Pedestrian Pitfalls: Stop putting cars before people!

Urbanism in the 21st century demands that we prioritise public transport and pedestrians over the motor car, the latter of which is quite simply an inefficient means of transportation. For commuters to get between public transport and their destination, active transport links are required. Active transport links are those that primarily rely upon physical activity as a means of transport, including travel by foot, bicycle and other non-motorised vehicles. Increasingly, city planners are trying to build cities for people, not for cars. However, unfortunately the car-centric planning ideals of last century continue to pervade all over our urban landscape, and we can see this all too clearly in Sydney. Footpaths that end in the middle of nowhere, illogically-located pedestrian bridges, bus stops that are dangerous to get to, and even signs that command pedestrians to "consider motorists and cross in groups". In this video, we'll explore the many pedestrian pitfalls that exist all over Sydney, and the vicious cycle that has allowed these pitfalls to keep being built.
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Links:
The pedestrian pitfalls that were submitted by subscribers (de-identified): docs.google.com/document/d/1_...
My Maps version of the above document with the locations of these pitfalls: www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edi...
Active Transport Strategy by Transport for NSW: drive.google.com/file/d/1E0ud...
Sydney Streets Code by City for Sydney: drive.google.com/file/d/1rJev...
Music:
- Morning in New York by Alexey Anisimov
- Always Tomorrow by Schematist
- All That by Bensound
- Time Dust by Schematist
- Lofi This by EightBallAudio
- Hanoi Breeze by Schematist
- Lost On The Freeway by HoliznaCC0
- Red Lipstick by PantheonMusic
- VHS Dreams by Shane Ivers

[@thecrazygainerguy]

Another forgotten feature of footpaths is shade. Walking in the direct sun on a hot summers day is something no one wants to do. Tree lined paths give shade and help counter the island heat effect.

[@davidhusband5022]

harden up princess!

[@stevewandel9317]

Good idea, except the tree roots lift the path, causing a maintenance problem for whoever is supposed to maintain it. The right trees that don't do this take a long time to grow.

[@michaelmcguire650]

Better plant them now then

[@partylikeits1066]

​@@davidhusband5022what the fuck are you talking about

[@XENTRE]

@@davidhusband5022hard to harden up when you’re lying in chemo dying from skin cancer princess

[@terrygleeson8480]

As a user of a powered mobility device and at times , a manual wheelchair, I can’t stress enough how important the existence and then the maintenance of pathways and cutaways is. In my local are at Dural, the nearest pathway to me is over a kilometre away. More content on this matter would be appreciated. Keep up the good work.

[@hamishashcroft3233]

It angers me more than anything how pro car people/politicians bleat on about how much they care about disabled people when it comes to removing parking spaces etc, but then are conveniently silent on anything else concerning accessibility or disabled people, like pavements, crossings etc. Its almost like it was never about disabled people in the first place!

[@FollowTheSunAustralia]

I contacted council about a walking path that just ended , 2 years later I noticed it had been cemented , I was pretty proud of myself but would encourage anyone to do it

[@freckle3773]

Dude congrats on the SMH article!!

[@rorywilson8376]

Do you have the link?

[@TFFox]

As someone who works at NSW DPIE (Department of planning) I couldnt agree more and thank you for making these videos! I wish that i alone could make these improvments haha, they will take time and alot of people, but the fact you're bringing so much attention to this is exactly what is needed! Thank you!

[@daleviker5884]

So, a public servant shares the desire to inconvenience the 90% to cater for the 10%? What a surprise. It may come as a shock to you, but it shouldn't be about cars versus people, because cars are driven by people. Everyone who drives is also a pedestrian, the minute they park their car. Everyone who drives understands both perspectives. People who don't drive, and who fill these threads, only know their own perspective, and don't care about anyone else. They are the selfish ones, yet as these echo chambers show time after time, they convince themselves that they are speaking for everyone.

[@TFFox]

@@daleviker5884 Firstly, I am more than just a public servant, I am just as much of a pedestrian as you. It may come as a shock to you but I live in a very car centric area, and have mostly always driven everywhere. So believe me I understand both perspectives. I actually couldn't agree more with you, I don't think it should be about cars vs people and so I don't really understand where you're getting me wanting to inconvenience the 90% to cater for the 10% from. I cant recall if it was in this video or not but he literally said "Good city planning is about people having the option to either drive or use other means such as walking, public transport or cycling equally" This is my ideology as well. I don't think Sydney should be this way but as you can see in its current state it clearly is not. Like the title states, Sydney is putting cars before people, but we shouldn't put people before cars. It should be equal.

[@daleviker5884]

@@TFFox you were doing well until the last sentence until you fell back into the cringe-worthy cliche about "putting cars before people". Cars are inanimate objects, they don't know or care about policy. They are just inanimate objects controlled by PEOPLE. Funny how you never refer to pedestrians as "shoes", or describe a road being closed to traffic as "putting shoes ahead of people". Please use the honest terminology, and state that you think that Sydney puts PEOPLE who drive cars ahead of PEOPLE who don't. Personally, I think that's as it should be, because far more people own cars than don't, and the efficient delivery of goods and services by van and truck is essential to the smooth functioning of our cities. I reject the notion that the majority should be inconvenienced to cater to the ideology of the minority.

