Rhodes ferry wharf


Rhodes ferry wharf is a planned commuter ferry wharf to be built in the Sydney suburb of Rhodes, New South Wales, servicing the suburb's new Rhodes East development project. Highlighted as a priority in a 2013 Transport for New South Wales report, the wharf was originally proposed to be located at Rhodes Point, west of the John Whitton Bridge, before being moved eastward along the Rhodes peninsula after objections from community leaders, lobbyists, and Sydney Ferries operator Transdev Sydney Ferries. The plan has since been incorporated into the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment's Rhodes East "priority precinct" development project.

History

A new ferry wharf on the Parramatta River servicing the suburb of Rhodes was first outlined as a "preferred wharf for further investigation" in a May 2013 report by Transport for New South Wales entitled Sydney’s Ferry Future. It was listed alongside wharves at Glebe Point, Jacksons Landing, Woolloomooloo, and Elizabeth Bay, and a relocation of Birchgrove ferry wharf. Member for Drummoyne John Sidoti outlined a wharf at Rhodes as an electoral commitment in 2015, with the first community consultation on the project occurring in September 2015. The new wharf was originally planned to be located west of the John Whitton Bridge at Rhodes Point, and was foreseen to be completed in time for the state election in March 2019. Following concerns raised by both the local community and City of Canada Bay councilors, along with an objection from Sydney Ferries operator Transdev Sydney Ferries and a $55,000 lobbying campaign by Rowing NSW, Roads & Maritime Services abandoned the Rhodes Point location for the wharf.
While an alternate site at Brays Bay, located on the eastern side of the Rhodes peninsula, attracted a notable amount of popularity in the local community and an endorsement by community leaders and Sidoti as an option, the location of the wharf was kept at the northern foreshore of the peninsula, with the site moved east of the John Witton Bridge and west of the Ryde Bridge. The development of the wharf was later incorporated into the Department of Planning and Environment's Rhodes East redevelopment project, as part of the Leeds Street Foreshore Precinct plan. The project was publicly announced as a "priority precinct" by the State Government in September 2017. Committed by Transport for New South Wales as part of the Transport Access Program, the Rhodes ferry wharf is planned to be delivered between 2020 and 2022.

Design

The proposed design for the new wharf includes a pontoon modeled after other pontoons on the Sydney Ferries network redeveloped in the 2010s, with a curved zinc roof and steel base, fitted with glass panels to provide weather protection. A lengthy concrete bridge and aluminium gangway provide access to the pontoon.