The first day of spring is the perfect time to open up a new waterside walk.
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That's when Shellharbour City Council chose to formally cut the ribbon on its new Reddall Reserve Promenade on the shore of Lake Illawarra.
The promenade, which was identified as in need of an upgrade in public feedback to the council's Reddall Reserve Master Plan, includes new seating, increased pedestrian accessibility and better connection to the wider reserve.
"The new promenade is absolutely stunning. It's a beautiful outdoor space that will benefit Shellharbour City residents as well as visitors to the area," Mayor Chris Homer said.
"The old promenade was very popular with locals and tourists but had unfortunately reached the end of its life. Over time, it had experienced storm and weather damage. Many sections were at beach level and became covered by sand, making it inaccessible."
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson lives a few hundred metres from the foreshore and was a regular visitor.
"I come down here all the time - I walk along here about every morning," Ms Watson said.
"It's beautiful - now instead of turning right I'll be turning left and doing the circuit.
"I've always thought that Reddall Reserve was not only underutilised but underfunded. I couldn't be any more thrilled to see what we've seen today. This is just a magnificent project and we want to see it continue."
The project, which stretches just under half a kilometre along the foreshore to the east of Windang Bridge, was built with $3 million in funding from the NSW Government's Public Open Spaces Legacy Program.
Planning and Public Spaces Minister Paul Scully said Shellharbour Council was one of 60 local government areas to receive funding under this program.
"Reddall Reserve was already a hugely popular public space and this is going to make it even more inviting," Mr Scully said.
"You look at it today, it's going to be a really, really popular place for people to come visit. It's one of the great public spaces around the lake and one of the great public spaces throughout the Shellharbour local government area."
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