[@TFFox]

@@daleviker5884 Okay... So like we have already established, i agree that cars and people are the same thing. At the end of the day we are all pedestrians really, I think we can both agree that saying cars and people is easier than 'people who drive' and 'people who don't drive' and that is what I am stating, yes, Sydney is currently putting people who drive over people who don't. I completely agree the majority drive and that vans and trucks are essential, but you are forgetting that the majority drive because they HAVE to, the current infrastructure forces them too and that's what this video and channel is all about, finding ways to fix that. Furthermore you again seem to be mistaken with the 'majority should be inconvenienced to cater to the minority' idea that you think I'm pushing. For me to be saying that would mean me saying "Sydney should put people who don't drive AHEAD of those who drive" But that's not at all what I'm saying, In that 'cringy' last sentence I state it should be equal and I stand by that. If you think that having footpaths that don't end out of nowhere, or putting sloped access at intersections for disabled people is 'putting the prioritising the minority over the majority then I don't think that is very equal at all.

[@qwertyki9367]

so youre a full time urban planner??

[@AheadMatthewawsome]

Hi Sharath, thank you so much for featuring my submission on the state of the Pacific Highway at Turramurra! It really means a lot to me. The current situation with pedestrian infrastructure makes people either drive to the station, increasing local congestion. Or they just take the car the whole way worsening congestion in general and causes even though we have a train line that has services of every 3 minutes during the peak, only 40% take the train, 45% drive, and 5% by other forms of transport. If I could drive to the station, I probably would! There are plans to do up Turramurra within the next 15 years as apart of “Activate Turramurra” by Kur-ing-gai Council. Although it will help with other mistakes that were made to the area back in the 60s, they want to widen the road to 8 lanes! 6 for driving, 2 for turning. I don’t know how they’d be able to build it without pedestrians being wiped out all together, worsening the current divide between the North and the South. It probably deserves an episode in itself! Ryde Road is also similarly horrible. Especially the intersection between the two! I often go to appointments at a nearby office building, and it’s just impossible to use that intersection as a pedestrian nor cyclist safely. You can only cross it in one go if you run, which is not possible for a lot of people around here that are often quite elderly. And if you’re trying to go the other way to cross the road heading towards Ryde Road, it is impossible to do it without getting killed! On the Pacific Highway, there’s also long distances of often more than a km between crossings. Forcing people to jaywalk and risk getting killed by the b doubles that roll on through at 60km/h so that they skip the toll for the NorthConnex, and the fine for using Pennant Hills Road. Please keep doing what you’re doing! You’ve been amazing!

[@goldcoast8549]

Hello! Submitted Turramurra myself, and i think we can both agree that the state of the roads around Turramurra station is horriffic. This project regarding widening the highway around here certainly is concerning, look at the widening works between Wahroonga and Warrawee as an example : The lanes are barely wide enough for cars, let alone the frequent toll avoiders cruising along in their semi-trailers. The footpath atleast had some nice trees along most of it's length ; now there is no tree cover and the footpath has been pushed right against the road. Rohini Street is nice enough but the amount of cars trying to pass through the only place in Turra that is at least somewhat on the side of pedestrians means that the buses leaving the interchange there can often sit in traffic for well over 5 minutes. The bus interchange is neglected and run down and desperately needs investment. Gordon had a similar arrangement 10 years ago and managed to rebuild it to be much nicer, and with the new apartment blocks going up nearby (Cherry St, Cameron Park and others), it would be reasonable to do the same here. The Pacific Highway splits Turramurra in two, and we must work to reunite them.

[@DEVILTAZ35]

Even though I am rarely a pedestrian these days as I work from home, I still can’t believe how absolutely useless Governments and councils are in this country where all they ever care about is lining their own pockets and getting away with as many scams as possible at tax payers expense.

[@eddiej9733]

Let me guess. Your less than 5 years out from graduation in maybe urban planning, or active transport planning or similar For fk sake, live a little in the real world before bleeting your demands

[@CockatooTransit]

@@goldcoast8549 I can imagine it for you guys - roseville is very annoying because, like the train route, a very infrequent but extremely useful bus stop is on the other side of the highway.

[@si_vis_amari_ama]

@@DEVILTAZ35 I dont know what Planning laws are like in Tassie, but in NSW there were new laws passed a few years ago, so developers could easily appeal Local Govt plannng decisions with the State. Apparantly the State will mostly find in their favour.

[@KhanPiesseONE]

Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast have thousands of examples similar to the ones shown in this video. Especially suburban Gold Coast which sometimes feels like the hardest place to walk around in Australia. It's not getting much better, we are building a new motorway! So yay! It can get even worse! I am so happy ...

[@kontopoulos3107]

My neighbour sued the council near stones corner Qld; when her ankle broke using an overgrown and broken pavement😢 on her way to the shops near the hospital and bus stops!

[@Azzy_2]

I can’t believe that my submission actually made it in, thank you so much Sharath from Building Beautifully.

[@ChrisTopher_Urbanism]

Glad to see you going over this super import topic! And I also now know where the third Canberra bus stop (out of four) that was sent to Sydney is - Wakehurst Parkway. The other two are near a park in Epping, now I only have one more to find...

