A long-held dream of creating a coastal cycleway between Lennox Head and Byron Bay has moved a step closer to reality, with $173,000 in state funding secured to work out whether it can actually be done.
Ballina Shire Council has received the money through the NSW Government’s Get NSW Active program for a feasibility and route-options study into a proposed 19.7km shared path between the two towns.
The study will examine potential routes, environmental constraints and engineering requirements before any future construction funding is considered.
The idea isn’t new. In 2023, The Echo reported that Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader was pushing to revive the coastal connection, with then-Byron Mayor Michael Lyon giving in-principle support to exploring the idea. Previous proposals for a path through environmentally sensitive areas around Lennox had proved controversial.
Cr Cadwallader said the new funding was an important step towards finally identifying a viable route.
Ballina Council has already constructed a shared path from Lennox Head village to the Ross Lane roundabout, with the new study expected to investigate options for continuing north towards Suffolk Park and Byron Bay.
Cr Cadwallader also sees the project as potentially much more than a pleasant Sunday ride.
She said a Lennox-Byron connection could eventually form part of a much larger Northern Rivers cycling and e-bike network linking Ballina, Byron Bay, the Tweed, Alstonville, Lismore and Casino.
‘Shared pathways are no longer simply recreational infrastructure,’ Cr Cadwallader said.
‘They are becoming an important transport option while also supporting tourism, local businesses and healthier lifestyles.’
But cyclists shouldn’t start pumping up their tyres just yet.
The $173,000 is strictly for the feasibility and route assessment. Any actual cycleway would require further planning, approvals and a considerably larger funding commitment before construction could begin.
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