Reported by John Sunde
Sydney's Centennial Park is one of the crowded city's most popular training circuits for competitive cyclists and was a key part of the Sydney 2000 Olympics road and TT courses. However, cyclists have to share the park with other users and regularly exceed the 30kmh speed limit on the relatively-safe internal loop road.
The regular training bunches are said to be dangerous and even frightening to small children, to quote certain media outlets.
However, in response to the ongoing dispute over use of the Park, a new advisory committee to represent the interests of cyclists has been established as part of an initiative by the Centennial Park Trust to better understand and plan for the needs of cycling.
The "Cyclists Liaison Committee" consists of the newly appointed Centennial Parklands Cycling Liaison Officer, Brian Page and representatives of local cycling and triathlon clubs and community cycling groups. The second quarterly meeting chaired by NSW Police Inspector Eddie Bosch was held at the Trust offices on September 20 and enthusiastically embraced the objectives of the committee which will be:
to establish a formal framework for consultation with cycling user groups;
enhance the spirit of self regulation and open communication;
provide a forum to raise and resolve issues;
be part of future discussion and consultation on key issues of policy, strategy and legislation;
act as an advisory committee to the Director of Centennial Park and the Centennial Park trust.
The meeting, which was attended by representatives of Randwick Botany, Sydney, St George, Peloton and Easts cycling clubs, along with BRATS, Balmoral, Bondi Fit and Steam triathlon clubs, unanimously agreed that the formation of the committee was one of the most positive initiatives to ever be undertaken to safely accommodate the needs of cyclists as part of the wider Park community.
Centennial Park has hosted many great cycling events of the years which has included countless State and National Road Titles, stages of the Commonwealth Bank Cycle Classic, Ride for Life and of course the memorable 2000 Olympic Games road race won by Jan Ullrich.
Centennial Parklands occupies a special place in the heart of the Australian nation as it includes a monument to the birth of the nation, the Federation Pavilion.
Covering more than 360 hectares, the Parklands is one of the world’s finest and most used urban open spaces, is situated a mere five kilometres from Sydney’s central business district and attracts over five million visits each year. For more information contact Brian Page brian.page@cp.nsw.gov.au
