Grant funding for safer cycling secured

New shared cycle paths along the NWCH will connect to existing paths in the Chapman River Regional Park.

The City has successfully secured State Government funding to construct cycle paths along the North West Coastal Highway to improve cycle and pedestrian access to the Chapman River Regional Park.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said providing safe access to the recently completed mountain bike facilities in the Chapman River Regional Park for people who live on the east side of the highway is paramount.

“Since the completion of the jump and pump track and skills track at Spalding Park and the formalisation of the mountain bike trail in the Chapman River Regional Park the number of people visiting the area in the last six months has dramatically increased,” he said.

“The 680m long off-road shared cycle path on the east side of the NWCH will help guide community members from Green Street to the existing underpass on the south side of the bridge enabling people of all ages who want to access the popular facilities with a safe way to cross the busy highway.”

The Department of Transport’s (DoT) Western Australian Bicycle Network Grants Program will fund 50% of the $230,000 design and construction costs of an off-road shared cycle path to connect Splading to the asphalt cycle paths located on the west side of the highway.

The City has also secured funding from the DoT Safe Active Streets Program to undertake the design and consultation of an off-road shared path on the west side of the NWCH linking Spalding Park to Green Street and includes the transformation of Railway Street into a Safe Active Street for cyclists.

The Safe Active Streets Program delivers cycle routes on quiet local streets, where speeds have been reduced to 30km/h to allow people in cars and on bikes to share the street safely. This will be a pilot program for the regions and is fully funded by DoT.

Both the shared cycle paths on the east and west sides of the NWCH were identified as a secondary network routes in the Geraldton 2050 Cycling Strategy.

Both projects will be completed in 2019/20 financial year.