I’d like to address some misinformation about the Marshalls Creek Boardwalk proposal.
Three days before Council voted on this issue, the NSW Environment Minister asked NPWS to ‘engage with Council on the assessment of options and preferred routes for assessment’.
Two of the possible routes were already part of Council’s pedestrian and bike plans which were formally adopted in 2019. These routes did not entail ‘kilometres of paths through the reserve’ as claimed by opponents.
One route connected Orana Rd to Rajah Rd via 470 metres of boardwalk along the back boundary of houses on the western edge of the reserve. An alternative route connected the Ocean Shores shopping centre to North Head Rd via 330 metres of footbridge and boardwalk.
Compare this with the impacts of the existing road which is more than 1,700 metres long, it bisects the reserve from north to south, has hundreds of car movements per day, and includes more than 20 formal parking spots next to a sensitive bird nesting area. There are many more parking spots along the road, delivering day visitors and campers to all points throughout the reserve.
The intervention of the minister was an opportunity to get all stakeholders together to take a holistic look at the reserve and develop a plan that better protects nature and provides a route around the Orana Rd hill for pedestrians and cyclists. This may have entailed restricting access to North Head Rd, or even closing the road to cars.
Unfortunately, these discussions will now not happen, because the Greens councillors and Cr Warth voted to remove all possible route options from both the Ocean Shores Place Plan and all future active transport plans produced by Council.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
