Retort House Pathway Route between East & Chief Streets (in red).

1.  The OH Greenway Takes Off! (via PortBUG’s facebook group) DPTI have informed us that at long last work on the missing 150-metre ‘gasworks’ section of the Outer Harbor Greenway (between Chief and East streets, Bowden) is about to commence. Construction is expected to start in May (& possibly even this coming week) and to be finished by July, weather permitting.

The route is that shown in DPTI’s September 2018 bulletin through the now-demolished blue-stone wall on East Street and along the old gasworks railway siding to join up with the already constructed bicycle overpass on Chief Street (see below). DPTI tell us that it’s taken many months to resolve this section of the route due to the complex remediation and demolition work required. No doubt more information will follow in future DPTI updates.

The New Chief Street Bicycle Overpass.

PortBUG’s 2005 ‘GreenLink’ proposal.

The Outer Harbor Greenway was first surveyed and proposed by PortBUG in August 2005 (nearly 14 years ago) when we published a detailed illustrated Green Link Proposal for a secure bike route between The Port and the Adelaide CBD!

Although there are still a few issues to be resolved (notably the possibility of a more direct pathway adjacent to Kilkenny Railway Station), it will be truly wonderful to at last have a fully open, continuous and secure route for cycling the 14km between the Port’s Waterfront and the Adelaide Parklands & CBD!

The PortBUG congratulates DPTI & successive governments, the Port Adelaide/Enfield and Charles Sturt Councils, and all those community members who have worked so long towards this fantastic outcome!

At long last the Outer Harbor Greenway takes off!

2.  Port Dock Rail Station Cycling & Walking Detours. PortBUG reps met recently with the Port Dock RS Project team recently to discuss the impacts that the 7-8 month project is likely to have on walking and cycling access along the section of the OH Greenway passing through the Rosewater rail reserve (between Edith Street, Rosewater and Lipson Street in the Port). Both PortBUG and the Project Team are keen to see any disruption or detouring of the route minimised to ensure that the most direct access can be maintained for commuters and for residents seeking access to the shops and services in the Port’s CBD. The Project Team has undertaken to explore whatever options (including temporary rail line crossings) might be available to achieve this and will keep PortBUG and residents informed on a regular basis. The Project has a new website here. Construction is expected to start later in 2019.

Port Dock Railway Station (looking South).

3.  Labor Supports Investment in Active Transport! The PortBUG does its level best to maintain a politically independent and bipartisan approach. However it’s impossible to avoid the fact that a Federal Election is rapidly approaching and that the Labor Party has made a major announcement committing new funds ($260M) for bicycle infrastructure and active transport if elected.  To summarise:

• a Shorten Labor Government will invest $260 million to upgrade the nation’s cycling paths to encourage more people to ride bicycles to work or school & cycling tourism
• Labor’s National Bike Paths Strategy will provide the largest ever investment in bike paths from the Federal Government & underscores commitment to active transport.
• Labor will partner with state and territory governments or local councils to unlock even more investment and make a difference to the health, safety and overall amenity for people living in cities and towns across Australia.

Labor has also undertaken to ‘target missing links’ & the ‘growing tourism sector of cycling tourism’, and develop a national guide for cities providing detailed national and best practice designs and resources for the effective design and delivery of bicycle infrastructure. While we’ve been unable to identify a similar Liberal Party funding commitment, we do note that they have made extensive commitments to transport infrastructure generally. The Greens have also developed a vision for active transport.  Sounds like good reasons to think carefully about your vote on May 18th!

4. Port Adelaide/Enfield ‘Bike Budget 2019-20’. The PortBUG will shortly commence its discussions with Council regarding budget commitments and target projects for the 2019-20 financial year. This will likely be a final and important phase in the implementation of the Port Adelaide/Enfield Bicycle Strategy before it is replaced by a new Integrated Transport Plan. Accordingly we are keen to see investment maximised in the Plan’s remaining key projects to achieve the best outcomes for the PA/E Bike Network. We’ll be workshopping goals over the next few weeks so please keep an eye on these blog posts and our facebook forum as we’ll be asking for your comments and opinions wherever possible!

Vote For Cycling!