Sydney Cycle Routes

Overview

This page shows the mapping progress of cycle routes in Sydney, NSW, Australia. Local coverage is by local government area. Some councils give cycle routes references, but most don't, so please include these here if you know them.

Note that this page may represent pre-redaction coverage. If re-mapping, it might be helpful to indicate in each council area if the details represent pre-redaction.

Tagging

If the route is a connected series of roads or paths that leads somewhere, where possible create a relation and add all the ways to the relation. (Note that this probably does NOT suite most local routes in Sydney.)

• type=route
• route=bicycle
• network=lcn or rcn
• ref=xx
• name=Some Name (the name does not render)

Otherwise add the tags to the way.

• Local routes with a number: lcn_ref=xx
• Local routes without a number: lcn=yes
• Regional routes with a number: rcn_ref=xx
• Regional routes without a number: rcn=yes

See Cycle routes for the full tagging guide.

Local Routes

Local Government Areas:

Ashfield

Ashfield Municipality Relation:  1221172 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Ashfield has a number of cycle routes that connect in places to the routes of Marrickville, Burwood and Canterbury councils. Ashfield publishes a map. Mapping completion is 100%. (All verified, post July 2012 redaction.)

Botany Bay

Map Link

Botany Bay council does not seem to publish a cycling map, although there are a number of well marked routes. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 5%.

Routes from the airport along the Alexandria Canal pass through Botany Bay council.

Burwood

Burwood Municipality Relation:  2161967 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Burwood has a number of routes, although some are still under construction (June 2011). Burwood publishes a map. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 80%.

Canada Bay

Map Link

Canada Bay has a mix of signposted routes and cycle lanes. A council map dated 2010 lists a number of proposed routes. In OSM only actual routes are marked. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 60%.

Canada Bay includes the northern part of the track around Iron Cove, and connecting links from Homebush Bay to the Parramatta River cycleway.

Canterbury

Canterbury City Relation:  2162244 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Canterbury cycle routes tend to be reasonably well signposted, and Canterbury Council publishes a cycle map. The M5 Motorway cycleway (see below for regional routes) runs partly through Canterbury. Routes don't have numbers, but some are listed individually. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 60%.

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
M5 to Cooks River	Links the M5 East cycleway and the Cooks River cycleway	60%	Towards the M5 is signposted "M5 East" and towards Cooks River is signposted "Cooks River". North or west of Belmore Park is still proposed.	104692 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [1]
Clemton Park to Cooks River	Alfred Street, Clemton Park to Cooks River cycleway, Canterbury	100%	Cyclists can cross Bexley Road at the lights where cars cannot. The part of this cycleway in Hughes Park is closed until mid-2012, and has been marked access=no	106224 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [2]

Hurstville

Map Link

Hustville Council joins Rockdale, Kogarah, Canterbury and Bankstown councils. Hurstville publishes a map of routes, and they are generally well signposted, apart from in the Hurstville CBD (e.g. Forest Rd, The Avenue and Park Road south of Queens Road).

Mapping completion is estimated to be 100%.

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
Hurstville to Kingsgrove	Connects Hustville to Kingsgrove Station.	100%	No signs on Dora Street in the CBD (south of Queens Road).	153461 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Kingsgrove to Narwee	Runs between Kingsgrove station and Narwee station.	100%	Connects with Canterbury Council routes at Narwee.	154425 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Narwee to Penshurst	Runs between Narwee station and Penshurst station.	100%	Connects with Canterbury Council routes at Narwee.	154427 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Beverly Hills to Peakhurst	Runs from Penshurst Road to Jaques Avenue and Peakhurst Park .	100%		154431 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Riverwood to Lugarno	Runs between Riverwood station and Lugarno primary school.	100%		[3]  156026 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Kogarah

Map Link

The Kogarah Council area joins Rockdale and Hurstville council areas. Kogarah does not seem to publish a map of cycle routes, although some Kogarah GIS systems do include cycle routes. Some routes have blue-on-white direction signs, but many have only a black-on-yellow warning sign for motorists (and commonly only on side roads leading to cycle routes).

Mapping completion is estimated to be 75%. Missing areas are probably south of Oatley station, Connells Point and Blakehurst.

Lane Cove

Lane Cove Municipality Relation:  1271163 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Lane Cove cycle routes generally have a small bike symbol painted on the road, or small signs with a directional arrow. Lane Cove Council publishes a cycle map. Lane Cove Council publishes a good cycle map. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 90%.

Routes designated local by Lane Cove Council are marked as local (lcn) on OSM, where as routes designated "state" or "regional" are marked as regional (rcn) on OSM (when they actually exist on the ground - some do not.)

Leichhardt

Leichhardt Municipality Relation:  1251053 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Leichhardt cycle routes are generally well signposted including destinations and distances to the destination. Leichhardt council maps show NSW RTA route numbers, but signs on the ground don't show these yet. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 60%.

Routes designated local, strategic or scenic by Leichhardt council are mapped as local (lcn). Routes designated "RTA Regional Bicycle Routes" by Leichhardt council are mapped as regional (rcn).

