REDWatch Background
This
submission is made on behalf of REDWatch Incorporated (REDWatch). REDWatch was
set up in 2004 with the following objects in its constitution:
REDWatch
is a group of community residents and friends from Redfern, Waterloo, Eveleigh
and Darlington who support the existing diversity in these areas and wish to
promote sustainable, responsible economic and social development.
REDWatch
recognises the importance of the Aboriginal community to the area.
REDWatch
has been formed to:
1. Monitor the activities of the
Government (local, state and federal), the Redfern Waterloo Authority, and any
other government instrumentality with responsibility for the Redfern, Waterloo,
Darlington and Eveleigh area, to ensure that:
(a) The strategy benefits a diverse
community
(b) Communication and consultation
is comprehensive and responsive
(c) Pressure is maintained on
authorities
2. Provide a mechanism for
discussion and action on community issues.
3. Enhance communication between
community groups and encourage broad community participation.
This
may involve: Holding regular meetings; Holding community forums and other
events; Establishing a website; Communicating with the community through other
means; Meeting with government representatives and authorities; Cooperating
with other community organisations; And any other means the association deems
appropriate.
The
South Eveleigh to Waterloo Metro walking and cycling improvements exhibition
impacts the Redfern and Waterloo communities, including Waterloo public housing
tenants, who are often not involved in these conversations. REDWatch through
our social media, participation in community meetings and holding a public
meeting makes the following submission.
REDWatch
expresses its appreciation to Council for providing Sarah Brickhill to attend
the REDWatch public meeting on March 5 to discuss this and wider traffic issues
and for an extension to make this submission after that meeting.
What is this proposal about?
The
exhibited proposal was styled as about “walking and cycling improvements”. It
is certainly about improvement for cycling, the assertion that it makes “walking
more comfortable along Henderson Road and Raglan Street” is however not
discussed nor demonstrated as it is not clear how this proposal assists
walkability and in fact seems to remove some footpath space outside the Metro with
new verge plantings and does not examine light timing and surge footpath
requirements.
The
project however is also about prioritising buses and removing vehicle access
from Botany Road and Henderson Road into Raglan Street. Without these changes
the proposal would just be about cycling and walking improvements and would be
better able to fit into the project area.
Wider Context to proposal and this submission
At
the REDWatch meeting the need to assess the proposal in its wider context was evident.
Such project proposals draw a line around the area and do not look at outside ramifications
in any detail. Issues were raised at the meeting about how these changes
interact with other changes in Erskineville and with how people from Alexandria
move into Waterloo. There was discussion about the need for projects to be seen
in a more regional context and for the interactions between this project and
its implications to be made transparent.
A
number of issues raised at the meeting were outside the current direct scope of
the proposal but either interacted with it or were exacerbated by it. These
issues are hence considered relevant to providing comprehensive feedback on the
project proposal.
REDWatch
understands that the current consultation is an early-stage proposal and hence
encourages Council’s bike, pedestrian and traffic teams to consider the wider
issues raised by the community about the proposed project. As the community has
not been able to talk directly with TfNSW about its elements in the plan we urge
Council to take these community concerns up with TfNSW on the community’s
behalf.
As
this project directly impacts residents on the Waterloo public housing estate
both in terms of location and impacts, REDWatch requests Council carefully
apply an equity lens over this project to ensure that the public housing
community isn’t adversely impacted and that the needs and desires of the public
housing community are given appropriate weight.
Traffic refunneling
Introducing
major traffic changes under the guise of cycling and pedestrian improvements
are fraught as the changes have ramifications outside the scope of the
exhibited project. What do these changes mean for east west movements in
Alexandria and Waterloo and north south movements through Redfern? None of this
wider work was available to help people assess the impacts.
Given
the proposed redevelopment of Waterloo South to accommodate around 2,500 extra homes
and subsequent redevelopment of the north and central parts of the estate to add
a further 2,000 homes there is a need for wider traffic modelling if the main
thoroughfare is to be Wellington Street. While the Council argued that the
streets could handle the change this was not demonstrated.
Stockland
are in the process of doing traffic modelling for the Waterloo South
redevelopment and along with Homes NSW were not aware of the proposed traffic
changes.
