As he rides his bike east along Scott Street, there is a light rail line just to the right of him. To his left is a wide footpath that would offer a safer ride, but he is not allowed to cycle along that.

So Sam Reich has to stay where he is on the single-lane road. But behind him, pressure is piling up, as motorists wait to pass the bike rider.

The president of the Newcastle Cycleways Movement calls this a "pinch point".

Ever since the light rail network opened in February, Sam Reich reckons that "pinch" has intensified for those cycling in the inner city. Many inexperienced cyclists won't ride along this stretch, "because of the perception that it's dangerous - and I guess the reality".

A reminder of that reality is before Mr Reich's eyes, as he reaches the intersection of Scott and Pacific streets. It was here on July 10 that experienced rider Danny Egan fell off his bike as he negotiated the light rail lines.

Even though the father-of-three was wearing a helmet, he sustained fatal head injuries. Police are continuing their investigations into the incident.

That the 51-year-old, who was renowned for participating in charity bike rides, would die after coming off his bicycle has shocked those who knew him.

Grant Donnelly, a friend and occasional riding buddy of Mr Egan, recalls he was "horrified" when he first heard about the incident. But when he heard who had died, "it became super real then".

"Danny was a good rider, a strong rider," says Mr Donnelly. "If it could happen to Danny, it could happen to any one of us."

Another avid cyclist, Deborah Moore, says Mr Egan's death has made her more wary on the city's roads.

"And it makes you more determined to say, 'We need to get this right'," she says.

At the intersection where Mr Egan crashed, Sam Reich points to the rail tracks snaking towards Pacific Street before they head along the other lane on Scott Street into the tram stop. He says for cyclists heading west along Scott Street, those tracks can create a problem, as riders have to manoeuvre to cross them at the correct angle without veering into traffic. He believes a safe path for cyclists needs to be marked on the road. Then again, he points out, the existing signs indicate how cyclists are thought of.

One sign declares this is a car and tram zone - "nothing about bikes" - and underneath that, wrapped around the pole, is a temporary sign warning cyclists to take care - "but not telling other people to watch for cyclists".

"The whole messaging is wrong," Mr Reich says.

The death of Danny Egan has again highlighted the issue of cycling safety in the heart of Newcastle, as the city is reshaped and, in the catchword of the planners, revitalised. Mr Egan's death is the second cycling-related fatality in the CBD in the past four months.

The Hill resident Brigitte Nilsen was killed in March, when the bike she was riding collided with a truck near the East End development construction site on King Street.

Sam Reich says he is aware of a number of "broken bones" incidents involving cyclists along the light rail line. As the Herald reported in November, a bar manager broke his arm, when his bicycle wheel was caught in the tracks on Hunter Street and he crashed, and, around the same time, a Honeysuckle resident broke his knee when he came off his bike while crossing the line near where Danny Egan fell.

"If this was a workplace, with our health and safety legislation, we couldn't allow this," Mr Reich says. "You have to engineer out hazards."

While riding with Mr Reich, the Herald meets university student Emmalee Ford, who is riding in the Civic precinct along Hunter Street. She is on her way to the university's city campus.

Ms Ford gestures across the road. She explains that in October 2018, she came off her bike. With a car behind her, she was negotiating the light rail works, when her wheel hit a gap between the road's edge and the gutter. Ms Ford says she fell and cracked a rib.

The student rides her bicycle most days, but she is on guard.

"A lot of streets are narrow, there's not enough designated cycleways, and you're riding past parked cars, with doors opening," Ms Ford says.

Sam Reich has aired cyclists' concerns to state government representatives this week. He was part of a team inspecting the light rail network for a safety audit being conducted for Transport for NSW.

A Transport for NSW spokesman says the onsite safety investigation has been completed and "following a review will determine if any additional safety improvements are needed and can be implemented".

Cyclists are dismayed by what could, and should, have been for the inner city's transformation. Their frustration and fear go beyond the light rail tracks.

They look back to the noble intentions and glossy plans of the state and local governments, with the visions of a cycling-friendly city.

The state government's Revitalising Newcastle released a city centre cycleway network strategy in 2017. But the report was criticised for basically shifting the funding and building of a cycleway network to local government.

