Northern Beaches Council is moving ahead with the major Connecting Northern Beaches and Connecting All Through Play projects, with planning, design and early construction underway.
Council Administrator Dick Persson AM said the key feature of Connecting Northern Beaches is the iconic coastal walkway from Palm Beach to Manly.
“As a larger merged Council and in partnership with the State Government, we have an opportunity to make a real difference with this $32.6 million project delivered under the Stronger Communities fund.
“I’m also pleased to announce that the community will be able to keep up with the progress of these projects through an interactive map that will be rolled out on Council’s website in the coming months,” Mr Persson said.
Work so far includes planning and design investigation for the new pedestrian bridges over Narrabeen Lagoon, environmental assessments for projects in Palm Beach and early construction on the Brookvale cycleway and shared pathway.
Work on projects in Manly Vale and Dee Why is expected to start shortly, and construction of the Narrabeen to Collaroy and North Curl Curl/ Freshwater pathways are planned to commence by the end of June.
Concept plans are being developed for large district inclusive play at Manly Dam and Lionel Watts playgrounds, with community engagement on the designs planned for September.
“This is an innovative world-best practise initiative that will deliver tactile and sensorial play elements in district, regional and local playgrounds from June to cater for and connect children of all abilities,” Mr Persson said.
Council will also be seeking expressions of interest from sporting groups and surf clubs about where to invest the $4 million allocated ($2 million each) to improving sports facilities and surf clubs, with the aim to being projects mid-year.
Community consultation and engagement will be part of each Connecting Northern Beaches and Connecting All through Play projects.
Connecting Northern Beaches features 36km of continuous, all-weather coastal walkways from Palm Beach to Manly, including:
- 8km of new footpaths, boardwalks and stairs
- New Palm Beach walkway from the ferry to Beach Road
- New shared pathway behind Mona Vale golf course, and
- Dee Why headland to North Curl Curl improvements
The project will also feature 30km of new cycleways connecting north-south and east-west, including:
- 10km of new off-road shared paths
- 20km designated as on-road routes, connecting to the existing network
- New shared path around Bilgola Bends
- New shared path from Collaroy to Narrabeen