At a
community level the proposed closure of Raglan Street to general traffic and
the funnelling of traffic through Wellington Street reawakened concerns that Pitt
Street being opened to McEvoy might again be considered to cope with the
traffic generated by the Waterloo South redevelopment. This proposal had
earlier been dismissed in the 2022 rezoning.
Closing
Raglan Street to traffic puts the discussion about the capacity and issues
within Wellington Street as that flows from the proposal. People at the meeting
raised concerns about the impact on pedestrians, cyclists and cars from stop
signs being changed at the corner of George Street and Wellington to give
Wellington Street priority.
Of
concern was the lack of visibility on Wellington Street heading west at the
corner of George Street. The earlier stop sign meant that cars had to stop and
could see bikes and pedestrians. Given the location in the middle of an estate
with many older and disadvantaged people there were also concerns about
pedestrian safety both for motor vehicles as well as bikes on the existing bike
path. A suggestion for this intersection to have a scatter crossing has been
made.
Concerns
were also raised about queueing and turns out of Wellington into Botany Road
and also Elizabeth Street. This is particularly an issue at school times when
children from Mount Carmel or Alexandria Park are moving through those intersections.
Problems
on Wellington Street are expected to become worse if traffic into Waterloo
South is channelled through Wellington Street with access closed to Raglan
Street. In the short term this will also be the route for demolition and
construction vehicles, and concerns were also raised about potential road
closures in the street during construction if this was the main throughfare.
While
Wellington will take the bulk of the traffic from the east, south and west, it
is expected that closing Raglan Street will also lead to more traffic through
Redfern from the north with traffic needing to go down Pitt and to a lesser
extent George Street.
Questions
were also raised about the impact of the proposed Raglan Street closure on the
Cope Street kiss and ride. It was suggested that people are unlikely to use the
kiss and ride if they cannot easily get back onto the main road and are hence
more likely to do drop offs in easier locations impacting traffic movements.
All
this seems out of scope of the exhibited proposal, but at a community level is
very much part of the discussion as the proposal required the existing traffic
using Raglan Street to go somewhere.
Bus issues
The
creation of the bus only section in Raglan Street opposite the Metro reignited
the debate about the appropriateness of the 392 bus route on Raglan Street east
of Pitt Street which was introduced 6-7 years ago rather than buses being
routed via Wellington Street as was the case with the 355 bus route. Raglan
Street east has many heritage properties facing onto a hill with noise and
vibration concerns – see this Current Affair story
about the issues which were raised at the meeting.
Local
residents also complain that allowing buses to make a right turn from Elizabeth
Street into Raglan against the no right turn sign, locals argued that this has
encouraged many cars to follow suit. For cars this intersection is supposed to
be only left in and left out.
At
the meeting concerns were raised about what appeared to be the movement of the
Raglan Street bus stop to in front of the Metro. The point was made that if the
stop was moved to the Metro then tenants would have to walk up and down the
hill to get from their homes to the bus and that local mobility needed to be
considered not just for people getting on and off the Metro. This is especially
a concern given the mobility concerns for aged and disabled people among the
public housing tenants on the estate. These are clearly walking issues that are
within scope if the proposal includes the relocation of any of the Raglan
Street bus stops.
While
TfNSW fed into the exhibited plans, it was not in attendance to answer
questions about the changes it had proposed in the plan and its implication for
its services. It is not helpful for the community to be told that it is a TfNSW
issue when its elements are included in a City of Sydney exhibited plan without
proper explanation.
Bike Issues
The
missing link in the George Street Cycleway is also appears out of scope. This
was caused by the 1970s closure of George Street as part of the Endeavour
public housing project. Council have been unable to negotiate a solution with
Homes NSW for the bike path to continue across Waterloo Green which is LAHC
owned land.
This
sees a dedicated cycleway to the North and South of Waterloo Green with a
nominal “low traffic street or bike lane” around LAHC land via Raglan, Cope and
Phillip Streets to join the dedicated paths. In practice cyclists do not
dismount or use the alternative path but continue to ride across Waterloo
Green.