[@betula2137]

I was wondering why that was there!

[@CockatooTransit]

Keep me updated mate!

[@ChrisTopher_Urbanism]

@@CockatooTransit Will do!

[@noelgibson5956]

As a former car enthusiast, I find myself agreeing with you completely. I live in a suburb that isn't that great, but my my unit is near everything I use, work, shops, vet, etc, removing the need to own a car. Are you Autistic? I think so. I am too. All the other things I missed out on due to car ownership. Couldn't travel overseas because the car prevented me saving money. If I needed to buy food or toiletries, oh hang on, I have an overdue parking fine. If I needed a new lounge or washing machine, wait a moment:- the car's transmission or engine requires attention.........and on it goes! Cars are like a second mortgage that you can probably more easily discard. If you live in an urban area near everything, DON'T own a car! Your mental, physical, financial and general well-being will improve immensely.

[@adadhikary8272]

Absolutely that sign which shows pedestrian look for cars is awful. Traffic engineer must consider pedestrian mobility first in the hierarchy.

[@electro_sykes]

The Albert Tibby Cotter Bridge isn't about making it safer for pedestrians to cross. Its about moving pedestrians out of the way of cars

[@yggdrasil9039]

Sydney's big mistake is not to have an over-arching cycle network. Local councils make horrible uncoordinated decisions with cycle paths that lead nowhere and service nothing. Then when no-one uses the paths, they conclude that no-one wants to cycle. Cycling infrastructure should be handled by the STATE, and Sydney should have a cycle network that parallels the road network. This can then be used by cyclists, e bikes, and e scooters.

[@billeves4627]

I don't want to share my cycleway with e-scooter thanks. They are illegal.

[@yggdrasil9039]

@@billeves4627 Well then prepare to continue to cycle on the road, because e scooters are hugely popular and convenient, and would put more pressure on the govt to build bike paths. If you're going to import the 'get out of the way of my car' mentality onto bike paths, then I doubt much will get built. Also try living in a European city where there are very few bike paths (eg not one in the Netherlands!). Yet somehow all road users including cars, trucks, bikes and e scooters generally are considerate of all modes of transport and seem to be able for the most part to share the road.

[@petergibson7287]

@@billeves4627no they are not!

[@dominicgalvin]

Wentworth Ave Mascot “cyclists to dismount” sign on a shared path. I’ve ignored that too many times!

[@oufukubinta]

In Japan there are so many elevated walkways across roads, and it's nothing fancy at all - just very cheaply built and minimalistic bridges but you see them everywhere and they're heavily used. Sometimes they even connect to a building like a shopping center

[@thrusta100]

Earthquake proof?

[@jimbolimbobimbo369]

Woah, the bus shelter at 5:40 is an iconic Action Bus Stop. I didnt realise they existed outside of Canberra!

[@jamesfrench7299]

Looks like it's 1970s type modern.

[@volkan3797]

World needs more people like you my friend. As a regular shopper at Marsden Park business centre I have to drive between all the shops because it is unsafe and there are no actual crossings lanes or lights. Pedestrians are disregarded from day one of the design of the suburb. Multimillion dollar business in the area has no care in the world too. Disappointing

[@mattweller]

Thank you for all that you do for the residents of Sydney!

[@Flare03l]

Outside central station I feel like theres some room for improvement. - The crossing opposite the woolies metro on Elizabeth street is often so packed at peak hour (because crossing times are so slow) that people spill out onto the streets or move further up the road to cross - A bicycle lane just randomly ends where all the pedestrians are, so people on bikes just crash into other people waiting to cross the road. Then the bikelane comes back for 50 meters, then it goes away, and then it comes back again 😵 My 2c, we shouldn't have highways ripping right through the city, it's not as bad as USA, but it's pretty bad.

[@evanwatts6096]

Yes I live near hear and it drives me crazy how bad the path design is

[@blordo]

I think they have done a fairly good job to insert the bike lane where there wasn't one previously and allow for the addition of light rail in the same space.

[@papa_gowon]

I noticed the other day the pedestrian signals have been changed near Green Square station so now pedestrians can no longer cross 2 roads during 1 signal, now having to wait in the middle island for a long time. It sounds minor and it is, but this along with the Dunning Ave Rosebery cycleway being removed (which I used every day, take that NIMBYs) has been getting me down. This video makes me feel like I'm not alone.

[@rakeau]

Few things that pop out to me right away: - The reason the footpath likely ends where it does on Richmond Rd is because that's largely where the road upgrades / duplication started (or ended). I guess they did some duplication work a little beyond there but it largely joins up to the original road. Also, there seems to be some issues with the road's proximity to the properties that back onto the road. - The reason the Boundary Rd probably lacks a footpath is because the road is also unchanged. A lot of the roads around there are. They're the intact roads that are exactly as they were "in the sticks" before all the urbanization around them. The footpaths probably don't exist because no work has been done to the road itself either. Whenever upgrades do happen, I'd imagine they'll probably do road and footpaths both at the same time. - I drove along Doonside Rd past Bungaribee Park earlier this afternoon and I did notice the bus stop there had some seating installed ... in the form of a milk crate 🤣 I wonder if that was put there by Blacktown council? - I always get a kick out of recognising so many of these locations 😁

[@Craigbn981]

Good video! A couple of other points about footpaths, almost every local street in the Blacktown area (and I think close by areas too) only have footpaths on one side. It’s a real bad look for western Sydney when they can’t have a proper footpath on each side of every street. Plus a problem that happens all over Sydney - motorists parking across driveways blocking footpaths for everyone, in particular persons in wheelchairs, persons with strollers etc

[@yggdrasil9039]

The thing is, many of these policies were adopted when Australia had a car industry to protect. Now we have none, yet these policies remain, boosting the profits of overseas car companies. The very definition of a habit continuing well past its use by date.

