Click on the image to see our Instagram Reel "The upgrade of access to this major transport hub should have happened years ago." Holly from Marrickville doesn't mince words about cycling to Sydenham station: massive trip hazards, trucks blocking footpaths, cars parked on footpaths, and cyclists and pedestrians left to navigate the limited space together. "This needs an urgent upgrade now!"
She's far from alone. In just over two weeks, more than 270 people have signed our petition calling for safe, separated cycling access to Sydenham, and dozens have added comments explaining why it matters to them.
A clear picture emerges from those comments. Over and over, people describe a station that's brilliant to arrive at but frightening to reach by bike. Ian from Enmore put it plainly: the station itself is great, but cycling there via Railway Parade or Marrickville Road is "frankly outright dangerous."
For some the danger is already real — Kali from Sydenham crashed off her bike near the station three months ago, hitting a pothole hidden in a puddle. She wasn't struck by a car, but as she notes, she could have been: "The station is great, but the surrounding streets are not yet providing safe bike access." Ben from Petersham North made the numbers stark: here's a station that can move more than 10,000 people an hour, with thousands living within easy biking distance and a huge bike parking lot already built, "so why aren't we funneling people in on a nice cycleway?"
The theme that comes up most is families. Leeanna from Sydenham has a cargo bike that's "fantastic for riding with my kids" but feels uncomfortable taking them anywhere she has to share the road with cars. Julia from Marrickville is reluctant to let her kids ride at all, because Sydenham Road isn't safe and the footpath is too congested. Many made the bigger connection too — that safer streets would be good for the whole neighbourhood. Benjamin from Redfern said he'd ride to Sydenham "all the time to go to the great shops and breweries in Marrickville if it were safer," while Ashley from Mayfield argued that leaving expensive infrastructure disconnected from safe cycling routes is "a crime against the taxpayer."
And running through it all, a simple hopefulness. Phena from Dulwich Hill asked us to "make our dream bike path come true," because riding safely "brings so much joy." Diana from Marrickville called connected bike paths to transport hubs "a no brainer." Or, as Jason from Marrickville put it: it's entirely possible to have a separated cycleway in harmony with the area as it is today — "let's get it done!"
The petition itself asks for two straightforward things. With the rest of the Metro line opening in October, more people than ever are riding and walking to Sydenham — but getting there on a bike still means choosing between mixing with trucks and buses or squeezing past prams, wheelchairs and the bus queue on a crowded footpath. So we're asking Inner West Council and the NSW Government to keep the footpath for people walking, and to build safe, separated cycling access to the station. That's not too much to expect of a world-class station.
If you haven't signed yet, it takes 30 seconds. Add your name and help us make riding to Sydenham feel as good as catching the Metro from it.
✍️ actionnetwork.org/petitions/cycling-to-sydenham
She's far from alone. In just over two weeks, more than 270 people have signed our petition calling for safe, separated cycling access to Sydenham, and dozens have added comments explaining why it matters to them.
A clear picture emerges from those comments. Over and over, people describe a station that's brilliant to arrive at but frightening to reach by bike. Ian from Enmore put it plainly: the station itself is great, but cycling there via Railway Parade or Marrickville Road is "frankly outright dangerous."
For some the danger is already real — Kali from Sydenham crashed off her bike near the station three months ago, hitting a pothole hidden in a puddle. She wasn't struck by a car, but as she notes, she could have been: "The station is great, but the surrounding streets are not yet providing safe bike access." Ben from Petersham North made the numbers stark: here's a station that can move more than 10,000 people an hour, with thousands living within easy biking distance and a huge bike parking lot already built, "so why aren't we funneling people in on a nice cycleway?"
The theme that comes up most is families. Leeanna from Sydenham has a cargo bike that's "fantastic for riding with my kids" but feels uncomfortable taking them anywhere she has to share the road with cars. Julia from Marrickville is reluctant to let her kids ride at all, because Sydenham Road isn't safe and the footpath is too congested. Many made the bigger connection too — that safer streets would be good for the whole neighbourhood. Benjamin from Redfern said he'd ride to Sydenham "all the time to go to the great shops and breweries in Marrickville if it were safer," while Ashley from Mayfield argued that leaving expensive infrastructure disconnected from safe cycling routes is "a crime against the taxpayer."
And running through it all, a simple hopefulness. Phena from Dulwich Hill asked us to "make our dream bike path come true," because riding safely "brings so much joy." Diana from Marrickville called connected bike paths to transport hubs "a no brainer." Or, as Jason from Marrickville put it: it's entirely possible to have a separated cycleway in harmony with the area as it is today — "let's get it done!"
The petition itself asks for two straightforward things. With the rest of the Metro line opening in October, more people than ever are riding and walking to Sydenham — but getting there on a bike still means choosing between mixing with trucks and buses or squeezing past prams, wheelchairs and the bus queue on a crowded footpath. So we're asking Inner West Council and the NSW Government to keep the footpath for people walking, and to build safe, separated cycling access to the station. That's not too much to expect of a world-class station.
If you haven't signed yet, it takes 30 seconds. Add your name and help us make riding to Sydenham feel as good as catching the Metro from it.
✍️ actionnetwork.org/petitions/cycling-to-sydenham
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