Queenscliff: New push towards safe, accesible passage from headland to beach
Things could finally be looking up after residents have spent five years campaigning for safer access from Queenscliff to the beach with “unsafe” stairs causing concern for mums with bubs and people with a disability heading to the beach.
Manly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Manly. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Newport: $7m shop top housing proposed in popular retail complex.
- Luxury veterinary clinic opens on northern beaches with cat resort.
Queenscliff residents who’ve spent five years lobbying for ramp access from the headland to the beach have claimed victory with the council revealing it will kickstart planning.
Over the years residents expressed concerns about the stairs not being disability accessible and a struggle for mothers with strollers.
Northern Beaches Council chief executive officer Ray Bownlee said the council would start looking at the design process but had not sourced funding yet for construction works.
“Council has allocated $50,000 in this current financial year’s budget to investigate and carry out design and preliminary work according to tender documents for a ramp at Greycliffe St and Bridge Rd Queenscliff,” Mr Brownlee said.
“A report will be brought to council to consider funding options for its construction in next financial year’s budget (2021/22).”
It comes after a passionate northern beaches couple launched a petition calling for “safe and better access for Queenscliff” which has received more than 1500 signatures.
Paul Oates who kickstarted the petition with his wife Tracey on Change.org said cyclists are forced onto the road where there’s a blind spot, while mothers with strollers didn’t feel safe carrying their children up and down the stairs.
“It’s ironic Queenscliff residents can’t get to Queenscliff Beach without having to navigate stairs which were built in 1880. The Queenscliff suburb can’t access the beach without those stairs,” Mr Oates said.
“Twenty years ago we were appalled by not being able to push a pram up that hill.”
The petition states the only “viable crossing” is located opposite 41 to 45 Greycliffe St which is “an unsafe blind corner”.
He suggested that the council source funding for construction of the ramp from the Manly to Palm Beach Coastal Walk project.
Queenscliff resident Rosie Hamilton said the ramp would make a huge difference to young families living in the area.
“I moved into Queenscliff about two and a half years ago and we’d walk up and down those stairs every day but as soon as our daughter was born we realised it was a lot more difficult,” Ms Hamilton said.
“We didn’t realise how difficult it would be and it was just so challenging with a pram. I’d always have to get help from strangers and there’s no clear pathway to cross the road in a safe manner.
“It’s such a beautiful walk but it just feels like we’re not as connected to Manly. As a mother with a newborn, I feel now I need it more now than ever. It’s also important to get out of the house for mental health.”
Ms Hamilton said she was “over the moon” had agreed to install a ramp.
“We were thrilled when we found out the council were going to do something about it because there are so many young families in the area who would benefit from it.”
Back in 2019 the council looked at alternative options including a mechanical inclinator which would carry people inside a pod on a rail, much like a stair lift but the idea has since been scrapped.
An alternative route exists which allows pedestrians travelling towards Manly to travel west along Queenscliff Rd and then left onto Greycliffe St.
Council officers have previously stated that this detour would only be an additional 560 metres with no formal crossing, steep sections and inadequate sight lines.