[@lachd2261]

The ironic thing is that we do still manufacture trams, trains and bus bodies, but not cars!

[@PatSmashYT]

I like that you still see cars as important while also praising public transit unlike the other transit channels who think cars are the second coming of satan

[@marcospaccavento5567]

It’s tiresome, isn’t it? Yeah, car centric cities aren’t good but we’re stuck with making them work better now.

[@d0tc0mmie]

The long crossing waits is something I have to deal with daily with my commute into Woolloomooloo, it can sometimes take 3+ minutes just to wait for crossing to go green which is absolutely insane to me.

[@evanhadkins5532]

Another reason for the neglect of pathways is that they don't go to the shops (or other places) that people want to go (in a brief time anyway). Suburbs are designed for cars. Trip chaining is a big issue. To go to a few places by public transport rather than car can take w a y longer. I've been a pedestrian all my life. The lack of infrastructure at bus stops and having to walk beside busy roads is incredible. And I don't have any mobility problems. The lack of stairs to the bridge is probably for accessibility for bikes and wheelchairs.

[@ForTheBirbs]

Thanks for another interesting video. Here's another one - Delhi Road, North Ryde. Footpath abruptly ends on both sides, and then it's play chicken with cars on one side of safety barrier or snakes and ticks if you can get through on the other side

[@punchpineapple]

Hundred percent agree with this video, especially about wait times for traffic lights. There's one in Carlton that consistently doesn't work at a certain time in the afternoon. Thanks for your videos.

[@hogfather22]

My neighbourhood in North Sydney is fairly good for walkability. My main gripe would be with the unfair timing length of pedestrian crossing lights. There's a set at Neutral Bay junction that are on for barely 10 seconds while the parallel active traffic is running for like a minute or two.

[@cassiel2632]

I know EXACTLY which crossing at Neutral Bay you're talking about, too! You gotta HUSTLE to make it across before the light goes red!

[@thrusta100]

If you ever in Ridge st make sure you slow the traffic by walking in middle of road, they too impatient around here, I get in front to slow them down

[@yellowgerbie]

This footpath-to-nowhere thing is all too common in Sydney urban sprawl areas 😖😖😖

[@charlielloyd1080]

The viability of any public transport service depends on passengers having easy access to stops. Sydney has a very long way to go in order to provide adequate pedestrian access. In the Netherlands the rail system depends on good cycle links, about 55% of journeys involve a cycle link at one or both ends. Here in the UK things are improving slowly. I travel 165 km each way about once a week. Train + bike is faster, cheaper and much more enjoyable than driving. I ride about 8 km through fields and forest at one end. Next 90-100 minutes by train, watching KZbin and writing comments. Then about 6 km through the centre of London on tracks or roads with restricted motor traffic. I am so lucky compared to people trying to make similar journeys in the Sydney area.

[@Axaul]

Knowing that the concept of “15 minute cities” will trigger the usual suspects 😂

[@NigelDraycott]

My pet hate are shopping centre carparks with zero thought to allowing people to safely walk from your car to the shops and visa versa. I give you Stanhope Gardens shopping centre as a prime example.

[@stuartv3115]

Sharath, fantastic that you are shining light on this stuff. Many would be pretty surprised to know that the NSW Department for Transport has one priority and one only: flow of cars. Safety of pedestrians and riders is only considered by denial of access. Build a fence or remove the ability to cross a road "for safety". Slowing the traffic flow for safety of walkers and riders (by use of pedestrian crossings or properly prioritised lights) is vigorously resisted. This consistently prejudices the ability of everyone to move about apart from in a car. That is mostly the young and the old, but also those who for whatever reason do not want to or cannot drive or access a car. This comes from the same place that will resist medium density housing and mixed zoning, two other vital planks of a liveable city. Keep up the good work.

[@adamwilson6423]

Amen. I live in Hornsby Shire Council & active transport links are poor or non-existent. For example anyone who wants to use a e-bike for short commutes ie shopping, would struggle to find a safe route between Hornsby & Epping. You see this pattern repeated all throughout Sydney.

[@haynick8887]

Woo, getting 3 mentions in the video, thanks Sharath! Fortunately Parra council have opened their 2023 biking masterplan up for community consultation this month, and there are plans to fix the TWAY cycleway. So thats a win!

[@Ladadadada]

Even better than a kerb cut is a continuous footway. They make drivers go up and over rather than pedestrians go down to road level, which slows drivers down and doesn't fill up with water and mud when it rains. Just one more way to indicate that pedestrians actually matter.

[@snowleopard9749]

Well said: True freedom is having a choice.

