to come first, as the residents in the area are those most impacted by the plan.”
The ACT Government said that the consultation report would be ready after lockdown; they will reply to community members who participated in the consultation then.
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