The newest 13.2km section of Tasmania’s Coastal Pathway is ready to ride following an official opening on 24 October.
The 2.5m wide pathway between Wynyard and Cooee, on the outskirts of Burnie, has been built on a disused rail line and involved revamping an old rail bridge.
It joins an already completed 50km of pathway between Latrobe and Ulverstone and Penguin and Sulphur Creek.
Bicycle Network volunteers organised a social ride for around 60 people from the University of Tasmania’s Burnie Campus to the opening, which was also attended by state and federal politicians and the Burnie and Waratah-Wynyard mayors.
The ride was led by Bicycle Network volunteer Keith Price who has been a driving (or riding) force behind the proposal since it was first floated a couple of decades ago.
The Coastal Pathway now runs from Wynyard to Latrobe but there are gaps between Wivenhoe and Heybridge to the east of Burnie, between West Ulverstone and Penguin, and through Turners Beach.
Central Coast Council has designed the section through Turners Beach, which will be the next section to be constructed, and it recently received a grant to design options for the Penguin section.
That leaves Burnie City Council’s section as the missing link. Disappointingly, the council has indicated it has no plans to apply for funding for design options or construction.
While being a useful connection for locals to ride between towns and use for recreation, the path was also intended to be a tourism attractor. Waratah-Wynyard Council recently received a state government grant to investigate the feasibility of extending the pathway west towards Stanley and Smithton.
That tourism potential is diminished if there is a gaping hole in the route as it ruins the concept of a non-stop multi-day ride.
Bicycle Network volunteers have produced helpful guides to the completed sections of pathway and the new section will soon join the list: https://ridewithgps.com/ambassadors/414-bicycle-network-tasmania
Images: Roger Nichols