Wollongong City Council is set to rebuff residents’ suggestions to change the planned route of the Grand Pacific Walk through Stanwell Park and Coalcliff.
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Instead, after months of research and consideration prompted by opposition to the original route, the council has released a new report endorsing its own plans.
This will see the path travel from Lawrence Hargrave Drive, in Stanwell Park, onto Murrawal Road and Lower Coast Road before linking back to the main road to continue south.
The overall Grand Pacific Walk project is a major piece of infrastructure being undertaken by the council, and aims to link the southern end of the Royal National Park to Lake Illawarra.
It will connect existing footpaths and shared pathways with new infrastructure to provide a safer route for pedestrians and, in parts, cyclists.
Since July last year, the council has been working on the section between Stanwell Park and Sea Cliff Bridge.
However, last August, residents launched a campaign opposing the Murrawal Road route, which they said was too narrow to support the future foot traffic and cyclists.
The council halted any work on this section of the road, allowing residents to put forward their own route options.
According to a document now open for another round of public comment, the council received “many route options” which staff summarised into five different routes.
These included the original council route, two routes mainly using Lawrence Hargrave Drive and two which mostly travelled along Lower Coast Road.
The route along Lower Coast and Murrawal Roads is the safest option for all users.
- Wollongong council
The council said “extensive research that has been undertaken clearly finds that the route along Lower Coast and Murrawal Roads is the safest option for all users while remaining consistent with the vision of the GPW project”.
The other four routes were “not feasible” due to loss of property, constrained environments, geotechnical slip or compromise to the safety of users through steep grades, limited width and blind corners.
Submissions on the council’s final options report close on April 9.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