Marrickville

Marrickville Municipality Relation:  1230104 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Relation coverage here represents the post-redaction state. Some routes without references are still to be verified.

Some Marrickville routes have Lxx numbers, but some don't. Routes are generally well signposted. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 80%. Some Marrickville Council planning documents reference NSW RTA route numbers, although signs on the ground don't show these yet.

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
L1	Petersham Park to Camperdown Park	100%	Quite steep up through Fort Street.	102322 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
L2	Camperdown Memorial Park and Newtown to Kingston Road (Joins L5)	100%	Possibly some confusion between L2 and L5.	[4]
L4	Petersham Park to Hoskins Park Dulwich Hill (joins L10)	100%	Route goes on the footpath on Old Canterbury Road between Jubilee Street and Barker Street Lewisham.	2248402 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
L5	Newtown to Marrickville station	100%	Some sections signposted as "Alternate Route" and mapped as L5a.	2428659 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
L6	Parramatta Road to Morgan Street, Petersham	100%	Cyclists can continue on West Street crossing Railway Terrace where cars cannot.	2248399 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
L7	Enmore Road, Enmore to Wicks Park, Sydenham	100%	Joins L12 in Sydenham	102678 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [5]
L8	St Peters station to Sydenham Station	100%	Very poorly signposted.	91163 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [6]
L10	Old Canterbury Road, Dulwich Hill to Sydney Park	90%	Route possibly incorrect at the eastern end of Adison Road near Enmore Park	102348 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [7]
L11		100%		2330923 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
L12		100%		2332817 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
L13	Sydenham to Tempe Reserve	100%		91167 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [8]

North Sydney

Map Link

North Sydney has a number of useful cycle routes, including the cycleway near Epping Road, and routes connecting up with the Harbour Bridge cycleway. North Sydney Council publish a map of their cycle routes. Mapping completion is estimated to be about 10%.

Parramatta

Map Link

Parramatta have a number of cycle routes and are building more. Mapping completion unknown.

Rockdale

Map Link

Rockdale City Council extends from Sans Souci in the south to Turella in the north. Rockdale publishes a map of routes, and they are generally signposted. Rockdale includes sections of the Cooks River route and the Botany Bay foreshore route, and the connecting parts around the M5 East to the Cooks River cycleway.

Mapping completion is estimated to be 95%. All routes shown on council maps have been surveyed, including the new connecting route from Bexley Oval to Kogarah (via Queen Victoria Street).

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
Kyeemagh to Georges River	Connects with the Botany Bay route at Captain Cook Bridge, and runs up through moderately quiet streets rejoin the Cooks River route at Kyeemagh.	100%	Signs going north say City and Brighton-Le-Sands. There is cycle signals when crossing Bay street, only stencils on the ped crossings.	132292 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Carlton to Wolli Creek	Through Carlton, Rockdale, and Arncliffe, connecting to the Cooks River cycleway.	100%	Use the pedestrian crossings near Rockdale station to get from Railway Street to Alexandra Parade. The section at the very southern end of Durham street is in Hurstville council, and does not show signs pointing north.	134293 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Hurstville to Wolli Creek	Bardwell Valley, Bexley and Arncliffe.	100%		149919 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Kingsgrove to Bardwell Park		100%	Connects with the Hurstville to Wolli Creek route at John Street, Turella	409792 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Wolli Creek to Earlwood		100%		149411 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Sutherland

Map Link

Sutherland Shire Council publish a number of maps, including information on alternate routes and gradient. Mapping completion is estimated to be 90%.

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
Barden Ridge to Menai		100%	Joins Sutherland to Illawong at Menai Marketplace	409277 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Sutherland to Illawong	Sutherland to Menai to Illawong	100%	Uses the cycleway under the road on Woronora Bridge.	409242 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Sutherland to Taren Point		100%	Joins Sutherland to Illawong at Sutherland, and Botany Bay at Taren Point	420839 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Sydney, City of

Sydney City Relation:  1251066 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Following RMS advice, Sydney has begun implementing nodal type route markings. This follows the routing boards common on project 44 (Mascot–Darlinghurst), for example, which point towards suburbs that RMS believe to be focuses for cycle transport. Destination nodes are rarely signposted at greater than 10km away, even when continuous routing exists; these leads to confusing shifts in the naming and structure of continuous long distance routes.

CoS provides a Melways basemap covered in nominal routes here, some of which map onto the named proposed routes here (detail, Route numbers listed as R numbers), some of which functionally exist as safe routes and lcn/rcn segments already. None of these map onto nodal signage, none of these map onto common cultural names amongst cyclists except for "Bourke" and "ANZAC" as routes.

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
Bourke Route	Combination of Bourke Street Cycleway and Bourke Road Cycleway (together with linking sections)			2264483 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)

Waverley

Map Link

Unknown.

Regional Routes

The NSW RTA refers to regional cycle routes in various planning documents, as do local councils. Some local councils reference RTA routes on their web site (particularly in relation building works for new routes), although naming varies from council to council, and reference numbers are generally not signposted.

