Winning competition design reveals active transport addition to an Australian icon

The culmination of years of careful planning by Transport for NSW, the new accessible cycleway will enable cyclists aged from eight to 80 to transition seamlessly from the bridge’s northern end to Bradfield Park. The ASPECT-led design team comprises design partners Collins and Turner, and Yerrabingin, Design 5 Architects, Eckersley O’Callaghan, JMT Consulting and Electrolight.

Sacha Coles, Director of ASPECT Studios, said the strength of the winning design lies in its appreciation of the existing context.

The curving bridge is minimal in its solution and organic in its geometry. The design team looked to a wide range of sources in the natural and modern worlds to arrive at the winning design, which ties this project to its place.

The cycleway will retain the existing relationship between the Harbour Bridge and Bradfield Park by ensuring that any intrusion on views to the bridge for park visitors and residents is minimised. To retain the legibility of state heritage-listed structures like the Milsons Point Station entrance and the Burton Street arch, the alignment of the cycleway has been designed to match that of the viaduct – leaving the park open and uncluttered. The cycleway touches the ground onto an existing path, minimising the requirement for additional hard surfaces and preserving all existing trees.

This project will solve a number of pressing questions about the flows of active transport in Sydney. The Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway is the most heavily used in the city, with approximately 2,000 bike trips taken each weekday. 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. At peak times, this obstacle congests movement and creates a safety hazard. At the same time, the cycleway will make active transport an accessible choice for a larger number of people.