The council had earlier shared its own vision. The council's "Connecting Newcastle" document in 2016 presented artwork depicting separated cycleways in places where riders now contend with a different reality on the street amid vehicles and the light rail.

The council has said it strongly advocated for separated cycleways during the design phase of the light rail project.

A Transport for NSW spokesman says, "It is not possible to provide segregated light rail, vehicle traffic lanes, widened pedestrian footpaths and a dedicated cycleway on Hunter Street due to physical space constraints on one of Newcastle's oldest streets."

Yet the cycleway need not have been on Hunter Street, riders argue. The former heavy rail corridor, which riders say would have been ideal for a cycleway, has either been occupied by the light rail, is being built on, or is behind wire fences, waiting for more developments.

"It was an opportunity to get it right, and it's been wasted," Grant Donnelly says of the lack of a dedicated cycleway. "I think it's a travesty that it wasn't included."

The changes in the CBD, Mr Donnelly says, "have effectively reduced the available real estate in the corridor where people ride ... There is zero space between bikes and cars, and it's increased the conflict" between cyclists and drivers.

Even though the Revitalising Newcastle program is driving much of the change in the CBD, the organisation overseeing it, Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation, wouldn't comment for this story, instead directing questions to the council.

Newcastle council released a cycling strategy and action plan in 2012. The council wrote that the document represented its "commitment to enhancement of cycling in Newcastle". The plan has not been updated since then. What's more, the council's cycling strategy advisory committee was wound up at the end of June.

"Unfortunately, I shudder to say this, but I think it's a reflection of their priorities," says Sam Reich.

A City of Newcastle spokesman says a new cycling working party will be formed in the next few months "and will play a key role assisting with the review of the Strategy".

The squeeze, and potential hazards, in the CBD has increased for not just cyclists but other road users, as building projects take shape. Heavy vehicles have clogged narrow streets, and footpaths have been blocked in places, so all users have had to look for alternatives.

As Sam Reich and I talk at the spot where Brigitte Nilsen was killed opposite the East End development site, we notice a man riding slowly on the footpath along Perkins Street.

In NSW, it is illegal for riders aged 16 or above to ride on the footpath, unless they're accompanying a child under 16. But in Newcastle at the moment, many feel they have no choice.

"I don't always ride on the footpath," the cyclist, Trevor, says. "I usually try and find bike tracks."

Trevor often rides from his Merewether home into town, rather than bring his car and look for a parking space. But the experienced cyclist knows to look out for motorists.

"If you ride really defensively then I don't feel unsafe," Trevor says. "It's more when you get out on the roads. Quite often, they [drivers] are looking right through you, because they're looking for a car, they're not looking for a bike."

A few blocks away, on the waterfront at Honeysuckle, sisters Elizabeth and Allison are also riding on the footpath.

"I prefer using the footpath, I don't feel safe riding on the road with the traffic, says Elizabeth.

"It's the choice between the safety of the footpath and being on the road," adds her sister.

"The cycleways don't interconnect well enough," says Elizabeth. "In the inner city, where there's so much traffic, it should be more interconnected."

Sam Reich readily admits that when riding along King Street, he often rides on the footpath outside City Hall.

"I'm forced to break the law, or risk my life and limb in traffic," he says.

Deborah Moore says there has to be a shift in attitude towards cycling in the city by all levels of government, and by the broader community.

"We have to make provisions on a planning level, funding level, legal level. Cycling must be viewed as transport," she says.

"If Newcastle wants to be the city it says it wants to be, it has to take on attitudes and the bravery of some overseas cities, where they've put cycling for transport first."

The council has reiterated its "commitment" to making cycling a safe and attractive transport option in the city. It has announced separated cycleways will be built as part of the revamp of the West End. Included in the proposed expansion of the network is a two-way cycleway along Hunter Street, as part of the Newcastle East Stage One streetscape plan.

Yet those who pedal regularly don't share the confidence of a cycling-friendly future in the CBD.

"My optimism isn't high," Grant Donnelly says. "There's the opportunity, Newcastle could be an ultimate cycling city."

"The government needs to adopt this as a priority," explains Sam Reich.

"But what they need to do is sell it to the community, take the community along on the journey to say, 'These projects that we're spending money on are actually good for motorists as well as cyclists'.

"Every person who you convince to get on a bike and leave the car at home is one less car in traffic. So it's a win-win all around."

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