Damn Prospect Dam

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g-boaf
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Fri May 10, 2013 5:31 pm

Shred931 wrote:
Hergest wrote: Remember, this is only a route for when the gates are closed.
That's not actually true. You can turn left at Reconciliation Road, pass through the barriers and over the T-WAY, then make a right at Davis Road, take the bike path along the T-Way up to Victoria Street. Make a right and follow Victoria St all the way to Cowpasture Road. Victoria has a nice shoulder which turns into a bus lane, its bus lane only but i've never had a problem there. Once you get to cowpasture make a right at the roundabout and then left at Trivet Street which turns into Chandos.
Chandos is not the greatest either - I've had a few close shaves along there. How hard can it be for them to sort out some wider shoulder on some of those roads for bikes?

Victoria Street is decent though. :)

ab012
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby ab012 » Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:34 pm

Decided to check it out today and was a bit shocked to find it locked at 3:15 in the afternoon :(

Even worse is this notice

"To allow these essential works to take place, the Prospect Reservoir grounds will be closed to the public from 1 September 2013 to the end of 2014. This includes the picnic areas within the grounds.

The cycleway at the base of the dam will also be closed with a diversion in place to allow cyclists to bypass the site using existing shared pathways within the local area."


http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/dams-and-wate ... -reservoir" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:evil: :evil: :(

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Wed Jul 17, 2013 10:04 pm

Let me guess, the diversion will be the T-Way?

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby Shred931 » Thu Jul 18, 2013 9:16 am

If i'm not mistaken its July not September. Those gates should be open until 4:30pm.

I bet they restrict cycling access post upgrade.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Tue Jul 23, 2013 7:42 pm

The best we could hope for is that they do a permanently open solution after this that doesn't close at night.

And maybe to go with it, a smooth shared path alongside potholed and crumbling Chandos road. Surely that road is due for some work, it isn't in good condition.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby Hergest » Wed Jul 24, 2013 8:14 pm

g-boaf wrote:
And maybe to go with it, a smooth shared path alongside potholed and crumbling Chandos road. Surely that road is due for some work, it isn't in good condition.
+1. Chandos is bloody awful and i don't know why roughly 1 kilometre of road from the roundabout to the entry to the M7 attracts so many clod headed drivers. I've had more cretins try to run me off the road down there than anywhere else. I tend to go further along the canal track and join at the Horsley Drive as even with the glass you often get on the path at least it's a path and is mostly smooth but more importantly is separate from the traffic.
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:02 pm

Hergest wrote:
g-boaf wrote:
And maybe to go with it, a smooth shared path alongside potholed and crumbling Chandos road. Surely that road is due for some work, it isn't in good condition.
+1. Chandos is bloody awful and i don't know why roughly 1 kilometre of road from the roundabout to the entry to the M7 attracts so many clod headed drivers. I've had more cretins try to run me off the road down there than anywhere else. I tend to go further along the canal track and join at the Horsley Drive as even with the glass you often get on the path at least it's a path and is mostly smooth but more importantly is separate from the traffic.
That's my way too. It's a lot safer, although it is quite a bit slower and less direct.

I'd do a petition about Chandos - though I suspect a lot of people are particularly hardened and see close-shaves from cars as a badge of honour over their less enthusiastic cycling counterparts.

Ages ago, someone on here recommended Chandos to me as a "quiet and safe road". It's anything but. :shock:

Victoria Street at night is great, the nice wide shoulder turns into a truck parking lot - so you end up in the traffic lanes. But it's better than nothing.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby Hergest » Mon Jul 29, 2013 6:10 pm

Once upon a time Chandos was indeed a quiet and safe backroad but that would have been over 15 years ago when really there was no need to use that road unless you lived there. I used to do a loop that took that in and the quiet (!) Cowpasture Road to Hoxton Park that was one lane either way with hardly any traffic. It's hard to believe what it's all like now with the development out that way.
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ab012
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby ab012 » Sun Aug 18, 2013 11:25 pm

Just noticed this...

http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/recreation/prospect-res" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
To allow these essential works to take place, the Prospect Reservoir grounds will be closed to the public from 1 October 2013 to the end of 2014. This includes the picnic areas within the grounds.

The cycleway at the base of the dam will also be closed with a diversion in place to allow cyclists to bypass the site using existing shared pathways within the local area.
(i.e. date changed to 1 October rather then 1 September)

Good - extra month before its closed!
Bad - I hope the 'end of 2014' doesnt get extended to 'end of 2016' as discussed in the other thread... :evil:

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Mon Aug 19, 2013 10:54 am

I was just abut to mention that. The alternative route through Western Sydney Regional Park (via Horsley Drive and the T-Way) seems reasonable enough.

Is the regional park open cycleway open at night? It'd be dark - but I'd prefer that rather than Chandos Street via Victoria Street.

I think it's time to get serious and claim that Prospect Climb KOM for myself before it closes, and try like mad to get the other one back from the famous Mr Zozza. ;)

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Sun Sep 08, 2013 5:48 pm

I had a look at the other end of the Canal cycleway today coming back from Fairfield. The new bridge across the rail line at Guildford is in place but closed off - while on the other side, it appears that there won't be any Guildford to Rookwood cycleway extension.

What looks like a path appears to be just the fill-in over where they put the cables. The ramps on the kerb look like they were done to allow vehicle access.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby ab012 » Sun Sep 15, 2013 12:29 am

official notification of the "alternate route"..

http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets ... p_jpeg.JPG

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Sun Sep 15, 2013 10:40 am

Might be worth using GoFix app to get the missing bit of shared path put in along Horsley Drive (from Cowpasture to near Ferrers Road)- that will make the diversion shorter.

