Looking after pedestrians and cyclists in Sydney

Sydney has embraced bicycles and pedestrians. The City is spending $76 million over the next 4 years on rolling out 200km of cycleways in Sydney. Part of the investment is to improve the lot of cyclists in the CBD. To improve the permeability of the one-way road system and to improve safety for cyclists they are delivering a number of separated bi-directional cycleways through closing curbside lanes.
This photo of King Street (from the Council web site) shows the type of facility. The maps below show some of the CBD cycleway links they are building.








The ABC reports that Council is considering restricting vehicle access to George Street between Bathurst and Market Streets to just taxis and buses, rolling out a 40kph speed limit throughout the City. These are part of the recommendations of Gehl Architects which recommended a more holistic mindset of traffic and public space planning that looks after pedestrians and cyclists and improves the visual amenity of the City. Anyone who has walked up George Street from would agree with that. This shot from Google Streetview of George St shows why it would not win any awards for people friendly design.
I look forward to doing a tour of these projects in my next visit to Sydney.