Source: Mental Health Australia
For the first time Sydney will join other iconic marathon cities and host the 7th Abbott World Marathon Major on Sunday 31 August.
This year the Sydney Marathon event has evolved into a full weekend offering three iconic courses. On Saturday 30 August 10,000 participants will run the 5km mini marathon. On Sunday 31 August 35,000 participants will run the inaugural world marathon major followed by around 7,000 participants in the 10km course.
Major roads will be closed along the 42km course and travel across the city will be limited on Sunday with lengthy detours in place. Sydney motorists are urged to avoid non-essential travel where possible to the city.
Transport for NSW Coordinator-General Howard Collins said we appreciate an event of this scale disrupts the city.
“With around 50,000 runners plus thousands of volunteers and spectators Sydney will be very busy this weekend,” Mr Collins said.
“If you must drive this weekend, check Live Traffic before you leave to plan your journey. Allow plenty of extra travel time as there are major road closures and detours in the city and the east.
“Remember to check the yellow clearway signs on Saturday night as clearways start at 12.01am Sunday. If you have a car, boat, bike, caravan be aware all vehicles parked in clearways will be towed and incur a towing fee.”
Participants are urged to catch public transport to all events as the cost of travel on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail is included in their Sydney Marathon registration.
Frequent metro and rail services will get runners to and from the events all weekend.
“Public transport is the best way to get to and from the Sydney Marathon events this weekend. There are plenty of extra metro and train services to get participants, supporters and spectators to the start of the race and spectator sites along the course,” Mr Collins said.
“There will be significant impacts to bus and light rail services while roads are closed, so visitors and Sydneysiders are being reminded to plan their trip and allow extra travel time.”
Road closures
Saturday 30 August key roads will be closed in the Sydney CBD and special event clearways will be in place:
• 2am to 10am sections of Macquarie Street including on and off ramps to Cahill Expressway, Art Galley Road, Mrs Macquaries Road and College Street.
Sunday 31 August major roads in North Sydney, the Sydney CBD, Pyrmont, Darlinghurst, Moore Park, Centennial Park and Kingsford will be closed between 2am and 4pm. Roads are closed longer this year to accommodate the increased number of participants.
• 3am to 11am the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Western Distributor will be closed in both directions with no direct access between the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Anzac Bridge during this time.
• 4am until 3.30pm major roads from the city to Moore Park will be closed including Oxford Street, while Park Street and Flinders Street will be closed until 3pm.
• 5am to 1.30pm Anzac Parade from Moore Park to Kingsford will be closed.
• From 1pm motorists can use Dacey Avenue /Alison Parade to travel east or west across the course.
• The Eastern Distributor Anzac Parade entry and exit will be closed, however the Bondi Moore Park Road exit will remain open this year.
• Macquarie Street and roads in The Domain will remain closed until 4pm.
• Cross City Tunnel is open and toll free from 5am to 4.30pm so motorists can travel east/west across the course in the city’s north.
• Special event clearways from 12.01am Sunday – widespread clearways come into effect along and surrounding the course. If you have a vehicle left in a clearway it will be towed, and a fee applies. This is in addition to any parking fees applied by Police or council parking rangers.
Public Transport
On Saturday 30 August local buses in the city will be diverting and using different stops while roads are closed between 2am and 10am for the 5km Mini Marathon.
On Sunday 31 August public transport services including buses and light rail will be affected by road closures.
• First service to 11am L2 Randwick and L3 Kingsford Line light rail services will not run between Circular Quay and Town Hall.
• 6am to 1.30pm L3 Kingsford Line services will run from Moore Park only, services will not run from Kingsford due to closures of Anzac Parade.
• 3am to 11ambuses will start and end trips either side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Crows Nest or St Leonards and Town Hall or Wynyard. Passengers will need to change for a metro or train service to continue across the bridge.
• 3am to 4pm buses between the city and south east will be diverting around major closures of Oxford Street and Anzac Parade or terminating trips early at light rail stops.
People are encouraged to support this massive event and support the participants on Sunday by cheering them on from one of the spectator live sites along the course.
For more details on public transport changes during the event, including trip planning and travel alerts, visit transportnsw.info/sydney-marathon or use the Opal Travel app or other trip planning apps
For real-time updates on traffic conditions, including road closures and special event clearways, visit livetraffic.com.
For more information on the Sydney Marathon, visit tcssydneymarathon.com and visit the detours map here.