Stairs shown door as bike ramp opens on famous bridge
Riders will no longer have to haul their bikes up the steps to go across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. -AAP Image
Cyclists looking to ride across Australia's most famous bridge are in for a treat as a design tweak decades in the making is complete.
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A cycleway ramp to the Sydney Harbour Bridge has opened on Tuesday, meaning riders will no longer be forced to carry their bikes up 55 stairs to travel across it.
The ramp brings people riding north-to-south onto the bridge, and links riders to the CBD along with Sydney's east and west.
Transport Minister John Graham said the 55 stairs had discouraged older riders and people forced to carry heavier e-bikes from crossing the harbour.
"John Bradfield's original vision for the Harbour Bridge incorporated space for bicycles on the deck of the Bridge, but they were squeezed out by the growth of vehicle traffic by 1962," he said.
"This ramp is a long-overdue improvement for cyclists while being an architecturally sensitive addition to Bradfield's famous Coathanger ... bike traffic across the Harbour Bridge has surged in recent years and this ramp will unlock even more by delivering equality of access."
Mr Graham said the ramp was designed carefully to ensure it fits the surrounds of the heritage-listed bridge, including using granite sourced from the same location as the nearby pylons.
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