[@philipbyrne3037]

Thanks so much Sharath and community for providing so many egregious examples of active transport infrastructure in Sydney. There were a disturbing number of sites where I have risked my life on a bicycle! Hopefully your community can become an active voice for greater Sydney given your recent exposure in mainstream media.❤

[@brittenmusic6923]

Tackling problems I never thought would be raised…ever! Thank you

[@batterysurf]

wow those abruptly ended pedestrian lanes/ bike lanes are like subtly indicating to people to leap forward and commit suicide by cars.

[@richardboult2187]

Great for highlighting these failings. Just insane!

[@handyandyaus]

Great the profile and story about you in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald. You are definitely an influential voice in the planning debate. Maybe you could post a link to the story?

[@saadb0ys]

Thanks for all you do Sharath! Very important stuff

[@mrawesome9219]

Cries in Newcastle. So many roads and streets in inner-suburbs (the outer-suburbs are even worse) here completely lack footpaths or any safe ways to cross dangerous roads. Bus stops very rarely have shade or seating (or even a footpath) and the frequencies and routes are abysmall. There is little safe cycling infrastructure available to connect places either. It's no wonder Newcastle has one of the highest car-dependency rates in the country.

[@nadmia9146]

the mysterious case of footpaths/shared paths ending abruptly is something occurs all over the place, but particularly near newer suburbs/developments. The reason for this, is the construction of the footpath is often placed as a condition of consent for the construction of the development. The onus to construct the footpath is placed on the developer, and is often not part of a broader pedestrian strategy. Of course the developer is only required to construct the path adjacent to their development site, so the Council needs to wait for the next site along to be developed for the footpath to continue. There are examples around Sydney of multiple 20 metre footpaths being constructed with 40 metre gaps of dirt between them. In the case of Colebee/Richmond Road, I would be fairly sure the construction of the shopping centre had a condition on their development approval to construct the footpath, but the Council/State has no intention of continuing it.

[@dougm3037]

You make some great points about bad & dangerous urban planning. Footpaths to nowhere. Tell me about it. I live in the northern beaches in Cairns and footpaths/bikepaths certainly have a hotch-potch feel about them up here. I actually emailed our local state MP about the lack of a pedestrian crossing at Smithfield shopping centre. Pedestrians have to play chicken with the Cook highway to cross where Bunnings and a number of other retailers are located. I've seen better pedestrian infrastructure in Malaysia & Thailand. I'm on a blind pesion and can't get a driver's licence so good transport links are vital for me. Sometimes I feel I'm barely a second class citizen re mobility. If things improved I'm not sure that that many more people would use the facilities but I'd like to find out. Sadly we are sedentary lot these days.

[@clabood]

This happened near my local high school on the Central Coast. It was down to one council willing to pay for the pathway but the other wasn't willing. So the pathway just ended and we were forced to walk on the road. This was used by school kids walking/cycling to school.

[@bisiilki]

I imagine the Project Brief for the milk crate was 60 pages long 😅

[@clabood]

@@bisiilki what milk crate? I think I am missing something.

[@jdillon8360]

This is so important. Every footpath should have curb cuts that take people in a straight line where they need to cross. It's astonishing that this kind of stuff gets overlooked, but we spend billions on making vehicle travel as smooth as possible.

[@Mystic_Dino]

Love you channel keep up the good work

[@VJMorph]

Great video mate. The topics, production quality & even the humour keeps getting better ;)

[@jim_ouk]

11:07 I frequently travel to Wetherill Park for the Stocklands Shopping Centre or the Greenway Centre. Yet I just realised that I may have been pronouncing "Wetherill" wrong this whole time... Your work in raising awareness for better planning and public transportation is outstanding! It's also clear that you love exploring and traveling round' Sydney, which is great. There was a couple of your past videos where it makes me considering traveling there myself - like Wondabyne. And I was not expecting you to not ONLY appear on 7News, I watched that news section, but also on the Sydney Morning Herald? Keep up the good work.

[@babylon6847]

You mean 'Stockland'?

[@jim_ouk]

…yep.

[@marcospaccavento5567]

Another excellent video. And the sound effects cracked me up 😂

[@buggersofoz]

Great thoughts! My first job was in urban and regional planning, but I moved on to other government services. When I moved to Sydney almost 4 years ago from Germany I was shocked how bad the public transport and road infrastructure is. The pinnacle of idiocy for me was a 'give way to cars' sign on a bloody bike path on the entrance to the bloody Moore Park golf course, which shouldn't even exist in a modern city! Then almost got ploughed over by a car in the middle of an intersection despite multiple layers of fluo clothing (fluo vest on top of fluo jersey) and flashing lights... and then it got better, I've heard the story how trams were dismantled!!! Such a great comprehensive bloody network... we're doomed here😂

[@daskurka]

Great video mate, keep up the good work!

