Bay Run works force detour over City West Link for pedestrians, cyclists

From June to August, the Bay Run section from the UTS Haberfield Rowers Club to Lilyfield Road will be shut and a detour put in place that adds about 10 minutes' walking time - and three sets of traffic lights - to the circuit.

A new pathway is being built through Robson Park in Haberfield for detouring foot traffic, while cyclists are expected to travel for just over a kilometre along local roads before rejoining pedestrians on shared pathways.

But whether cyclist, runner or walker, everyone choosing to detour will have to negotiate City West Link where it intersects Timbrell Avenue and Mortley Street - although cyclists are being advised to simply turn around rather than attempt to navigate the detour.

Bob Moore, vice president of cycling group Bike Leichhardt, pointed to a litany of issues for cyclists using the detour, including the intersection at City West Link and Timbrell being "notoriously dangerous and awkward" for cyclists.

"It's hard to see cyclists from the Bay Run queuing up in the Timbrell traffic lanes (one left-only lane, one through-lane) to cross to Mortley and there are no bicycle crossings," he said.

"Cyclists will be tempted to use the pedestrian route. [There] could be conflict, unless they make it a shared path.

"All in all, we would advise recreational cyclists to avoid the detour and just do a loop of the Bay Run by going out one way and turning round at some point before the detour and coming back the same way."

The closed section of the Bay Run around Iron Cove Bay includes the upgrade of the Dobroyd Point Sea Wall with its stunning sandstone steps, completed in August.

Part of the $57 million master plan for the GreenWay - a 5.8 km pedestrian and cycling corridor connecting Iron Cove Bay to the Cooks River at Earlwood - the June-August works include modifications to the forecourt and carpark at the Rowers Club; an upgraded path from the club to the Lilyfield Road pedestrian bridge, including 2.4-metre wide pedestrian and cycle paths with visual separation; and a 4.5-metre wide ramp up to the Lilyfield Road Bridge.

From August to January next year, the bridge itself will be upgraded to include a 2.5-metre wide pedestrian path and 2.7-metre wide cycle path, plus landscaping, exercise equipment, furniture, shelter and lighting.

"These improvements will provide a safer and more enjoyable experience for all users of the Bay Run," Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said in a letter to residents. "We are completing this project in stages and delivering beautiful parks and natural areas, sporting facilities and public artworks along the corridor."

He said pedestrian and traffic control measures would be in place for the duration of the works.

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Inner West Review asked the Inner West Council what those control measures would be, given the probability of quite large groups of pedestrians waiting at traffic lights to cross the busy City West Link, as well as Timbrell Drive and Mortley Avenue; an increase in pedestrian traffic generally across the roads; and the safety implications for cyclists being detoured off pathways and onto roads.

The council had not provided comment by deadline.

Mr Moore said his group understood that children - "and accompanying adults we assume" - would be allowed to use the pedestrian detour, which he described as fairly flat. "We asked that this be a shared path for all cyclists, since it is safer than the on-road route," he said.