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Snapshot of the GreenWay Vision Snapshot of the GreenWay Vision |
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The Vision
The Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay is a "grass-roots" regional vision in the Inner West of Sydney, Australia, to provide a fabulous tree-lined cycling and walking trail and wildlife corridor linking the sub-catchments of two of Sydney's most important waterways. The proposed GreenWay could provide:
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a safe and pleasant walking and cycling to schools, shops and parks in the area;
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access to the popular pathways and open space at the Cooks River and Bay Run; a "ribbon" of native vegetation between the two waterways, with fewer weeds;
- safe crossings under busy roads such as Parramatta and New Canterbury roads; and,
- a model for better coordination of environmental initiatives in the catchment areas surrounding the corridor.
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The vision of this community-inspired Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay in Inner West Sydney, Australia is to:
“refocus the local community as to the potential to develop fabulous tree-lined walking and cycling trail and active transport corridor 5km long, linking the Cooks River and Sydney Harbour at Iron Cove”.
Lots have already been done - see a timeline and projects already underway. They are all helping to realise the ultimate vision of a "greenway" being formed by progressively linking scattered open spaces, available railway land and water reserves, and the existing road and footpath network. The GreenWay will and join up sections of re-established natural bush corridor between Marion Street Leichhardt and Ewart St Dulwich Hill.
A draft concept plan is currently being prepared by the GreenWay Coordination Strategy Working Group and presents an "ultimate vision" for the GreenWay and based on having access to the RailCorp land from Cadigal Reserve to the Cooks River, and potentially sharing the corridor with a new light rail service.
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On-ground works
 download map
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GreenWay Trail - a shared multi-user trail from Cooks River pathway to Bay Run at Iron Cove. When complete it will extend the existing shared pathway alongside Hawthorne Canal and provide critical missing link under Parramatta Road. This "spine" should be high quality, minimum 2.5m width and night lighting and landscaping and route signage and interpreted features along the length. See 
- Veloway - an active transport and transit corridor using the existing Rozelle freight rail formation or alongside this, depending on the ultimate corridor configuration. This could be a “veloway” shared pathway with priority for bikes, skates, scooters etc. , and alongside this separated by a fence, extension of the existing light rail from Lilyfield (with passing sections of dual track).
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Green streets - creating “trellis” network of quiet cycling and pedestrian friendly streets nearby in the GreenWay catchment linking to the GreenWay Trail “spine”
- Creating a Bush Link - continue to build a bush corridor whereby through progressive revegetation and habitat-sensitive rail corridor vegetation clearance, creating a 5km bush corridor, incorporating the 6 existing bushcare sites, over 20 new sites, management of weeds in the railway formation, and links to other bushcare sites and remnant vegetation. See
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"weed-free by '23" - manage plants and animals (i.e. weeds and ferals) in the corridor and catchment – with a view to working towards the GreenWay catchment being weed-free by 2023, and feral animals that impact on endemic native animals and birds controlled or removed. See
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WaterWays - expand on existing initiatives for improving water quality, such as rain gardens, more Streamwatch sites, and converting concrete canal sides in some places to a more natural shoreline.
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ArtWorks - develop three Cultural Nodes in vicinity of Jack Shannahan Reserve, Summer Hill flour mill, and at Lilyfield Rd, and develop artworks and sculptures along the corridor. See
- Information - develop a GreenWay Interpretive Program – implement signage to support the GreenWay Trail and links, and foster interpretive centres or nodes to be set up within the corridor.
The planning and governance elements of a GreenWay concept should ensure that the GreenWay vision and actions are written into Council and State Government policy; promotion and publicity ensures that everyone knows what is happening; have regular forums on GreenWay issues and have alerts in place (e.g. SMS, email etc.) for urgent issues that need peoples attention.
Community and educational parts of a GreenWay concept could be to bring it into school curricula and involve students in GreenWay bushcare and environmental projects; start a new bushcare group to do revegetation work in the rail corridor in the Cooks River Catchment; further support the efforts of Friends of the GreenWay who in turn can sup Download the Greenway Vision map (jpg 280KB)
You can also download the Friends of the GreenWay flyer which summarises the vision.
Click on the topics below to find out more about greenways and your Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay:
Note that the project is called GreenWay with a capital "W". This is to avoid confusion with all the other uses of the term Greenway out there (including our famous colonial period architect Francis GreenWay).
Confused over use of the all these "green" terms? See other "green" terms below
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FEATURES
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Features of the Greenway Features of the Greenway Features |
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Where it is and what it looks like
The Cooks River to GreenWay corridor stretches from the Cooks River at a minor tributary in the vicinity of Wardell Road, Earlwood, then northwards for about 5km to Iron Cove at Leichhardt. This land between Sydney Harbour and the Cooks River is here at its narrowest, with the Rozelle-Dulwich Hill goods railway corridor snaking its way up along the Hawthorne Canal valley, then over a low and gentle rise and down to the Cooks River.