It
seems unlikely that Homes NSW will allow a separated bike path across its land
until Waterloo North is redeveloped and potentially George Street is reopened.
Thought needs to be given as to what might happen over the next 10-20 years
until this might happen.
Linking
the Henderson Street cycle path to George Street next to Waterloo Green will
increase the number of people who cycle across Waterloo Green rather than
dismount and walk across.
There is an opportunity with the proposed cycleway to
encourage cyclists to use the other two legs of the bike route via Cope Street
north of Raglan and Phillip Street to access the northern section of the George
Street cycleway. As earlier stated, this route already appears as a “low
traffic street or bike lane” on the Council’s cycling map and it should be
formalised and positively encouraged.
Alongside
this, tenants are looking to Council to actively discourage bike riding across
Waterloo Green along with education and enforcement measures. This issue cannot
be ignored and should not be considered out of scope. One way of doing this is
to not provide an easy exit off the bike path towards Waterloo Green as well as
well-placed signs in both directions where the two cycleways meet.
At
the meeting people raised concerns about the viability of cyclists heading south
on George Street north of Phillip Street. Concern was raised about the height
of plantings and the need for regular maintenance. There was also concern about
both the visibility and speed of bikes to cars on Phillip Street and of bikes
entering LAHC land, often at high-speed coming down the hill.
Directing
bikes to the Phillip Street low traffic street / bike path would also enable
the redirection of bikes away from Waterloo Green and the issues raised by
tenants at this location to be addressed.
Also
considered out of scope were community questions about why the bike path was
going down Raglan Street when Wellington Street is already on cycle maps as a
“low traffic street or bike lane” shown on Council’s cycling map which links
through to Mitchell Road and Erskineville. Channelling bikes through the high
traffic Henderson, Wyndham Botany Road intersections was seen as a higher risk
alternative to using the bike route down Wellington past Alexandria Park.
While
we see the problem with the Henderson Road bike path not connecting, the
preferred link for this path is the connection between Railway Parade and
Wilson Street via Alexander Street and Locomotive Street. The dream of this
connection was on the cover of an earlier City of Sydney Cycling Plan.
REDWatch
with FOE and ARAG have recently formed the Eveleigh Bridge Alliance to expand
the push for a pedestrian and cycle bridge across the railway corridor near
Carriageworks. The first action of the Eveleigh Bridge Alliance was to access documents with a GIPA application which shows TfNSW in June 2025 decided on a preferred
location for a bridge and a way to construct it. Council has long supported a
potential Cycle and Pedestrian Bridge at this location and with some of the
technical issues addressed to some extent the possibility for this connection
between the Henderson Street and Wilson Street Cycleways may still be
achievable.
REDWatch
encourages Council to consider all the issues raised above as related to the
exhibition and to investigate how they can be addressed.
Comments on the Exhibited Plan
In commenting on the proposal as set out we will do so in
relation to separate elements, the Bike Path, traffic changes to deliver the
path, the Raglan bus only proposal and walkability. REDWatch’s comments reflect
issues raised that need to be explored in further development work.
The Bike path
There
is strong support from cyclists for the connection of the Henderson Cycleway to
the George Street Cycleway. There is also strong support from cyclists for the
George Street cycleway to extend across Waterloo Green which is opposed by
public housing tenants on safety grounds.
On
the flip side there is strong concern about the impact of the proposal from the
loss of so much scarce inner-city parking and how that might impact local
residents, visitors and deliveries. Special concerns were raised in relation to
loading zones near the Waterloo shops and the Abbotts Hotel which can only get
deliveries in Raglan Street.
Concern
was also raised about access to parking for those delivering services and
visiting those in public housing. It was however recognised that a lot of
parking in the area in unrestricted parking was from people parking and then
going to work.
Earlier
in our submission we have raised issues about the proposal increasing the
number of people who ride across Waterloo Green. To minimise this REDWatch has
suggested that the bike connection in Cope Street north of Raglan be encouraged
at the link to the Redfern end of the George Street cycleway via Phillip
Street.
