During the 2026 Building Our Community consultation Bike Marrickville identified the Addison Road Cycleway as a key project Disappointment again for bike riders hoping for a safe route along Addison Road in Marrickville. At last Tuesday's Inner West Council budget meeting a motion by Greens Councillor Olivia Barlow to allocate $100,000 in the 2026/27 budget for the design of walking, cycling and urban amenity upgrades — including a separated cycleway — was defeated by a council majority.
Barlow noted that the community has been asking for this for almost a decade. She's not wrong. The Addison Road route (Local Route 16, running from Livingstone Road to Juliette Street) first appeared in the old Marrickville Bicycle Strategy back in 2007. In 2015, Council received a state government grant to develop a concept plan. Public consultation followed in early 2016 and again in 2017. Parking removal was the main sticking point: some residents objected to losing on-street spaces to make room for bikes. Despite a revised concept plan that actually produced a net increase of one parking space on Addison Road itself, the project was never built.
The road also appears on Inner West Council's own Future Strategic Cycling Network map, which forms part of the 2020 Integrated Transport Strategy "Going Places." The strategy explicitly calls for building separated cycleways on key roads. Addison Road has been on that list for years.
Labor Councillor Philippa Scott acknowledged the project has merit but indicated she wasn't ready to proceed given ongoing resident concerns, but would still "consider it as a future project".
Bike Marrickville has long advocated for a safe cycling connection along this corridor, which links key destinations including the Addison Road Community Centre, Enmore Park, and Marrickville Metro. The road is busy, lacks protected infrastructure, and is identified by Bicycle NSW as one of several Inner West streets that would benefit from both lower speeds and physical separation for riders.
With the 2026/27 budget now set without funding for even the design phase, riders on Addison Road will have to wait at least another year for progress — and based on the history of this route, possibly much longer.
Barlow noted that the community has been asking for this for almost a decade. She's not wrong. The Addison Road route (Local Route 16, running from Livingstone Road to Juliette Street) first appeared in the old Marrickville Bicycle Strategy back in 2007. In 2015, Council received a state government grant to develop a concept plan. Public consultation followed in early 2016 and again in 2017. Parking removal was the main sticking point: some residents objected to losing on-street spaces to make room for bikes. Despite a revised concept plan that actually produced a net increase of one parking space on Addison Road itself, the project was never built.
The road also appears on Inner West Council's own Future Strategic Cycling Network map, which forms part of the 2020 Integrated Transport Strategy "Going Places." The strategy explicitly calls for building separated cycleways on key roads. Addison Road has been on that list for years.
Labor Councillor Philippa Scott acknowledged the project has merit but indicated she wasn't ready to proceed given ongoing resident concerns, but would still "consider it as a future project".
Bike Marrickville has long advocated for a safe cycling connection along this corridor, which links key destinations including the Addison Road Community Centre, Enmore Park, and Marrickville Metro. The road is busy, lacks protected infrastructure, and is identified by Bicycle NSW as one of several Inner West streets that would benefit from both lower speeds and physical separation for riders.
With the 2026/27 budget now set without funding for even the design phase, riders on Addison Road will have to wait at least another year for progress — and based on the history of this route, possibly much longer.
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