Back in early 2024, Transport for NSW confirmed that they’d begun working on the long-awaited (and debated) Oxford Street cycleway. Today, the first stretch has officially opened to cyclists.
The one-kilometre stretch of cycleway runs along the northern edge of Oxford Street and partly along Liverpool Street, connecting Hyde Park (on the edge of the CBD) to Taylor Square in the heart of Darlinghurst.
The dedicated two-way cycle path connects cyclists to the existing Bourke Street, Liverpool Street, and College Street cycle paths, which is expected to benefit the city’s cycling population. According to the City of Sydney, around 3,000 cyclists travel along Oxford Street every day—a number that’s expected to double now that the first stage of the cycle route is open. When the project was announced, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore described Oxford Street as the most dangerous road for cyclists in the entire city, citing the fact that it’s home to the highest number of bike accidents.
The cost of the first stretch of the project has been estimated at $18.5 million, with the extension along the rest of Oxford Street (for a further 1.8 kilometres as far as Centennial Park) yet to be officially confirmed. Opinions on the cycleway are mixed, with cyclists thrilled they no longer have to navigate buses and cars along the busy throughline into the city, but some residents and business owners are opposed to the development.
You can learn more about the plans for Oxford Street Cycleway East over here.