Those living on the New South Wales mid-coast love to ride bikes and take a stroll, and the local council is moving to better accommodate these interests with a 10-year Walk, Cycle and Trail-based Activity Strategy.
MidCoast Council, a local government area that includes 195 towns and villages on the NSW mid-north coast and is home to a population of around 94,000, recently developed and adopted a new Open Space and Recreation Strategy.
Through public consultation, the council learned that walking and bike riding were among the most popular outdoor activities in the community.
Of those who participated in consultation for the Open Space and Recreation Strategy, 83% said they walked in outdoor spaces while 21% said they rode bikes on the road and on paths.
They also offered information about their preferred routes and the types of trail-based activities they like to engage in, giving the council some ideas in the formulation of the strategy.
“We’ve selected some priorities from that feedback,” says MidCoast Council Manager Strategy and Projects (Public Spaces) Manager Amanda Hatton. “Now we’d like to check in to make sure our proposed actions meet community needs.”
The consultation webpage features an interactive map with more than 50 potential actions to improve walking and bike riding on the mid-coast, and had attracted more than 330 contributions at the time of writing.
The community is invited to “like” or “dislike” the proposed actions and offer ideas of their own.
The consultation will run until Sunday 25 August and a draft of the strategy will go on public exhibition in early 2025.
“We want to hear from you to make sure our Walking, Cycling and Trail-based Activity Strategy meets your needs over the next ten years,” says Ms Hatton.
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