Edit: Done. Hopefully they might be able to sort that out quite quickly. Seems like an obvious missing link - a short one too.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby Hergest » Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:34 am

I did the run out to and up and down the M7 this morning and as the gates were shut at 6.a.m i went around via the water slide place, Peter Brock ave and then the road around the raceway. Next weekend i'll give that alternative route a go and run down the Horsley Drive.

The goats were along the section just before the closed gates, i've never seen so many. It looked as if a truck full of Maltesers had oveturned with all their droppings.
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:51 am

Yeah, it was like that yesterday too, a bit stinky as well. :lol: Saw them the other night down in the water pipe easement just off Reconciliation Drive. They aren't too much bothered by cyclists either.

For what it's worth - I also put in a suggestion to get lighting installed along the length of the Guildford-to-Prospect path - after I nearly cleaned up a fox just after Gipps Road. Thank god it moved quickly and I noticed it just in time.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby ab012 » Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:24 pm

Yes obvious short link - What is the current missing segment on Horsley Drive look like? (e.g. in terms of room for cars the pass, is it flat?) - from memory the other bits that I have been on arent slow (for cars...) ?

ps was wondering what animal(s) caused all that s***...! Now I know lol!

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:11 am

Fairly sharp uphill and traffic tends to race up there. Heavy trucks are very common.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Sat Oct 05, 2013 4:08 pm

It is now closed. Went past this morning and noticed the concrete barriers in place. At least I did get a good run through there last weekend.

It wasn't nice going up Elizabeth Drive this morning. (where is the melting icon). Very, very warm.

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby Hergest » Sat Oct 05, 2013 7:52 pm

Last saturday morning i did a short ride out along the canal and up through the quarry estate with the plan to go through Pemulwuy and back to Guildford. Near the top of the quarry estate was a new sign on the left that said Prospect Dam Detour so out of interest i followed it down a short path that came out on Picrite Close. That was it. At the top of Picrite is Reservoir Road and you're on your own. I couldn't quite see the point of that detour. Bugger of a bouganvillea or some such prickly climber over half the path too. The signs are nice though.
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Sat Oct 05, 2013 9:21 pm

Going to do some more pushing of Fairfield council to get the missing bit of path in between Cowpasture road along Horsley Drive to meet up with the existing Parklands track that we use. That will remove the need for a very lengthy diversion.

I did see a heck of a lot of bikes along the T-Way this morning and even more slowly grinding away up the Elizabeth Drive climb to the M7. Did that many really previously use the path alongside Horsley Drive (the one you used, Hergest)? :shock:

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby QuangVuong » Sat Oct 05, 2013 9:25 pm

How about some signage for the paths around Canley Vale too? I got lost on the Orphan School path due to no signage when trying to find my way over to Elizabeth.
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby g-boaf » Sat Oct 05, 2013 10:30 pm

I don't even know where that is!

My route was simply to follow T-way from Horsley Drive down to Elizabeth Drive and then up there to M7.

Another route is T-way down to Hoxton Park Rd and then turn right. go left at the church and you are at M7. That is shorter and less hills, but also less of the fun bits of the M7 too. :(

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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby QuangVuong » Sun Oct 06, 2013 8:40 am

g-boaf wrote:I don't even know where that is!

My route was simply to follow T-way from Horsley Drive down to Elizabeth Drive and then up there to M7.

Another route is T-way down to Hoxton Park Rd and then turn right. go left at the church and you are at M7. That is shorter and less hills, but also less of the fun bits of the M7 too. :(
This path. Connects through to the dam, and can enter the M7 through there. There are absolutely no signs at all. Do any of the Fairfield council paths have signage?
http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/relation/2173673" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ive been heading to the M7 by going up the rail trail, through Parra Park, then up Old Windsor.
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby Hergest » Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:38 am

I've done the Orphan School Creek and rail trail many times over the years but really apart from at a couple of 3 way junctions where you are directed to either Liverpool or Parramatta there is hardly any signage. The paths that cut through the playing fields around Canley Vale and then to the Fairfield trots are guesswork and often before i memorised my way i would shoot down what seemd to be the obvious path only to come out on a cul-de-sac and have to double back or thread my way back around through some streets to find the path again.

How do you safely make your way to Parramatta Park via the rail trail?
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Re: Damn Prospect Dam

Postby QuangVuong » Sun Oct 06, 2013 10:35 am

Ive been up and down the rail trail so many times, so I know it well. However, the turn offs could get some signs. First time I was at the Yennora intersection, I wouldnt have known the way to go if it wasnt for some rider that I was following. Then comes the Fairfield section where the path disappears. If i didnt know the Fairfield roads well, I would have no clue on where the path resumes. Then I got lost again at the Canley Vale intersection at Johnson Park. One way goes back home(Carramar way), one to the Orphan School Creek path, and the other to Cabra. After Cabra comes the gravel path which the first time through doesnt seem like the right way. Singnage needs to be at the Guildford turnoff towards the dam as well. But once on that path, it is very straightforward.

Another gripe I have is the Governor Macquarie Dr at Warwick Farm. On Google maps, it says its a bicycle friendly road. So I went that way once, and prob will never go ever again. Its a 2 lane road, with no shoulder, meaning cars were passing closer than I would have liked. However I came 2nd on the Racecourse Dash West segment which was unexpected.

To get to Parra park from the rail trail, either I go to the other side of Merrylands station though that tunnel, then all the way up Pitt St. The traffic is fairly low until you hit Parra, but at that point, there is a bike path. If its heavy around Merrylands, the foot path that goes by Holroyd Park is very very wide. Or I go to the very end of the rail trail, then head onto the Woodville Rd bike path that connects to Church St. From there you can follow the bus lane towards Parra park.

Another option is to go onto Woodville Rd then turn off onto the M4 path and follow that all the way to the end and hit M7. However, I have not gone this way before.
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