[@samedwards6276]

I absolutely hate that bridge over Anzac parade, I usually park at the boys school when I go to the cricket, and it means I have to allow an extra 2020 just to walk across the road

[@tacitdionysus3220]

There's a wonderful example of prioritising in the Liverpool LGA, along the conveniently short walking route from Warwick Farm Racecourse to Warwick Farm Station. All quite visible on Google Maps and Street View. There is a beautifully laid out pedestrian/cycleway along the Northern side of Governor Macquarie Drive that just stops as you begin to approach Munday Street. (Actually, the final section is barricaded off and it ceases a little further along). Been like that for years now. Apparently redoing that whole intersection area was part of a much bigger project (removal of the remnants of the old Racecourse station platforms, construction of thoroughbred horse sale yards, a hotel, new parking, and widening of Gov Mac Drive), but this bit was left uncompleted. If you are in the know, you will cross Governor Macquarie Drive at the traffic lights at the Racecourse/hotel entrance access. There you will find a makeshift narrow tar path that goes along the opposite side heading towards the station. As you approach Munday Street the road narrows and has high fences, so much so that on the other side (where the original path was heading) it is right up against the roadway. Then you realise why: It's to accommodate the old horse tunnel under the road between the racecourse to Hope street and stabling/exercise facilities. Clearly pedestrians have the lowest priority, but I'm not sure who has the highest, the cars or the horses!

[@rollercoastertycoon2]

i literally walked exactly where you are and thought the exact same thing i can’t believe i found this video

[@yesand5536]

This is an issue you've spotted well and did something about. Fantastic!

[@TeachingJazz]

You're quite right , pedestrians in Sydney are treated like rubbish. All you said, plus roads that don't even have any footpath at all, anywhere. Or both sides of the road blocked, "pedestrians use other footpath".

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

I know I have said this before, but your channel is on point!!!!!!

[@Andytheevien]

Congratulations on an amazing made video. I bought myself a auto motorcycle (scooter) because I wanted the speed of car with the cost md mobility of a bicycle. I hope we become more like the Netherlands but humans are stubborn to change and love their cars. Especially since COVID.

[@blokeabouttown2490]

I saw you on the news the other day, good job.

[@diggitydingdong]

ur fighting the good fight mate. keep it up. would love to see more vids on car dependency in sydney in the future

[@kennylee8936]

I wonder.... What if Transport for NSW and other infrastructure based companies started making ads where the intent is to instill fear to car-dependent users...for example: -An add showing unhappy people in cars waiting in traffic vs. People happily sitting on trains/buses moving freely. -Maybe portraying showing people who drive more as unfit and prone to heart problems then transitioning that into a fit healthy person who walks everywhere. -Two friends talking and the friend who doesn't drive brags about how much money they saved not driving compared to their car owner friend. I doubt these would work immediately but it would be interesting to see if shock tactics like this would push people to ditch the car.

[@TommyMoritz]

That sound bite on repeat is concerning 😂

[@electro_sykes]

Councils should make every bus stop with a shelter provided, signage timetable

[@beasts4life_99]

These same issues also appear in Melbourne, especially poorly located bus stops. Until March 2023, there was a bus stop on a freeway for the Organ Pipes National Park that could only be accessed by crossing the freeway

[@exploringsydneysrailways]

At 4:10, perhaps the reason there's no footpath is because this road is on a council boundary (hence the name Boundary Road), and both councils left it to the other one to build a footpath?

[@zaamuro8408]

And its hard to force the developer to put a footpath in for part of the property that doesn't front theirs. I know, I'm a local.

[@mitchellbaker4847]

I'd hazard a guess that the developer was required to put footpath within their development prior to handover. Then in the Council area as there is no kerb and gutter they can't just slap a footpath next to it. No K+G means no proper stormwater infrastructure. You'd need to re-do at least part of the road as you can't just slap down K+G next to road pavement that was previously unsealed. That'd require some serious funding grants and probably some backing from politicians to get it pushed through the relevant state government departments. Not as easy as just slapping down some concrete and calling it a day.

[@petergibson7287]

@@zaamuro8408it isn’t hard because Baulkham Hills council forces homeowners to do it if they do an extension or knock down rebuild.

[@zaamuro8408]

@@petergibson7287 that's in front of their property. This road is not...

[@petertullemans]

Your video makes me glad I live in the inner city where theirs heaps of walkable neighbourhoods and activated street frontages

[@GauravPiya]

Hi Sharath, in this video, you have walked past one of the poorly designed roundabout & intersection in Colebee (in Alderton Drive). Try driving through this roundabout in morning office hour (with ample spare time & patience 😜) and you will have another topic for your video. Congrats and keep it up🙏

[@Koston44]

Fully agree

[@nanobyte5567]

I live on the northern beaches, and one thing I noticed walking around Cabramatta for around an hour was the lack of maintenance of footpaths in a lot of the streets. Really skinny with grass starting to cover over, and paths that looked fairly old. I’m not sure what the rest of western Sydney is like, but I imagine this would be a decent sample of what you typically get. That said, the northern beaches has its fair share of dodgy paths, but not as many

[@jamesfrench7299]

Seems to indicate Cabramatta has more car dependence than the peninsula which has a well patronised bus network, yet Cabramatta has a rail line.

[@miks_w8945]

​@jamesfrench7299 Yep, Western Sydney in a nutshell, we have rail lines but not enough so lots of people use cars to cover the urban sprawl in western sydney. That and underfunding.

