The M4 cycleway is a shared use path for

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

and

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

s that is generally aligned with the

M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The eastern terminus of the cycleway is in

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...

, while the western terminus is in

South Wentworthville South Wentworthville is a predominantly residential suburb in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Geography South Wentworthville is located 26 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the loc ...

Route

Sydney Olympic Park to Auburn

With an extensive network of on-road and shared paths located within

, the cycleways eastern terminus is on Australia Avenue and continues west via the Holker Busway where the shared busway and on-road cycleway cross the

Haslams Creek Haslams Creek, a southern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a creek west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, Australia. It flows through Sydney Olympic Park and joins Parramatta River at Homebush Bay. In 1793, the first grants were made t ...

and meet with Hill Road. From this junction in , several options are available to meet the north-south shared pedestrian and cycle path, the

Louise Sauvage Pathway Located alongside the suburb of Newington, New South Wales, and named in honour of Australian paralympic wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage, the Pathway is the longest continuous section of pathway in Sydney Olympic Park. As such, the pathway is su ...

, shared with the cycleway, as it heads south and follows the western bank of Haslams Creek which can be hazardous at points of high tide. The path goes under the M4 and enters Lidcombe, initially as a segregated path and then joins Adderley Street East before joining a major intersection with Silverwater Road (A6), with traffic exiting the M4 from the east and entering the M4, heading west and limited cyclist and pedestrian protection on the traffic island. The path continues along Adderley Street West, from

Silverwater Silverwater is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Silverwater is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district on the southern bank of the Parramatta River within the local governme ...

into , climbing to a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

at Stubbs Street, subject to heavy flows during peak traffic times. As the path continues further west it passes the former Roads & Maritime Services' toll plaza. The main path crosses the Duck River and continues further west. A spur path leads south, to the Great Western Highway (A44).

Auburn to Parramatta

The relatively scenic route on the northern shore of the Duck River carries the cycleway further west. Signs along the path explain the history of the industrial heartland of the area including a now-defunct Duck River ferry service that allowed passengers and freight to alight. In this ear, the path crosses former freight tracks. The end of this part of the pathway is the quiet, back streets of , parallel to Parramatta Road. From Rosehill to Harris Park the path continues west towards Parramatta. The start of this path adjoins an L-plate motorcycle school and a small corkscrew climb to reach the bridge that runs overhead of James Ruse Drive and on the northern side of the M4. The bridge is a remarkable piece of industrial art and allows cyclists to be protected from the traffic. The path is secure at this stage and it winds down underneath the M4, above the Duck Creek and the

A'Becketts Creek A'Becketts Creek is a perennial stream and a northern tributary of the Duck River and part of the Parramatta River catchment, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Geography A'Becketts Creek is about long. Starting from its source, near t ...

. The path runs through the middle of the M4 cement columns which forms a scenic reminder, albeit suburban, of the functionality of the path. The path continues to follow the cement colonnade of the M4. On either side of the path are access points from Harris Park. Near the junction of Parramatta Road, Church Street, and

Woodville Road Woodville may refer to one of the following: Places Australia *Woodville, New South Wales *Woodville, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide **Woodville railway station, Adelaide Canada *Woodville, Ontario *Woodville, Nova Scotia New Zealand *Wood ...

, where the M4 passes over the junction, the cycleway provides various spur options: the north to Parramatta central business district via High, Wigram, or Railway Streets; and to the south to Merrylands and via Woodville Road and adjacent side-streets. The A'Becketts Creek Community Street Library sits along the path at Junction Street. The guerilla street library was created by local residents in May 2021 and aims to foster a sense of community along the M4 corridor.

Parramatta to Wentworthville

Between Fox Street, Holroyd and Ledger Road, Merrylands the cycleway becomes a off road shared bicycle and pedestrian path. Constructed between 2010 and 2011, the path was built along the southern embankment of the M4 motorway about above the road level and is completely fenced off and protected from motorway traffic. Continuing west and after crossing Burnett Street, the cycleway joins Rita Street where it provides a spur option to the north via an underpass to access Rees and Peggy Streets and then north to Parramatta Park. The cycleway crosses Coleman Street, Merrylands and continues west before reaching a junction with Allen Street and the Finlayson Creek. Here, a spur line to the north passes under the M4 and provides access to a road crossing of the Great Western Highway and the

Wentworthville Wentworthville is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wentworthville is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Wentworthville is split betw ...

shopping centre. Another spur line follows Finlayson Creek to the south, with local access to Merrylands. Continuing further west, the cycleway terminates at a junction near the Old Prospect Road on the boundary between Merrylands,

Greystanes Greystanes is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Greystanes is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local governme ...

and

Pendle Hill Pendle Hill is in the east of Lancashire, England, near the towns of Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Brierfield, Clitheroe and Padiham. Its summit is above mean sea level. It gives its name to the Borough of Pendle. It is an isolated hill in the Pe ...

, where the cycleway seamlessly joins the

Liverpool–Parramatta T-way The Liverpool–Parramatta T-way is a continuous series of bus-only lanes and bus roadways between Parramatta and Liverpool, New South Wales, Liverpool in Western Sydney. Completed in February 2003, the T-way was the first bus rapid transit infr ...

Cycleway use

In the twelve months to February 2014, between 30 and 40 cyclists used the M4 cyclepath at Holroyd West on an average weekday.

References

External links

Bicycle NSW websiteCity of Sydney - Cycling
* {{Bicycle paths in Sydney , state=collapsed Cycleways in Australia Cycling in Sydney Transport infrastructure in Parramatta