Decision details

Representative for the Member for Balmain 

On-street bike parking

The Representative for the Member for Balmain asked there was a map made available to the public about where these locations have already been installed? And ideally also where future locations are being planned? We've had some feedback from residents that they would like more transparency into the process, and also the potential to suggest locations. For example, local active transport advocates in the suburb of Balmain were able to work together with Inner West Council and share bike operators to suggest locations based on hyper-local knowledge, and there has been a noticeable reduction in complaints about share bikes in the area as a result, compared to other suburbs.

City staff have advised that information regarding on-street bike parking locations is publicly available via the following link:

Share Bike Parking Areas – City of Sydney

City staff have also advised that residents can submit suggestions for new share-bike parking locations by emailing onstreetbikeparking@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Glebe - Kelly/Wattle - Signal Phasing

The Representative for the Member for Balmain requested an update about the changes to signal timings at this location? This was brought up a few months ago due to concerns with waiting bike riders on Wattle St blocking the entrance of the residential building car park; and thus, causing congestion along Wattle while any residents were waiting there to turn into the car park. There was a suggestion that the signal phasing could be adjusted to clear bike riders out of this holding spot more frequently.

Additionally, there are still double, conflicting cyclist signals at this location. Can removal of one of these signals be brought forward? This is causing confusion with bike riders and conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians.

TfNSW advised they will review the intersection arrangement in relation to the concerns raised and determine whether any further measures may be appropriate. Should any works be proposed following the review, TfNSW will inform the community.

In the meantime, the current arrangement requires vehicles turning into or out of the driveway to give way to cyclists waiting at the intersection stop line before proceeding.

Pedestrian Representative

Traffic Fatalities / 30 km/h Speed Limits

The Pedestrian Representative requested an update from TfNSW on the implementation of 30 km/h speed limits.

TfNSW advised that it is currently reviewing the request for speed limit reductions within the City of Sydney.

Transport understands the community’s concern about recent pedestrian fatalities and is committed to improving road safety.

Across the state, we are working with councils to expand lower-speed environments where appropriate and are continuing to assess requests for speed limit changes.

Given the number and complexity of requests being received across NSW, these assessments take time to work through and require careful consideration.

Shared Bikes Impeding footpath – Broadway and Central Station

The Pedestrian Representative raised concerns about the number of shared bicycles obstructing the footpath along Broadway between Central Station and Harris Street. He queried whether any enforcement action could be taken against riders or share-bike operators.

City staff advised that improperly parked share bikes should be reported to Lime for investigation by emailing CityofSydney@li.me. This enables the operator to assess the issue and take appropriate action.

The forum was also advised that poorly parked share bikes is the number one issue for the Lord Mayor right now.  Supporting active transport is one of our key priorities, and share bikes play an import role. But we get more complaints about poorly parked share bikes and clutter on the footpath than any other issue. We recognise that keeping footpaths clear of excessive number of poorly parked bikes is a matter of pedestrian safety.

While the NSW Government have introduced new laws for share bikes, the regulations are not yet fully in force. They are being implemented in a staged approach by the NSW Government.

This month at the October meeting of Council, the Lord Mayor will table a Lord Mayoral Minute asking staff to develop operating rules for share bike operators in our area, in line with what the regulations will allow councils to do.

I also wanted to add that right now the NSW government says councils have the power to deal with poorly parked bikes using the Public Space Unattended Properties Act. However, Share bikes are not abandoned, they are just poorly parked. The act was designed to deal with abandoned trolleys and abandoned cars. It requires councils to verify that a specific bike has been unattended for 28 days. This is not practical when dealing with share bikes. Share bikes are move frequently, and this act is not the right tool for councils to manage them.

We also know that there are far too many share bikes in our area, and want to be able to set an effective cap for our area btu there are limits on what Council can do in that respect under the legislation

The Minute will be published at the following link late next week - Council - Monday 26 October 2026 5.00 pm