Wheelchair user Dianne Taylor wants "dignified access" for herself and her community.
But in her increasingly busy corner of Redhead, just leaving her home at the Oasis Over 50s Lifestyle Community to access local facilities like medical services, parks, the beach, local shops and the Fernleigh Track is fraught with danger due to a lack of connected footpaths along Kalaroo Road.
Six weeks ago Ms Taylor flipped her wheelchair on the verge while attempting to cross Kalaroo Road on her way to the Fernleigh Track.
"I was very lucky that I had a really good helmet on, because that seemed to take most of the impact," Ms Taylor said.
"It left me quite scared."
At the time, Ms Taylor had a power assistance device attached to her manual wheelchair, which made it impossible for her to flip it back onto its wheels.
"I'm lying there, and I could feel my head bounce a couple of times and went, 'Oh, that doesn't feel right'," she said.
"But I'm lying there, trapped like a turtle in my wheelchair and the other machine. People just stopped their cars and came running from everywhere."
Thankfully, Ms Taylor suffered no serious injuries in the incident, but it clearly illustrated the issues Redhead residents have with the lack of footpath access along Kalaroo Road.
There are four retirement or lifestyle villages along the southern side of Kalaroo Road, with a population of about 800 people. A fifth residential estate is under construction.
There is a footpath between The Sanctuary and Ocean Breeze estates, but no dedicated pedestrian or cycling path for more than a kilometre into the shopping precinct of Redhead.
This forces residents to either walk on the side of the busy Kalaroo Road or navigate the verge.
The northern side of the road is a busy industrial zone without footpaths.
Last Monday night the Footpaths for Redhead Action Group submitted a petition of 1155 signatures to Lake Macquarie City Council, calling for the construction of footpaths along Kalaroo Road that cater for all levels of mobility to allow a safe, continuous pedestrian journey to local businesses and facilities.
"We're not asking for the Earth," Ms Taylor said. "Just dignified access for anybody to get from these homes.
"I mean, the council is very much into encouraging homes like this. I know I'm having a dig at the council, but it's all about inclusion and dignified access for people that move in to this street."
The petition was submitted at the same meeting that councillors endorsed the council's Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2026-2030.
Councillors attended a site inspection at Kalaroo Road but heard at Monday's meeting that an upgrade of Redhead's footpaths is not part of the council's four-year delivery plan.
Patricia McDonell, a resident of Oasis, was one of the community members behind the petition. Her husband Robert McDonell addressed the councillors at a public forum on Monday night.
"Dealing with the council, it's always going to be small steps, and so far that's still a positive," Mrs McDonell said.
"In our very first approach to council, it was always, 'No, we have to adhere to the four-year plan', and they'd virtually shut down.
"At least now we've had a site inspection done, and from the site inspection, there's a recommendation done now to actually come up with proposed pedestrian safety options on Kalaroo Road."
East Ward Labor councillor Christine Buckley is also a firm supporter of improving pedestrian access along Kalaroo Road.
"I know the community is aware that they won't get a footpath straight away," Cr Buckley said.
"What they would like is a clear pathway, maybe not a concrete path, but a path that they can traverse up the side of the road, and I don't think that's too much to ask."
North Ward Liberal councillor Jack Antcliff said he hoped the missing footpath link would be completed by the time the latest development was.
"It is important that we set an expectation with the community that, yes, this petition is tabled; everyone here is in support of building more footpaths where we can build them," Cr Antcliff said. "We can't build a footpath on every road.
"We also need to understand that these don't happen overnight. In time, there may be an opportunity to fix gaps and work with other developers."
Labor mayor Adam Shultz, who fought for eight years to have a shared pathway built recently near the Lake Macquarie Airport, agreed with Cr Antcliff.
"I believe we have about 136 kilometres of shared pathway around the lake, the entire 95 suburbs, so it is quite a network of footpaths," he said.
