8 March 2024
by Sabrina Phillips
Transport for NSW is progressing the controversial Milsons Point Harbour Bridge cycleway project, appointing Arenco NSW as the builder. But residents have questioned the cost and even the legality of the build.
Arenco is a fully owned subsidiary of the Daracon Group, based in Auburn, which recently built the 3,000 square metre St Leonards Plaza for Lane Cove Council.
The state government said the final design includes a new cycle path and safety improvements to Alfred St South as well as “high quality design features and finishes such as bronze balustrading in line with Heritage Council requirements and other elements that pay tribute to the Aboriginal heritage and significance of the area.”
The ramp will connect to a new bike path which will extend along the east side of Alfred Street South through Bradfield Park North, between Middlemiss Street and Burton Street, and include a new street crossing on Alfred Street South. The two-way cycle path will be 2.5 metres wide and connect to the existing bike network in Milsons Point.
Transport for NSW said it was “now working with the contractor to finalise the detailed plans and expect construction to start mid-2024 and take around 18 months to complete.”
Media reports have placed the cost of the project at $39 million.
But this has been disputed by local Milsons Point resident activists, who critique the design chosen by the government and have endorsed a rival “community” option which uses less parkland.
Local resident Ian Lloyd claims the project will cost more in the order of $61 million.
“$12 million has already been spent on the project and a 20% contingency should be added as Transport has never delivered a project on budget and on time in living memory,” he told the Sun.
Lloyd said current bike traffic over the Bridge consisted of just 650 cyclists per day, while over 8,000 had signed petitions against it.
“The community was never shown the more viable Community Cycle Ramp as Transport for NSW engaged their own foreign contractor to dismiss it with an independent report that the NSW Ombudsman called out as not independent at all,” Lloyd told the Sun.
Another local resident, Ian Curdie, told the Sun: “As far as the community is aware, North Sydney Council, who is the landholder, has yet to give their consent for the construction. Bradfield Park was created by Act of Parliament which established a Trust and North Sydney Council holds that Trust on behalf of the people of North Sydney. Under the terms of the Trust, Council cannot deal in the land and Council has legal advice to that effect. It is up to Council to defend its trust,” he said.
“The cost of this project is being questioned and the juxtaposition of an expensive ramp for a few entitled cyclists to the reality of homeless people sleeping under the arches holding up the bridge approaches in Milsons Point is most troubling. A linear ramp will destroy Bradfield Park north and also the heritage features of the area. The Community Cycle Ramp has none of these problems. If there is money to burn, let Arenco build the Community Cycle Ramp instead. Park saved, a Win/Win outcome.”