PEOPLE power has pushed Lake Macquarie council to reconsider delivering a 'missing link' to the town's shopping precinct, ensuring tourists and locals a safe and uninterrupted stroll.
The council is in the process of upgrading and reconstructing Watkins Road at Wangi Wangi and is building a footpath on Watkins Road from Short Street to the Wangi Point Lakeside Holiday Park at the same time.
Initial plans saw the footpath fall short by about 260m between Short Street and the town centre, but a petition signed by 119 residents will see the council do a double-take on its project.
Labor councillor Adam Shultz said at the crux of it, the issue comes down to safety.
"Unfortunately following completion of the current works there will be a small missing link of footpath that requires construction from 185 to 211 Watkins Road, Wangi Wangi," he said.
"Tourists as we are aware, by their very nature, don't know the areas they are visiting - it's therefore imperative we provide this continuous safe footpath as a priority to facilitate the movement of tourists, visitors and residents from the holiday park to the shopping precinct.
"I'm advised without the footpath between 185 and 211 Watkins Road, residents and people with mobility issues, they effectively need to go out onto the road to navigate this uneven and rocky area."
Cr Shultz also pointed out that with the $235 million redevelopment of Morisset Golf Course to 30,000 person concert venue Cedar Mill, it was even more important to make sure tourists could safely move between holiday accommodation and the town centre.
"The holiday park [at Wangi] is approximately a 10 minute drive from this facility, and demand for tourist accommodation is set to exponentially increase given that we have Cedar Mill coming online very shortly," he said.
"I think it's therefore really important we look to review the current strategy and prioritise this missing link."
The council voted unanimously in favour of reviewing the construction priority of the rest of the footpath and feedback will be provided to councillors on the outcome.
