An artist’s impression of the council vision for Victoria Road,looking south-east toward the Sydney CBD.
Now the Inner West Council has released its vision,which includes slashing the number of traffic lanes to four (a bus lane and a car lane in each direction),installing a separated bike path,widening the footpaths and planting trees.
The plan also would reduce the Rozelle section of Darling Street to 30km/h,halve the road area and double the pedestrian space,its aim to make Rozelle “more comparable to its desirable sister suburb,Balmain”.
However,as Victoria Road is state-owned,most of the ideas hinge on government investment and co-operation. Inner West Labor mayor Darcy Byrne also disputes the likelihood of a serious reduction in traffic,calling into question the practicality of his own council’s plan.
“The former government’s repeated assertions that traffic volumes would be reduced by 50 per cent or more is not supported by a single piece of data,” he said. “We took their assertions at face value given they were made so frequently[but] we’ve got to be honest and realistic with our community.”
The exhaust stack at Iron Cove,photographed under construction in May,at the entrance to the tunnel that will take cars off Victoria Road.Credit:Brook Mitchell
Byrne said he had constructive meetings with the Labor government,and it had confirmed no money was budgeted for Victoria Road upgrades before the election. “They promised us a Parisian boulevard and all we’ve got is an industrial wasteland,” he said.
Anticipating that state government approval and funding would take time,the council is urging interim changes as soon as the bypass opens,including closing one lane in each direction and installing a pop-up cycleway separated by a buffer,“to reduce the traffic capacity on the surface corridor”.