Residents at the Austinmer end of the uniquely steep, 0.8km rainforest ascent have raised concerns about littering, lack of parking and potential collisions on the narrow path, says Graham Burgess, Illawarra Branch President, National Parks Association of NSW. 

He believes the track is experiencing a boom in popularity as word of its charms spreads among fitness enthusiasts drawn in by the challenge of its more than 1000 wooden, dirt and ladder stairs. 

“The track was closed for a number of years ... It has been the subject of some funding in the last 10 years, which has resulted it it becoming almost the iconic track within the region,” he said. 

“Initially it was bushwalkers, then families cottoned on to the idea of a nice walk in the rainforest. More recently people are using it as a training location, jogging up and down the stairs.” 

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“We’re not seeing news reports of rescues and things there, but anecdotally we’re getting reports coming on social media – ‘I was there today, I’m not going back because the kids got run over by joggers’.

“We want the community to be more aware of the developing issues and have some compassion for the residents, and be aware of their circumstances.” 

On its website, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) encourages visitors to start the walk from the amenities-rich top end – a move that would limit the amount of cars parking in residential Austinmer. 

The association supports this, and also suggests walkers could park further away and incorporate a walk through residential Austinmer into their workout.

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Mr Burgess also points to lesser-used tracks at Mount Keira and Mt Mitchell at Stanwell Park as worthy equivalents that could play a role in spreading the foot traffic. 

He is not particularly critical of National Parks and Wildlife Service, but says it “hasn’t necessarily stayed ahead of the game with the planning and budgeting to be able to manage this as well as they might”. 

Mr Burgess suggests NPWS should be more active on social media, where discussions on the issue occur and the popularity of the track grows as people share pictures and stories their experiences. He proposes a ranger visit the track during its most popular hours, on Sunday morning. 

He points to NPWS’s handling of the problematic popularity boom at the Royal National Park’s Figure Eight Pools – the site of numerous emergency calls for visitors ill-prepared for the changing tide and ocean conditions – as an example of good practice. 

“NPWS’s website is now very descriptive of the dangers [at Figure Eight Pools]. They improved signage at the site and they taken some fairly good action, responsible action, to educate visitors.” 

NPWS was unable to provide data on track visitor numbers in time for the Mercury’s deadline. 

A spokeswoman for NPWS said the service “continues to patrol this track”. 

“Council and NPWS are encouraging all park users to be considerate of each other in order to ensure everyone has a positive and enjoyable experience,” she said.