Sydney's GreenWay Trail Ignites Fierce Community Backlash on Weston Street
On a sunny Saturday morning, a dozen frustrated residents of Weston Street in Dulwich Hill gather with notebooks and pens, their faces etched with anger. "I'm really angry," one declares, capturing the collective sentiment as they hold a snap meeting with a local councillor. Their modest street, with narrow footpaths, has become the epicenter of a heated dispute over the newly opened inner west GreenWay, a pedestrian and cycling corridor stretching 6km from Iron Cove to the Cooks River, almost entirely off-road.
The 'Almost' That Upturned Lives
Since its mid-December opening, the $57 million GreenWay has transformed into a cycling, running, and walking utopia, attracting thousands of visitors, especially on weekends. However, as these crowds pass about 80 homes along Weston Street—the crucial link between northern and southern sections where no straightforward off-road option exists—residents say their once-quiet lives have been shattered. Some describe facing a "Herculean tsunami of a community-wide mental health crisis," with noise disruption, trampled garden beds, and dog waste in bins becoming daily grievances.
The broad consensus among residents is that urgent action is needed to prevent serious injuries or fatalities from vehicles, secondary only to the overwhelming impact of sudden swarms of people. Cyclists flip the bird when asked to move, joggers chat loudly in early mornings, and residents feel like they're crossing a highway just to leave their homes. Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne boasts that the GreenWay is going "gangbusters," with plans for a half-marathon and six annual events to draw even more crowds, including a recent bike rave with 200 attendees and blaring rave music.
Safety Fears and 'Death Corner'
Despite the GreenWay's wild success in its first three months, performing above expectations and proving incredibly popular, trouble brews on Weston Street. In WhatsApp groups, locals share angst-ridden messages, videos of poor visitor behavior, and strategies for unity. Angry signs have been erected and torn down, with messages like "FINISH THE GREENWAY" and "RESIDENTS WILL NOT BE TREATED AS 2ND CLASS CITIZENS." Letters to the council warn of escalating safety risks, citing incidents such as a resident struck by a runner who didn't stop, and dogs barking in fear at GreenWay users' pets.
Residents label the exit from a tunnel onto Weston Street near the Waratah Mills light rail stop as "death corner," where a man with a baby pram recently walked into the road instead of using the footpath, prompting exasperated gestures from the group. "You've got an extraordinarily tolerant street here," one remarked, highlighting the tension. During the meeting, a resident yelled "This is our street" at cyclists, only to receive a middle finger in response.
Community Cohesion Wears Thin
Mark Chinnock and Juraj Hubinsky, trimming their hedge during the meeting, express concern that social cohesion is eroding. They've lived on Weston Street for seven years and say the GreenWay now dominates neighborhood conversations, with WhatsApp groups flooding with hundreds of messages daily. While supportive of the GreenWay concept, they argue the Weston Street section is "not fit for purpose," suggesting diverting traffic to wider Windsor Road and better management to address noise from joggers and "troops of tourists" arriving by coach load.
Hubinsky, initially thrilled about the project, criticizes its promotion as an "uninterrupted green corridor," noting it's actually interrupted and not green on Weston Street, which is a road with a footpath next to homes. A group of anonymous residents, fearing for their safety, issued a joint statement saying they can no longer safely gather outside or interact casually, describing a "building, Herculean tsunami" of mental health distress that has erased their "little piece of suburban Australiana."
Council Response and Future Hopes
A council spokesperson states the GreenWay was "carefully designed over decades, informed by extensive community consultation," with ongoing work to review safety and accessibility. Bruce Ashley, a key advocate for the GreenWay, acknowledges the trail needs "a lot of input," suggesting improvements like path widening, speed limits, and one-way sections. He notes that while Weston Street has shifted from a quiet shortcut to a busy route, it's now closed to through traffic at Old Canterbury Road, reducing vehicle flow.
Ashley emphasizes the bigger picture: the joy people derive from the project, such as a young girl cycling with her dad who exclaimed, "This is like freedom." However, for Weston Street residents, that freedom comes at a high cost, as they grapple with the unintended consequences of a trail meant to unite, not divide, the community.