There are other well known routes (including rail trails) that are more than local that are tagged as regional. These are included here as well.

Rail Trails

(TBA)

Other Regional Routes

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
Botany Bay	Airport to Kurnell around Botany Bay	100%	Joins Cooks River cycleway near the Airport.	103331 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
Cooks River	Airport to Sydney Olympic Park along the Cooks River	100%	Joins Botany Bay cycleway near the Airport, and Parramatta Valley cycleway at the Parramatta River.	103352 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
M2	Diversion roughly following the M2 motorway between North Ryde and Baulkham Hills	100%	A diversion is currently in place during M2 widening. The former westbound relation follows the diversion, while the eastbound relation (1113500) has been disabled. The diversion will be in place at least until late 2012.	1114330 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view)
M4	M4 cycleway between Olympic Park, Homebush and Cumberland Highway, Wentworthville	50% ?	So far only the eastern part (as far west as Fox Street, Holroyd) is connected to this relation.	269245 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [9]
M5	M5 (east) cycleway between Bexley Road, Bexley North and Fairford Road, Padstow	100% ?	Cross King Georges Road using the pedestrian crossings and follow the path behind the sound barrier joining Rosetta Street. There is no marked crossing on Penshurst Road. Note that this is different to the cycle lane on the M5 east itself.	South side  107214 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) North side  109161 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [10]
M7	M7 cycleway between Old Windsor Road, Glenwood and Camden Valley Way, Prestons	100% ?	Some maps show exit numbers, but OSM does not show these yet.	102731 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [11]
Parramatta Valley Cycleway	Pellisier Road, Putney to James Ruse Drive, Parramatta	100%	Connects through to the Cooks River Cycleway at Meadowbank Bridge or Ryde Bridge.	972064 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [12]

NSW RTA Routes

Although some councils give regional routes reference numbers, the numbers are not uniformly used, and are not signposted.

Route	Description	Mapped	Notes	Map link
	West City via ANZAC Bridge and Lilyfield to Concorde	100%	Leichhardt calls this "EW6"	93543 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [13]
	Epping Road	80%	City North to North Ryde via Harbour Bridge, North Sydney, Freeway and Epping Road	419114 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [14]
	Hawthorne Canal	100%	Lilyfield to Summer Hill	942425 (XML, analyze, manage, gpx, JOSM, history, view) [15]

Hunter and Central Coast councils

Overall: there is excellent network interfaces between regional Maitland and Newcastle routes, with poorer interfaces between Newcastle and Lake Macquarie routes. Regional routes:

1. Greta to Newcastle City via Maitland (New England Highway).
2. Coastal Cycleway: Newcastle City to Belmont via Fernleigh track.

• Newcastle has excellent documents describing cycle routes that generally follow functional road routes or constant infrastructure, with few decision points, and logical arrangements. Newcastle's route system is a mesh with multiple interconnections between useful routes, and with routes linking to neighbouring council infrastructure. Newcastle has proceeded to route signposting of some routes. Newcastle also clearly differentiates Local routes (L#) from Regional routes (R#). Newcastle also implements a "scenic" route system whose behaviour has been mapped as lcn prior to the redaction. All regional routes were mapped prior to redaction. Major local routes (through routes) were mapped prior to redaction. One scenic route was mapped in full prior to redaction. It appears as though route mapping will improve here shortly.
• Maitland has a poor quality pamphlet describing logical cycle routes that generally follow indirectly arranged and periodic infrastructure. Major routes are poorly route marked, but follow logical routes along roads that describe the route. Maitland's route system is concentrated as a star on Maitland, but meshes well with major outbound routes.
• Lake Macquarie has poor quality advertising material that describes the presence of infrastructure. These infrastructures are named and numbered on map, occasionally starting to form a mesh or network.
• Other Hunter councils do not appear to provide route networks at this time, and provide infrastructure based programmes. Some councils conduct demand analyses of desirable routing, but this doesn't result in mapped or signed routes.

Illawarra region councils

• Coastal cycleway was mapped, but incompletely route mapped. Illawarra councils and stakeholders have excellent planning documents regarding this route, but south of Wollongong riding the terrain may be required.

Coastline cycleway

Mapped as ncn

Coastline cycleway is a NSW project providing funding to councils primarily used by councils to produce shared paths in leisure areas. In Newcastle and the Illawarra funding is being used to produce coherent shared path routes useful for long distance commuting. In both cases these routes are signposted and marked with varying degrees of success. They are mapped by councils. Mapping of the Newcastle and Illawarra sections of Coastline cycleway was good prior to redaction.

Major highways with improved shoulders, and major highway forced diversions

RMS states that improved shoulders on highways are cycling infrastructure. These infrastructures follow large long distance routes, and have occasionally been mapped as cycle routes.

83 Old Pacific Highway Between Berowa and Gosford cyclists are obliged to use the Old Pacific Highway. This has been mapped as designated and associated with a ncn

F3 North of Gosford to Newcastle has been mapped as ncn

Hume and Federal Highways between Goulburn and Canberra have been mapped as ncn