[@David.Horne72]

The old saying goes, money talks

[@nathanruddock8541]

12:40 I’ve been caught out at this intersection trying to go to Bunnings. Sucks that they didn’t add a crosswalk when they upgraded the intersection 😅

[@MH_darkfan]

Hey thanks for the "shoutout" on my submission on the bus stop in Edmondson Park (MH_23510). It's just unfortunately the tip of the iceberg in pedestrian infrastructure in Sydney as there are flaws very nearby but it's up to future planners in achieving that NSW Active Transport plan. It will also be interesting to see what could happened to the M5 bike path in case TfNSW does the upgrade work to manage congestion between Moorebank Avenue and A28 Hume Highway exits.

[@EatMyShortsAU]

Sharath, thanks for naming and shaming these spots hopefully the councils/government will improve some of these areas.

[@skeyzie]

The bridge you mentioned at Moore Park. Just so it can be clarified if not done so already, even though the quickest route from Central to the stadia is via Foveaux St, most people won't exit the station close to it. Devonshire St is a much easier walk with only the light rail on it. Add to that building the bridge further north would require the acquisition of sports fields and a relocation of a war monument. Where it is, is by far the best location for it. Love your vids make. Keep up the good work.

[@ulrikezachmann7596]

Imagine looking for a public park and green space in the west of Sydney to relax and have a bit of recreation only to find the only bit of green space is a fenced off a football field or horse racing facility and not for public access. Just go as far as Canterbury. It gets even worse the further west you go with road crossings so dangerous you risk your life every time you walk somewhere. They seem to just hate people. Cars cars cars. This is an insult to humanity.

[@williamchirgwin8754]

Hello, another informative and depressing video. A good job in highlighting this issue long neglected in Sydney and the rest of NSW. There is no money in pedestrians and cyclists; motorists pay, they make profits for big businesses. Sydney had the largest tram network in the world until it shut in 1962, a corrupt action saw it closed overnight, not something the public wanted or agreed to. When they build any motorway, it makes sense to run rail through the centre, something that can move far more people, seems to get no traction with the political class. Money is all that matters, certainly not liveability, is evident. Keep up your good work. Thank you.

[@nadmia9146]

In my opinion there are two very quick and cheap wins for pedestrians which should be implemented all over the place. Firstly, redirect streetlights to light up pedestrian paths rather than roads. Cars have headlights, pedestrians do not. Secondly, in residential/low traffic areas, rather than constructing crappy incomplete footpaths leading to nowhere, the road itself should become a pedestrian shared area, with suitable surface treatments to slow traffic, and lower speed limits. I can guarantee you, that far more care will be placed on the maintenance of such areas if they are also being used by cars, and not just pedestrians. This is a win win.

[@chickennoodle6620]

Also, low traffic junctions should have raised section so that pedestrians don't have to go down to the road level to cross, but cars need to go up to the pedestrian level to go through and turn at the intersection.

[@JaseyRae]

Heck, I live in the Blacktown City Council area and actually live next door to a non-existent footpath which abruptly ends just 1 metre before the house next door north of my house, meaning there’s literally a 50 metre gap with no footpath, I essentially avoid walking on it during rainy days, forcing me to walk across the road to use its footpath.

[@marcozolo3536]

Great video Sharath. Will you be doing an episode in future on the eastern suburbs metro line where you were featured on 7 news? That was quite a welcome surprise to see you on there mate. Anyways being an Eastern suburbs resident my entire life, and the recent changes with having trams which has ushered in more density along its route and now the possibility of a metro within my lifetime is a very thrilling prospect. Hopefully you can cover your point of view on what it would take to make such a metro work if extending from Hunter St to the east. Or where you would expect the optimum locations for its metro stations to be. So far that news piece mentioned Zetland to Randwick and Maroubra to La Perouse. Would there be one between Hunter St and Zetland? Possibly Oxford St near Taylor square for improved accessibility and commercial & residential potential. Well, looking forward to more from you and keep up the good work!

[@crazycomet8635]

The tway design included a cycleway bridge but the builders "forgot" to build it. They paid $20m compensation to Parramatta City council

[@Egg-mr7np]

Top vid! That Tibby Cotter bridge seems to be for when Moore Park is used as overflow parking for the stadiums. Effectively it is limited use infrastructure for car users, not a public use footpath.

[@sunnyyan1080]

The grass between Driver Ave and Anzac Pde is sometimes used for parking, cars are never allowed onto the bridge. I believe the point of the spirals is to handle a large crowd of people that can't use stairs, which might be the case during special events.

[@jack2453]

@@sunnyyan1080 I don't think anyone said cars use the bridge. The point is that the bridge is for the benefit of drivers, not pedestrians or public transport users.

[@daveg2104]

Yeah. They don't want stairs on what would be considered a pedestrian route during special events, even if it is "just" for car users. I would say that with the improvements at the southern end of Central, the bridge does give better access to Devonshire St for those that want to walk to the station. I'm no too sure on light rail access.

[@bisiilki]

Back in the mid 2010s i would go to see Sydney FC games and i'd march with The Cove over that bridge. At the time i don't even think there was a footpath to it on the western side because my feet would always end up muddy on the way home.

