Spit Oceanway green light but community divided on $10 million path

More than $10 million of ratepayer and taxpayer money will be spent finishing the Oceanway — but the community is deeply divided about a concrete path. Read all the details

Almost $11 million of ratepayer and taxpayer money is to be spent finishing the Oceanway path to the north as it gets the green light.

However, the community is deeply divided about the construction of the path.

The Main Beach Association wants a hard surface to protect pedestrians and cyclists from falls, while Save Our Spit supports a softer alternative to protect sand dunes.

City officers in an update on the $10.8 million project admit the risks are “budget constraints” and the designs which must increase accessibility but avoid an ugly concrete path.

“We’re going out to tender on detailed design. We’re going to be keen to look for some creativity on that. We don’t just want a horrible concrete path in the rainforest,” an officer told councillors at lifestyle committee meeting.

Area councillor Darren Taylor in a series of questions during the update asked for the pathway to be accessible and “as natural as possible”.

Officers told him: “There are different treatments that we are looking at.”

Surfers Paradise-based councillor Darren Taylor asking consultants to be "creative" in designs for an Oceanway path through The Spit.

The presentation to councillors said a key outcome of a landscape concept plan was for the Oceanway path to proceed along the existing trail alignment reducing environmental damage to dunes and vegetation.

No lighting will be placed around the pathway to minimise the impact on native fauna.

A timeline shows site investigations and detailed design work will continue during this year, and approvals and a sign off on the landscaping next year.

The project will be constructed in three stages, from Philip Park to Muriel Henchman Park and north to the top of The Spit. The last section is to be constructed in 2026-27. It is a key part of the path fronting the city’s beaches, which will stretch south to the NSW border.

The Spit and details of the Oceanway project and designs for the pathway.

Councillor Naomi Fowler has raised the concerns of riders on fast e-bikes and scooters mixing with pedestrians. Officers will consider separate pathways but admit it is difficult to patrol.

Mr Taylor is yet to decide on the preferred surface and will wait for the final designs.

“It is really important that we have accessibility. We need to protect the littoral rainforest that we are walking through, but also have the ability to make it active for everyone to visit,” he said.

“What type of surface that looks like – that’s the body of work that we are doing now. We have to come up with more creative ways to protect that area. We need to ensure it’s not a grey surface running through a beautiful area.”

Main Beach Association leader Sue Donovan said her group was strongly supportive of a hard surfaced wide path all the way from the Surf Club to the Seaway – about an hour’s walk.

An aerial photograph of The Spit showing where irrigation pipes have been placed and a littoral rainforest will be created.

“There is already an excellent sealed path running adjacent to the coastline as far north as the Sheraton. It is widely used by young and old – walkers, bike riders, scooters and people pushing prams,” she said.

“As locals who love The Spit, we believe that this beautiful area must be assessable by all members of the community, from kids on bikes to those using wheelchairs or mobility scooters.

“While a continuation of the existing concrete path would be economical and reduce maintenance costs, there are some exciting alternative materials available. And of course, boardwalks will be required for the low lying areas that are frequently under water.

“What must change is the current path which is steep, deeply rutted and the cause of many quite serious bike riding accidents.”

The Spit and the Federation Walk coastal reserve where the Oceanway and littoral rainforest will be created.

Save Our Spit since a pathway was mentioned in 2007 has voiced its opposition on environmental grounds.

Two years ago the group launched a campaign noting that Federation Walk was a “high value conservation area’” and gazetted as “Park for Environment, Beach Protection and Coastal Management Purposes”.

SOS leader Dr Steve Gration at the time wrote that coastal sand dunes were nature’s way of protecting the beaches from erosion.

“Coastal dunes provide a buffer zone between marine and land environments. They absorb and decrease wave energy and reduce storm damage to our coastline,” he wrote.

“Coastal sand dunes are extremely sensitive to disturbances. They suffer severe damage from pedestrian and vehicle traffic.”

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