ASPECT Studios leads one of top three teams selected in global competition for the new Sydney Harbour Bridge cycle ramp project

ASPECT Studios’ team is one of the three practices selected by Transport for New South Wales in a competitive design process to design the important missing link that will allow cyclists to transition from the bridge’s northern end to Bradfield Park.

ASPECT Studios is leading a team that comprises Collins and Turner, Yerrabingin, Design 5 Architects, Eckersley O’Callaghan, JMT Consultingand Electrolight.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway is the most heavily used in the city, with approximately 2,000 bike trips taken each weekday. The northern access project will complete this vital piece of crucial bicycle infrastructure in an equitable and graceful way.

Currently, riders must climb 55 steps at the northern end of the bridge and push their bikes through safety barriers at the top for access. This is a safety hazard that prevents a large portion of the community from using their bikes and causes slow movement and congestion at peak travel times. It is essential that the cycleway provides an inclusive design solution that meets the needs of all users.

Many plans to replace the steps have been explored over the years and during this time the project has garnered a vast interest from the community and local residents. For over a decade, the New South Wales Government has undertaken design consultations to try find the best possible solution to the increasingly challenging issue of both enhancing pedestrian safety and improving cycle access to the bridge.

The commitment from Transport for New South Wales to enhance the safety and capacity of the cycleway, increase connections to the wider bike network and make bike riding convenient and attractive for more people all whilst embracing Indigenous culture, respecting the sites heritage and prioritising public open space is evident in their extensive efforts on this project to date.

Each of the teams were tasked to design creative solutions which were sensitive to place, underpinned by Country centred design and heritage considerations that delivered cyclists from the bridge to the park in an easy, safe and high-quality manner.

Appreciating the site’s context was key in the design approach and balancing intervention and preservation has informed all design decisions. ASPECT’s design aims to deliver on the primary challenge, which is to achieve functionality whilst preserving what is unique and powerful about the setting and what is valued by the community; that being – Country, the bridge and Bradfield Park.

The ASPECT-led team designed the concept with an underlying principle of Country to Country. They allowed the site’s typography and significant existing cultural values guide the design of a 21^st century piece of public infrastructure which is distinctly of its place.

The concept is designed to preserve the cherished park and its views of the sweeping arches of the harbour bridge, whilst minimising conflict between pedestrians and cyclists. The structural detail has a lightness, fluidity and transparency with equal considerations to robustness, buildability, sustainability and long-term maintenance.

Each of the three design concepts are now live for community engagement, allowing the opportunity to provide feedback and input on the ideas presented. A design jury and Transport for New South Wales will guide the selection of a winning team. The successful team will then complete the concept and detailed design to enable delivery of the project, expected to start in 2023.