Why city council is willing to fight to save the Mt Ousley bridge

At Monday night's council meeting, councillors debated the recent Transport for NSW decision to remove a pedestrian bridge from the original decision.

A Transport for NSW spokespersons said it was a decision made to rein in costs along with the concern a bridge over Mt Ousley Road would restrict the ability of over-height trucks using it to travel to and from Port Kembla.

It has already drawn a backlash from cyclists and pedestrians, who felt it was a sign of treating transport other than cars as "an afterthought".

Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery had tabled a motion calling on Transport for NSW to reinstate the bridge - which was passed unanimously.

"This will result in decreased safety for residents of the northern suburbs, reduced active transport options and additional vehicle movements in the area," Cr Bradbery's motion said of the removal.

"Given the proximity to the university, TAFE, two high schools, and need to reduce car movements across the city, losing this key pedestrian and cycle access is a poor outcome for our community."

Greens councillor Mithra Cox criticised the Transport for NSW decision along similar lines, saying it meant residents who lived a few hundred metres away from the university would be forced to drive there.

"When Transport for NSW do things like this it really reduces trust for this council, for our community and for engaging with their processes," Cr Cox said.

"We've been engaging with them over a number of years on the integrated transport strategy which has all sorts of platitudes about increasing active transport, increasing permeability of the city, integrating our transport strategy to theirs and when things like this happen it really makes us question why bother engaging.

"It's just empty words written on a piece of paper that mean nothing. Shock, horror, they did exactly what we all expected and they removed all of the things that were written in this strategy at the last moment.

"When they engage with us they need to do that in good faith and they need to stick to the things that they said they were going to do."

Cr Tania Brown said "it makes no sense" to remove active transport options for residents in nearby suburbs, forcing them to drive to the university.

"I understand the explanation from Transport for NSW was about getting value for money," Cr Brown said.

"Too often we get the design wrong and have to come back; retrofitting it after a fatality is not the result that this community wants. We're never going to reduce the reliance on cars and the impact on our community if we don't take these opportunities to build in sensible alternatives that encourage the use of other modes of active transport.

"It always costs so much more to come back later and say we got it wrong, so let's fix this now."

Cr Bradbery's motion also requested clearer information about Transport for NSW plans for the motorway between Mt Ousley and Picton Road.

"The Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Transport Plan 2041 notes that Transport for NSW will investigate safety and reliability improvements on the M1 Princes Motorway between Picton Road and Mount Ousley Interchange," the motion stated.

"There is no time-frame for this investigation to be completed. This section of the M1 is regularly blocked by accidents or breakdowns, causing significant challenges for traffic movement to and from Wollongong."

Cr Bradbery stated most people's experience of the motorway between Mt Ousley and Picton Road was "congestion".

"It's unsafe and after the recent rain event another moment where this city is nearly cut off," he said.

"We want to know from the state government where the M1 motorway is at in terms of its safety and reliability and have some indication as to what's being done about firming up that link out of this city which still is our major link."