Bondi Road and Wellington Street intersection safety improvements
Project overview
Transport for NSW is improving safety in Bondi as part of the Federal Road Safety Program.
Project information
About the project
Transport for NSW has changed access into and out of Wellington Street at Bondi Road and reduced the speed limit on Wellington Street to improve safety for the thousands of people driving, walking and riding bikes through the intersection each day.
The changes included
- removing the right turn from Bondi Road into Wellington Street
- removing the right turn from Wellington Street into Bondi Road
- increasing the size of the existing pedestrian refuge (waiting area) on Wellington Street
- reducing the speed limit from 50km/h to 40km/h on Wellington Street, between Bondi Road and O’Brien Street, at all times.
This project is part of the Federal Road Safety Program. The Program has invested over $600 million from the Australian and NSW Governments since 2020, to improve road safety across New South Wales (NSW). The program's goal is to reduce the number of road crashes and enhance safety on key roads throughout NSW.
Construction work was completed in early October 2024.
The map below shows the safety changes at the intersection of Bondi Road and Wellington Street (for illustrative purposes).
Bondi Road Wellington Street safety changes map
Community benefits
- Crashes are expected to be significantly reduced at the intersection, especially right turn crashes and crashes caused by vehicles weaving, lane changing and queued traffic.
- Safety will be improved for people crossing Wellington Street.
- Safety will be improved for all road users.
- The project also supports Waverley Council's safety improvement project at Imperial and Boonara avenues.
The project aligns with key Transport plans including the Road Safety Action Plan and Movement and Place Principles.
History of safety issues and changes made
Bondi Road is a key link between Bondi Junction and Bondi Beach.
On average, around 26,000 vehicles travel Bondi Road each day. It’s also one of the busiest bus routes in NSW.
The intersection of Bondi Road and Wellington Street has a long history of crashes. Between February 2014 and December 2023, there have been 20 reported crashes resulting in 16 casualties. These crashes took place throughout the week and across day and night.
Some of the key issues that contribute to crashes here include:
- drivers turning right, into and out of Wellington Street at Bondi Road, in front of oncoming traffic
- infrequent gaps in traffic during peak periods
- drivers weaving to avoid queued traffic.
We have installed several safety measures over the years to try and address the safety issues including:
- reducing the speed limit from 60km/h to 50km/h on Bondi Road
- installing a pedestrian refuge (waiting area) on Wellington Street
- changing the ‘give way’ sign to a ‘stop’ sign at Wellington Street.
Crashes continue to occur at this intersection, including crashes that have caused serious injuries to people.
Further safety measures are needed to address the ongoing significant safety issues.
Transport has adopted a Safe System approach to achieve the ultimate goal of zero deaths and serious injuries on NSW roads.
We looked at other ways we could improve safety at the intersection and identified that the safest solution is to remove the right turns in and out of Wellington Street, reduce the speed limit on Wellington Street, and increase the size of the pedestrian refuge.
More information is available in our Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, 265.73 KB).
Alternative routes
Road users will no longer be able to turn right in and out of Wellington Street. This will mean a change in route, and travel time, for some people.
The map below shows some of the potential alternative routes following removal of the right turns (for illustrative purposes).
Other routes may be available, please plan ahead. Visit livetraffic.com for the latest traffic updates.
We will continue to work with the community and key stakeholders through this change.
Bondi Road Wellington Street potential alternative routes map
Project documents
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If you are having trouble accessing information in these documents, please contact us.
Community notifications
Other documents
Contact us
For further information about this project, please contact:
Phone: 1800 491 566