Importantly the project has been developed to include the water catchments of Hawthorne Canal which enters Sydney Harbour at Iron Cove, and the catchment of the minor drainage line entering the Cooks River near the Wardell Road bridge, as well as the distinct corridor rail and waterway. The map below shows the corridor and the urban areas that make up its water catchment.
Click on the map below to see where the corridor is and what's around it!
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Corridor by Numbers
The GreenWay corridor and the catchment includes many destinations, places of interest and environmental features such as:
- 5km of waterways, 2km of harbour and 3km of river foreshore
- about 50km of underground stormwater piping
- 6 bushcare sites, 6 planned to commence soon and another 20 on the way
- some 25,000 mature trees, 20,000 sqm of recreated Turpentine-Ironbark bush habitat and roughly 500 hectares of urban "habitat"
- 25 schools and/or educational centres including three high schools
- 25 churches and nine community centres
- 8 shopping precincts and over 50 corner shops
- 20 large parks and numerous pocket parks;
- 2 swimming centres; three bowls clubs, and a golf course
- 100s of large and small businesses and places of employment
- 5 CityRail stations (another 3, and two light rail stations within 1.5km)
The GreenWay corridor and catchment is included within Ashfield, Canterbury, Leichhardt, and Marrickville Council areas; the State electorates of Strathfield, Canterbury, Marrickville, and Balmain; and the Federal Electorate of Grayndler.
(Coming Soon - View the GreenWay - take an aerial flight, view photos at selected points along the corridor and view and download a range of useful maps of the GreenWay corridor)
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GREEN...
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Green Things Explained Green Things Explained Green Things |
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"Green" Terms
The Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay vision should not be confused with other green things happening in the corridor with similar names including:
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Metropolitan Greenspace Program – NSW State government funding program for parks, reserves, trails etc. Marrickville Council is currently project managing a MGP grant awarded in 2006 for approval studies for a link under Parramatta Road. The studies must be finished by end 2008 so that full funding for construction can be obtained during 2009-2010. See www.planning.nsw.gov.au
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Green Web Sydney – a strategic revegetation and corridors initiative funded from the NHT grants which provides funding to link natural revegetation throughout Sydney basin. Ashfield and Leichhardt Councils jointly obtained funding under the program in 2002 for the Iron Cove foreshores. See www.greenwebsydney.net.au
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Green Corps – Federally funded project which employs teams of youth on community revegetation and environmental projects. IWEG applied for and obtained a team for the GreenWay corridor for a team September 2003 to March 2004. See www.greencorps.com.au
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Greening Australia – is a independent NGO organisation based in Addison Road Marrickville working in partnership with landholders, the community, government and business to tackle environmental degradation in a practical, apolitical and scientific way throughout Australia. GA has been involved in the corridor to date in an advisory capacity. See www.greeningaustralia.org.au
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Greening the Grey Spots – project in the late 1980s and early 1990s initiated by (then Department of Urban Affairs and Planning) under the Metropolitan Improvement Program to rejuvenate degraded inner Sydney areas, including the Hawthorne Canal. Forsite Consultants prepared a Masterplan for the Hawthorne Canal corridror in 1991? The cycleway and landscaping work between Parramatta Rd and Marion St Leichhardt a result of this program. See www.planning.nsw.gov.au
- Sydney Green Ring Concept - the concept of a ring of "green corridors" around inner Sydney which would link a number of trail and corridor proposals including the Cooks River to Iron Cove GreenWay. See
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The Greens - the political organisation. There are 3 Greens councillors in Ashfield, 4 in Leichhardt, 5 in Marrickville. See www.greens.org.au
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Creating a Green-Link project – the Inner West Environment Group (IWEG) was awarded a $37,000 grant funding by the Environmental Trust in 2001 for revegetation projects in the corridor. Project funding ceased in December 2003. Activities related to the project now continue under the banner of "Creating a Bush Link". See more on the NSW Environmental trust at www.epa.nsw.gov.au/envtrust/index.htm
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Greenline- State Rail/RailCorps environmental telephone hotline for reporting complaints on environmental issues in the railway corridors in NSW. See www.staterail.nsw.gov.au
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Francis Greenway – well known as Australia’s first civil architect of some of Sydney's grand Tudor Gothic 19th century buildings including South Head Lighthouse, Hyde Park Barracks and The Conservatorium of Music. See www.archinform.net/arch/803.htm
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