With some COVID restrictions easing for construction work from Saturday 31 July, we’re moving forward with work in Port Kembla on the next stage of Council’s Pop-Up Cycling Routes Program.
This week, we’re starting work on the first round of cycling upgrades planned for the north-eastern side of Military Road, from the police station at Darcy Road intersection to Marne Street. This section of the cycling route will receive a new separated on-road cycleway and is expected to take 6 weeks to complete, pending weather conditions and changing COVID restrictions.
Council’s pop-up cycle pilot program has already successfully delivered several cycleways in Thirroul, Towradgi and the Wollongong CBD which are contributing to increasing numbers of people riding bikes in these areas.
Now it is Port Kembla’s turn to receive cycling infrastructure upgrades as part of Council’s Pop-Up Cycling Routes Program. This is a trial program that aims to make it easier for people of all abilities to ride a bike.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said that after speaking with the Port Kembla community, Council has made some adjustments to the final design of the pop-up cycling route.
“After sharing our plans with the Port Kembla community, we received valuable feedback and have used this to amend the cycling route so that it will work better for all road users, including cars, pedestrians and cyclists,” Cr Bradbery said.
“Residents shared feedback on the importance of maintaining parking along Military Road surrounding King George V Park. We’ve taken this on-board by amending our design so that we can retain all parking on Military Road, southeast of Marne Street.”
The full plan for the Port Kembla Pop-Up Cycling Routes Program includes:
- Pop-up separated on-road cycleway replacing the parking lane along the north-eastern side of Military Road from Darcy Road to the pedestrian refuge near Marne Street
- Pop-up shared path along Old Port Road and Darcy Road from the train station to Military Road
- Crossing point improvements on Military Road near Allan Street
- A speed limit reduction from 60km/hr to 50km/hr on Military Road from Darcy Road to Olympic Boulevarde
- A new permanent shared path along the south-western side of Military Road from Church Street to Olympic Boulevarde (this is no longer part of the pop-up program and is planned to be completed 2022)
- Pop-up bicycle road markings and signs along Military Road from Gloucester Boulevarde, and along Dovers Drive to Hill 60. Parking will not be affected in Dovers Drive.
“We’ve also made changes to the pop-up cycleway section along the south-western side of Military Road, from Church Street to Olympic Boulevarde,” Cr Bradbery said.
“The updated plan will retain parking along this section of Military Road by building a new permanent shared path that will connect the pop-up cycleway to King George V Park.”
“This is a pilot project, and we rely on local knowledge to help us identify whether further adjustments are needed to improve and make this a success. We’ll be checking back in with the Port Kembla community once we’ve completed this work to find out how this pop-up route is working.”
Construction of a permanent shared path is scheduled for Winter 2022 and is a separate project to the Port Kembla Pop-Up Cycling Routes Program.
Council will continue to follow the current Public Health Orders that saw some outdoor construction works resume after Saturday 31 July 2021.
“Our priority has been the safety and wellbeing of Council staff and our broader community. While we were keen to pick up the tools and resume construction work on projects such as this one, we were following the current Public Health Orders,” Cr Bradbery said.
“I would like to remind all residents, to continue to do the right thing by following the advice of NSW Health. We want the best for our community and to make a recovery from lock-down soon. This will only be achieved by everyone working together and supporting each other.”
