Frequently asked questions about the HCAT Project

Where is the Hawthorne Canal? The Hawthorne Canal runs south from Iron Cove, just west of Norton Street in Leichhardt. The Hawthorne Canal corridor goes from the sparkling waters of Iron Cove, along the linear park alongside the Hawthorne Canal, under Parramatta Road and right through to Marrickville and the Cooks River Cycleway at Canterbury for a distance of just under 6 kilometres. Who is working on the project? Gabrielle Kuiper is the Mobility Coordinator for the project. She is working with local organisations to promote cycling in ways that suit their circumstances and resources. She is based at Leichhardt Council Thursdays and Fridays but can be contacted anytime on 0410 324 942 or hcat@lmc.nsw.gov.au Bruce Ashley is the Project Manager, an environmental consultant and author of Bike-It! a guide to cycling in inner-city back streets. Vera Zaccari is the Project Administrator and the Road Safety Officer at Leichhardt Council. A Steering Committee comprised of representatives from the Marrickville and South Sydney Bicycle User Group (MASSBUG), the Leichhardt Bicycle User Group (LBUG), Leichhardt, Marrickville, Ashfield, and Canterbury Councils, PlanningNSW, the Roads and Traffic Authority and the Central Sydney Area Health Service are working together to oversee the planning and implementation of the project. The project is also guided by a Technical Advisory Group of transport and health professionals. Volunteers are a key part of the project and the project welcomes your involvement, whether you cycle or not. If you are interested in being involved in the HCAT project, please contact Gabrielle MASSBUG is the Marrickville and South Sydney Bicycle User Group – a local group of cyclists who initiated the HCAT project. For more information about MASSBUG, see their website or phone (02) 9294 5900. LBUG is the Leichhardt Bicycle User Group – a local group of cyclists who are supporters of the HCAT project. For more information about LBUG, see the website or phone (02) 8701 5019. Leichhardt Council is the project administrator. Ashfield, Marrickville and Canterbury Councils are also partners in the project. Several Trip Generators (local organisations) are involved in the project. How can I help? The project needs help counting cyclists, delivering fliers, running rides, being bike buddies or leading bike buses and helping out on at rides and festivals. If you can spare any time to help out the HCAT project, please contact Gabrielle on 0410 324 942 or hcat@lmc.nsw.gov.au How can I join the HCAT project email list? You are invited to join the low-volume HCAT project email list in order to keep in touch with what is happening to support and promote cycling in the area around the Hawthorne Canal from Iron Cove to Cooks River. It is a low volume list, mostly of reports and requests for assistance from the Mobility Coordinator (Gabrielle Kuiper). To join the email list: Simply send a blank email to HCAT-subscribe@lists.cat.org.au When you are subscribed to the list, please send an email introducing yourself and your involvement (if any) with the project. When are the rides? Check out the calendar to see when the rides are – or suggest one of your own. Most of the rides are easy or medium – see the gradings below. We aim to ride to the speed of the slowest person and to support beginner cyclists so please come along. Grading for Rides: Easy for any healthy person, little cycling experience necessary. Distances up to 25 km with gentle pace / terrain. Medium for fit teenage and healthy adult cyclists with geared bikes. Distances up to 50 km. What is the GreenWay project? The HCAT cycling project complements a larger project to create a GreenWay corridor from the Cooks River at Canterbury in the south, due north along the railway reserve to the Hawthorne Canal and connecting with Iron Cove. The GreenWay corridor is approximately 6 kilometres north-south and 4 kilometres east-west and includes parts of Ashfield, Leichhardt, Canterbury and Marrickville Councils (see map). A major feature of the GreenWay would be a continuous community pathway/cycleway utilising the railway corridor, quiet backs streets and existing pathways alongside Hawthorne Canal. The GreenWay cycleway will be an attractive car-free route connecting locations such as the residential and shopping districts of Leichhardt and Balmain, with Rozelle Hospital, the federation homes, shops and restaurants of Haberfield and the multicultural flavours of Marrickville. Much of the GreenWay is already in place as an ideal route for cycling and walking. Bush regeneration (as part of Sydney Greenweb) and community education about stormwater are also aspects of the GreenWay which are currently being developed. What is a BikeBus? (excerpt from Bike North Web Site) In a BikeBus cyclists ride as a group, closely bunched in pairs, taking just one lane which is our legal right and safer than cycling individually. Just like a bus there is a scheduled start time and designated BikeBus stops along the route. The BikeBus has a driver who rides at the front on the outside, and a conductor who rides at the back on the outside. The driver uses signals and calls to indicate road surface problems, slowing and stopping, action to take at lights etc., and when a merge into another lane is needed. The conductor decides when it is safe to change lane and changes first, blocking traffic from behind and allowing the rest of the BikeBus to change safely. The Inner West BikeBus is currently running every Wednesday to the following timetable: 7.40am Dulwich Hill Station 7.50am Marrickville Post Office 8.00am Enmore Park 8.05am Cnr King and Alice Streets, Newtown/Erskineville 8.20am Green Square Station 8.35am UNSW 8.40am Randwick Shops Download a poster about the Inner West BikeBus (Dulwich Hill-Randwick) here Why BikeBus? Well, its a fun way to get to work and it’s also quick. In a group even 'road warriors' feel safer, and taking the most direct route means the easiest route. The BikeBus is more visible to motorists than individual cyclists so we're making life easier for them as well... and of course every cyclist in the BikeBus is one less car on the highway!