Cyclists say they have been made to feel "unwelcome" in Wollongong's main shopping district, after the council ended its unofficial trial to allow riding through Crown Street Mall which was put in place during the UCI races.
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Lise Chesnais, a transport planner who does not own a car and uses her bike to travel around the city, said she had recently been stopped by security guards when riding in the mall.
"The mall was open to bikes for a few months since the UCI until the end of the year and all of us were enjoying being able to to go to local businesses and have a coffee or run an errand without having to push our bikes," she said.
"We've been told by security guards since the beginning of the year that it's now closed to bikes again, which makes it hard for most of us to do those daily errands and to access those shops.
Read more: Wollongong transformation into a Bike City
"It's really too bad, because I hear that a lot of the shops are struggling."
A Wollongong council spokesperson said there had been no official change to the mall's status as a bike-riding free zone in recent years, but that there had been a "moratorium" to help international cycling teams get around the city during the UCI event.
"There was an informal moratorium during the UCI Road World Championships on the enforcement of this rule," they said.
"This pause was to support the movement of people across the city, including the international cycling teams riding about the city."
However, the council said it was "reviewing the opportunities for riding across the City including the Mall".
"While there are some spaces in the city, such as along our foreshore shared pathways, where pedestrians and cyclists can share the same space, this is not the case in the Crown Street Mall, which is located within the Wollongong Central Business District's commercial and business hub," the spokesperson said.
"People also use the mall space differently to how they might walk, run or exercise along our foreshore pathways."
But Ms Chesnais pointed out that the mall was a lot wider - and less busy - than the Blue Mile or foreshore area, which the council is happy to operate as a shared path.
"If you're sensible, you just slow down, and I think it's quite natural for cyclists to do that anyway, because as a rider - if I hit a pedestrian, I'm going to hurt myself," she said.
Former Greens council candidate Jess Whittaker, who rides an e-bike, said the council's move back to banning bikes was confusing and risked alienating new rider who had taken up during the world championships.
She was concerned about the council's commitment to its "UCI Bike City" status now the event is over.
When she was stopped by security recently, Ms Whittaker said she had been surprised by the rule change.
"I said 'I thought we were a bike city' and they said 'that was just for UCI and the trial has ended'," she said.
She said the council should run a proper trial, where people had the chance to comment on bike riding in the mall and any incidents or improvements could be measured.
"It's just really confusing," she said.
"All of a sudden we felt welcome and it was an incentive to go in there and use the mall - and get to the businesses - on our bikes.
"Then all of a sudden we're being told we can't, and we don't feel welcome. We just don't know our place - this is the main shopping district of Wollongong - and there are plenty of shared paths that are shared without incident, and this is one of the widest paths in the city."
Ms Whittaker said she was concerned that the "wind has gone out of our sails" to make Wollongong a friendly place for cycling now that the international athletes have left.
"It seems like the ball is getting dropped a bit - just general maintenance of the bike paths, getting them repainted and keeping the momentum for all the things we need to do," she said.
"More people than ever are riding [after the event] and we really need to keep going on our mission to truly become a bike city. If people don't feel safe and included on their bikes, they're not going to ride."
The council said it continued to support cyclists through range of dedicated cycling routes and infrastructure.
"We continue to invest in improvements to active transport opportunities within the city and further afield," the spokesperson said.