The Bay Run and Cycle, to give it its full name, goes around Iron Cove. It provides an increasingly popular off road walking and cycling circuit of about 7km, which has been developed in sections from before 2000. Nearly all of it now has separated walking and cycling paths. There is a short section in Callan Park where a quiet section of park road is used (Foreshore Drive, past the lower oval). The new Iron Cove Bridge has a two way shared path, with a centre line. Cyclists and pedestrians share a lane in each direction. See some photos.
It is sometimes crowded and there are afew places where the path is narrow or has bollards. Cyclists often avoid it on weekends because of the crowds but it is a pleasant ride during the week.
The local member for Balmain, and Minister for Education, Verity Firth,[note added: she lost her seat in the 2010 State Election] obtained a $700,000 grant for paving the Leichhardt section, but the Authority responsible for doing the work (SHFA) had its DA knocked back by the Council! The Council wanted a wider path than the narrow 3m one that SHFA was proposing, and use of Foreshore Road rather than a separate path past the oval (mainly to save money for the wider path elsewhere). The impasse went on for a year. With elections approaching there was finally some agreement.
Bicycle NSW (President, Omar Khalif and COO Liz Hole) and LBUG (me) met the Minister on 20 December 2010 and she seems to be keen to get SHFA to adopt Council’s prefered design.
I suggested that some other improvements (Google photos link) be added, as neither Council or SHFA seemed to be aware of these problems- possibly because neither consulted cyclists. SHFA and Council developed a new DA and works were started in 2011.
Canada Bay Council upgraded a section around Timbrell Drive in 2015-16, including a striking new bridge over the Iron Cove Ck canal, replacing a narrow footpath on the road bridge. Ashfield Council (now part of Inner West Council) is undertaking a widening of the path along the Haberfield foreshore. Works were delayed in 2016 but should commence in April 2017 according to the Innerwest Council (see Blog on Bay Run Upgrades).
Note in 2020- new divided path is excellent but is in close proximity to the busy City West Link. There is the risk of a vehicle running off the road, as there is no safety barrier. This has been raised with RMS and the local MP Jo Haylen.
