Oceanway Gold Coast: Mayor Tom Tate says “I want to see 9.4km gap completed”

After a private beach inspection with engineers on Tuesday, Mayor Tom Tate has given the biggest sign yet that the Oceanway will be completed. Full details.

Mayor Tom Tate has given the biggest sign yet that the Oceanway will be completed.

Mr Tate had a private beach inspection with engineers on Tuesday and later took to social media to say he wanted to see the last 9.4km of the popular shared pathway constructed.

“Great to get an onsite briefing on remaining stages of the Oceanway from officers this morning,” Mr Tate said, in a Facebook update

“Our beaches are the jewel in our city’s crown, and making sure locals and visitors can enjoy them while staying active and healthy is always a top priority.

“There’s still 9.4km of Oceanway to be built, with gaps from Currumbin North to The Spit to be addressed.

“We’ve already completed the technically easier sections with the support of the State Government, and I for one want to see the last 9.4km completed too.”

Mayor Tom Tate with Gold Coast City Council engineers checking where sections of the Oceanway would be built.

Mr Tate revealed funding for the next stage will be included in next year’s budget.

“And I’ve asked for a report to come to Council in May to update all Councillors on where we’re at and what’s next,” he said.

“I know the majority of residents support the Oceanway, so stay tuned for the report in May and then again in this year’s budget for further developments on this vital project.”

City sources say the Mayor acknowledges the missing parts of the Oceanway will be difficult, with the challenging areas being Palm Beach, Hedges Avenue and Narrowneck.

Mermaid Beach residents want a solution after wild CCTV footage emerged of reckless antics along the Gold Coast’s Millionaire’s Row with vehicles speeding in the wrong direction on the one-way street and multiple incidents of cars hitting cyclists

Mayor Tom Tate with council engineers checking where sections of the Oceanway would be built on the Gold Coast.

Traffic chaos on Hedges Ave had become “so bad” it was only a matter of time before someone was killed, residents said. A local councillor said its surface was “Third World”.

The Bulletin in a report late last year detailed how the Oceanway cannot be finished unless sections of the multi-million dollar beachfront rollout are made “sacrificial”, meaning those bits are likely to be obliterated by storms and need rebuilding.

A man showing the Oceanway along with completed sections and missing links. Source: Gold Coast City Council.

City officers had cautioned councillors about proceeding with expensive infrastructure given new research shows most beaches at risk of losing much of their sand due to climate change.

But a solution on completing the “missing links” of the 36km path – now heavily used and regarded as one of the Gold Coast’s top tourism attractions – was to complete a certified A-line seawall east of the concrete walkway.

Council is to consider introducing a special levy on beachfront home owners requiring them to build private boulder walls to provide a “last line of defence”.

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Originally published as Oceanway Gold Coast: Mayor Tom Tate says “I want to see 9.4km gap completed”