Randwick Mayor Philipa Vietch, cheered on by BIKEast members, opens the first stage of a new separated cycleway providing critical cycling infrastructure between Kingsford and the City. Photo: Randwick City Council.
Cycling conditions are greatly improving for residents and visitors to Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs partly due to the hard work of BIKEast. This year the group celebrated the opening of two major separated cycleway projects, Waverley Council’s Bondi Junction Cycleway and Randwick’s Centennial Park to Kingsford Cycleway (above) as part of government funded walking and cycling improvements.
BIKEast began life as the Eastern Suburbs Bicycle User Group in July 1994 when the then BNSW CEO, Warren Salomon, Woolys Wheels owner, Michael Kamahl and Raymond Fowlke met to set up ongoing volunteer cycle advocacy in Waverley, Randwick and Woollahra Council areas plus Centennial Park. The new group, which formally incorporated in 2003 as BIKEast, drew on the members and earlier advocacy efforts of the Waverley Randwick Bicycle Group and the University of NSW BikeSoc.
Over the past two decades BIKEast has evolved into a strong cycle advocacy group led by an energetic Committee structured to provide advocacy leadership and community representation within five local governments (Bayside, City of Sydney, Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra) as well as with Transport for NSW and Centennial Parklands. Current President, Mark Worthington, has led the group since 2005 and oversees a very active bicycle advocacy effort with over 60 submissions and campaign events being undertaken each year.
Mayors of Sydney and Woollahra at the inauguration of BIKEast’s first Cycling Without Age trishaw, July 2019.
An exciting recent project began in 2019 when former BIKEast President, Adrian Boss, established BIKEast’s Cycling Without Age-Sydney East Chapter by securing grants from City of Sydney and Woollahra Councils and in 2021, from the Australian Government. This funding supported the purchase of two electric-assist trishaws providing free recreational rides to elderly residents in care homes and with independent home care packages.
BIKEast’s CWA program currently provides training to maintain an active group of trishaw pilots and in 2023 provided services to over 270 care home residents and independent mobility-challenged or sight-impaired people – supported by NDIS. Adrian has also provided valuable advice and assistance to a number of other groups to help them establish CWA chapters in the Sydney Metro region.
BIKEast members and friends on the annual Twilight Jacaranda Ride.
In addition to active advocacy and Cycling Without Age programs, BIKEast runs regular rides through its Meet Up platform. Many of these rides feature local attractions or to help local riders to become more aware of the many new bicycle network facilities popping up in their area. The City of Sydney has fully signposted its 10 regional routes and the annual BIKEast “Improving Your Mental Map” ride helps new and experienced riders to navigate their way around the urban bike network.
How to better navigate the City of Sydney’s regional route network is the subject of this annual BIKEast tour.
BIKEast’s proposed regional network of bicycle routes is aligned with the proposed TfNSW Strategic Bike Network and consistent with objectives of the Greater Sydney Regional Plan (GSRP). The network includes and extends on the City of Sydney’s proposed Inner Sydney Regional Bicycle Network.
