Significant Hazard. Church Street Underpass Parramatta

[Hergest]

Sorry for not putting this in the M4 section but it might get missed if hidden away in there. I wanted to alert everybody to a significant hazard on the cycleway that follows the route of the M4 at Parramatta on the Church Street underpass. There is currently work going on on the bridge with scaffolding and temporary fencing. As you approach this from the west there is a large expansion joint in the cycleway that runs diagonally across that has been filled with grey mastic. The work on the bridge forces you over to the left of the path and where you cross the expansion joint is treacherous with the damp of the morning. I came off in a flash this morning at 6.30, as i was dusting myself down another cyclist came through and came off in exactly the same way and it was only by waving down a 3rd approaching cyclist and getting him to slow down that i think he avoided the same fate. It is the expansion joint that catches your wheel that is throwing you off.

The cycleway is downhill at that point most of us would be doing 30-40 kmh so it is a real hazard. Fortunately there is a large plastic safety barrier up in front of the scaffolding that prevents anyone hitting the metal.

Here is the location just after Holroyd Sportsground.

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I'm waiting for council to pick up the phone as i type.

[g-boaf]

I know the area you are talking about. Hope they get it fixed quickly or get at least a warning sign in place.

Hope you didn't get too much damage to yourself and the bike.

[Hergest]

I know the area you are talking about. Hope they get it fixed quickly or get at least a warning sign in place.

Hope you didn't get too much damage to yourself and the bike.

The usual bike damage in that another rip to the leather of the seat at the back, bent brifters that pull back around, a bit of bar tape ripped and lights and speedo all askew. Fortunately i was in winter mode so had thick tracky daks on and thick gloves but the palms of them are gone and my backs a bit sore from going arse over tit. I took out a couple of plastic witches hats and a few metres of hazard tape. I'm glad they were plastic and not metal bollards.

Council answered the phone quick but i don't know how quick they will be fixing the problem. I fear some others will take a tumble with the misty moisty mornings at the moment making it dodgy there before it's sorted. I shall go a lot slower on monday morning.

[TTar]

Thanks for taking one for the team, Hergey.

A couple of years ago very heavy rain washed a thick dump of mud onto that section which would neither dry nor go away. As it's so dark down there, you couldn't really see it and only knew it was there when you slammed into it -- I don't know what words you use to describe the bicycle equivalent of aquaplaning on mud, but the only words that came to mind when I went through it describe something altogether different -- it took a couple of weeks for that to be cleaned up, hopefully your efforts will result quicker action. Asking about compensation might move things along...

Usually the only hazard there is the roosting pigeons. I'm just waiting for the day a startled bird flies straight into my face.


EDIT: Actually, I'm probably thinking of a short section under the railway underpass a little further east, but it can all be a fairly testing stretch.

[gpz1100]

You can really feel the cold when you go through there.