We
have also proposed that the Bike path in Raglan and Phillip with George not
facilitate easy access off the bike path to the pedestrian path across Waterloo
Green. At both places where the George Street cycleway leads onto LAHC land we
request clear signage to stop bikes and direct them via Cope Street which is
the formal link shown on Council’s bike path maps.
REDWatch
is sure Council will get lots of submissions both supporting the bike path and
raising its impacts on those who are directly impacted. Council will need to
weigh up the impacts and find solutions that lessen the bike lane impact on
local residents and businesses for this to proceed.
Traffic changes to deliver the path
Concern
has been raised about the traffic changes needed to facilitate the bike lane in
Henderson Road. At the REDWatch meeting there was concern that at high road use
times the restriction on two lanes turning from Mitchell Road into Henderson
Road will be problematic. It is not clear why Henderson Road has only one east
bound lane at Davey Road when it becomes 2 lanes within the next block.
As
traffic heading onto or across Botany Road is expected to be similar to the
present, it is not clear if a single lane will be adequate in Henderson Road at
Botany Road. It might be adequate if all traffic has to turn right and there
are not greater pedestrian crossing delays. If motor vehicles are allowed to
continue onto Raglan Street then the existing delays in being able to turn
right will impact through traffic which is solved by the current two lanes.
The
community would like the City of Sydney to complete traffic modelling on the
proposed changes and the flow on impacts before finalising the proposal.
Raglan bus only proposal
There
is concern about the aspect of the proposal that makes Raglan Street into a bus
only zone as the community has not seen any modelling of this change and its
impacts. While the change directly means that traffic which approaches Raglan
Street from Henderson Road will have to turn right and use Wellington Street,
this will also increase traffic through Pitt and to a lesser extent George
Street Redfern.
While
the change may stop cars to and from Alexandria and Erskineville using Raglan
Street to get to Elizabeth Street which some locals consider a rat run, its
closure means that travel times for those trips will also increase, putting
more car minutes and congestion on the road for those who need to use a car.
We
have highlighted earlier some of the community concerns about the impact on
Wellington Street and public housing tenant concerns.
Council
should consider the possibility of Raglan Street remaining open to motor
vehicles even if the bike lane proceeds. If the proposal proceeds as currently
drafted then the wider traffic impacts need to be assessed and impacts made
transparent alongside what will be done to mitigate the impacts.
Walkability
It is
not clear how the current proposal improves walkability. REDWatch has argued
that TfNSW and Council need to address the pedestrian improvements needed on
pedestrian desire lines from the Waterloo Metro. The pathway towards Redfern’s
Southern Concourse and Boundary Street for South Eveleigh are especially
problematic.
While
this proposal claims to be also about pedestrian improvements this is not
evident in the proposal. In fact, the proposal seems to reduce pedestrian space
in some locations such as in front of the Metro. The proposal also does not
assess if the footpath design with grass verges remains appropriate for
pedestrian surges as a result of long light wait times combined with periodic pedestrian
discharges from the station.
The
proposal also does not demonstrate if the traffic changes and potential light
phasing may improve or impact walking times.
Improving
the movement of people from the Metro towards South Eveleigh and Sydney
University should be a major focus of Council.
It
has to be remembered that currently the Bankstown line is not directly connected
to the Metro so it is likely that some people are currently accessing South
Eveleigh via Redfern Station who will remain on the Metro and hence want to
move to South Eveleigh or Sydney University from Waterloo Metro.
Conclusion
In
our submission REDWatch has covered broader community concerns inked to the
project proposal that need to also be taken into account in refining the
proposal. We have also raised some concerns about the facets of the exhibited
proposal that we would also like to clarified.
REDWatch
requests Council to take these community concerns into account in its next
steps on this proposal. We also encourage Council to be able to provide clear
impact and remediation proposals for the refined plan so people can assess the
proposal and its surrounding implications.
Thank
you for the opportunity to comment on this proposal and the extension of time
to accommodate this feedback after our meeting.
Yours Faithfully
Geoffrey Turnbull
Spokesperson
On behalf of REDWatch Inc
c/- Counterpoint Community Services
67 Raglan Street
Waterloo NSW 2017
Ph Wk: (02)
8004 1490
email: mail@redwatch.org.au
web: www.redwatch.org.au