With the Riverside Sports Complex increasingly popular among local walkers and cyclists, it is now the location of a new shared pathway.

It has been constructed along the Peel River adjacent to the sports fields between O’Connell Street and the Riverside Car Park on Bridge Street.

The project reduces safety risks to walkers and cyclists, providing an even sealed surface. Walkers and cyclists previously needed to move onto the roadway due to large muddy puddles after rain.

The new pathway creates a link between the existing sealed path at both ends to complete a formal shared path loop between the Gipps Street Car Park pedestrian bridge and the Jewry Street Bridge on both sides of the river.

An asphalt shared path, 770 metres long and 3.5 metres wide, has been constructed on the river side of the road and marked for cyclists and pedestrians. To ensure pedestrians and cyclists are safe from travelling cars, a 0.5m of asphalt buffer zone and a raised kerb separates the pathway from the road.

The roadway has been re-sealed and a raised kerb separates the road from the grass along the sports fields.

To allow for the shared walking track between the river and sports fields, the road has become a one way street on a permanent basis, with traffic travelling in a southerly direction. As a result, adjoining streets are right turn only. The number of drivers using the road is minimal, and it is not anticipated that this will cause issues with traffic travelling around the sports fields.

To ensure users of the path are safe, a speed limit of 40 km/h has been implemented.

Parking is no longer available on the river side of the new path. This is to prevent erosion, and to allow the grass to grow and be maintained as a green space for public enjoyment. Parking for sports fields users is still available along Carter Street.