[@skeyzie]

Moore Park, more specifically Kippax Lake is used for parking. Not that western side. The school parking for events funnel people down Cleveland St. The purpose is to get people off the footpaths during big events, hence it is best accessed via Devonshire St for those doing a pub crawl or dinner on route, and Devonshire St is the light rail corridor.

[@graemetunbridge1738]

How are toxic cars necessary ?? 'Pedestrians please consider cars and hold your breath'.

[@rodcampbell8231]

One only needs to visit Canberra to see how active transport should and could be done with appropriate planning and funding. Maybe you should visit there and make a video about how good it is and why.

[@alimfuzzy]

It would be nice if you do a story on what happened to the bike lanes in the city. Some just end and you have to merge with traffic. Others are well designed. Is it done? Is it half built?

[@graemecampbell5556]

Or how they changed from bike lanes having priority to every junction being a shared zone

[@xyznihall]

great video

[@Koston44]

The missing cycle link at 10:24 is actually about to start construction as a city of parramatta council major project!

[@DEVILTAZ35]

Hey mate. I’ll admit I had to look up the meaning of ‘SMH’ in relation to the poor cyclists as I only knew that as abbreviations for Sydney Morning Herald’. A Nice shot from the Princes Hwy overpass bridge at Waterfall towards the end there. I lived there for almost a third of my life and got the train to school there. It was much safer back then to walk to the station from my home and even come home late at night where it was pitch black with little lighting in the short cut laneways to my house. I think you are right on the money these days to advocate for decent lighting for people walking home from public transport stops at night too. This was a really good video with your usual Wit added in to alleviate any chance of boredom too.

[@hamishashcroft3233]

An underrated element of good active travel infrastructure/inviting streetscapes is that it extends the radius that a public transport station will be accessed by. That essentially gives you much better bang for your buck in terms of rail infrastructure. If a rail station is surrounded by boring, car dominated, in accessible landscapes, the walking catchment could be just a couple of hundred metres before people turn to driving. If you make that a lively, dense, interesting mixed use neighbourhood - with commercial outlets, greenspces, lively streetscapes etc, the walking catchment will be more like a km or more. With cycling, it’s even further.

[@bazmeade]

Hi Sharath/ Great video. Just thought I'd chip in with that Devonshire Street is definitely the more logical route from Central - better gradient, newer exit, also satisfies people coming from the other side of Central. In contrast, Foveaux Street is a ridiculous gradient that even my fit friends struggle with, and my parents would have no chance for.

[@exploringsydneysrailways]

At 10:00, the routes shown are from the northern exit of Central Station, but if you take the southern exit at the Devonshire Street tunnel, then it's fastest to go along Devonshire Street and take the bridge.

[@charvey87]

It’s also a slightly easier grade to walk up than tackling the steep hill up Foveaux St, and given that prior to the installation of the separated cycle path on Fitzroy St, the narrow footpath along that stretch definitely not suitable for a large volume of pedestrians that could spill onto the road given Fitzroy St is quite busy with vehicles heading down to Central. Devonshire St was a much quieter street for traffic, even more so now with the light rail running along its length. Much better route for pedestrians.

[@localsocietymember7884]

hi nice moe sir and great channel and video's. unfortunately its all over Australia in every state.

[@sylfan1]

Interesting to see when you go searching for that Bella Vista area, some parts of street view you can see an entire shopping complex in 2009, and other parts it's all been levelled for a train station. Mind-blowing that they cleared an entire mall and redid it.

[@Richy.Boi.]

Good to see you on 7news talking bout PT

[@jace888au]

Eastwood used to have a similar sign to meadowbank 14:35 in the main pedestrian strip!

[@stuffshhshsbs]

And now it is worse ... They replaced it with traffic lights... Which seem to prioritise vehicles over pedestrians near the NAB.

[@auzzgames]

Hi Sharath, big fan here! Was wondering what your thoughts are on Macquarie Park? I’ve lived here for a few years and love it-I have the uni, Macquarie Centre, and the metro station all within a 5 minute walk from my apartment. But it’s also a strange area with lots of businesses surrounding the Centre; it’s not very walkable or good for pedestrians anywhere else.

[@bocci2936]

I've spent a lot of time in Macquarie Park and the metro, uni, and Macquarie Centre are great, but otherwise the area is shockingly unwalkable

[@dyalander]

There are multiple plans in place to reduce block sizes and deliver fine grain connections in Mac pk. Council’s LEP provides incentive heights and FSR in return for contributions to the fine grain roads and connections.

[@stevewandel9317]

That ped xing near Meadowbank train station is ridiculous. If you're unlucky to be driving through there at peak time, and a train has just left, I swear I've waited 10 minutes or more before the herd of straggling sheep finished crossing the road. I get that at other major intersections pedestrian movements are simple fitted into the vehicle phases and then which causes long waiting times, but this is a good example of what can happen when the opposite is allowed.

[@peterbuckley3877]

It’s probably somewhere on the councils works schedule but if it’s like our street it had only been in the schedule for 30 years before they finally did it.

[@hamishashcroft3233]

Another thing which is extremely important but completely neglected/not spoken about enough is making walking/cycling routes pleasant, enjoyable and interesting. so basic but even if you build amazing walking paths and build them beside an 8 line stroad with boring, repetitive and car dominated surroundings, very few people are likely to use them