Opportunity lost on Geraldton bicycle and pedestrian network, say councillors

Steve Purcher and Warren Kalajzich are pleased they can buy extra land behind their Flores Road industrial blocks, while councillors Sally Elphick and Steve Douglas are disappointed it will not become a cycleway. Council voted to rezone two portions of the former rail reserve for a light industrial area in Webberton, and a cycleway and green corridor in Wonthella. The latter would allow cyclists and pedestrians to go from Horwood Road to Place Road without crossing a street. Councillors Douglas and Elphick attempted to overturn a staff recommendation to rezone the section between Place Road and North West Coastal Highway at Tuesday’s City of Greater Geraldton Council meeting. “Additionally, we also want to enter into further discussions about that section of the corridor between North West Coastal Highway, right through to Chapman Road”, Cr Douglas said. “That will then give us a really useful corridor going all the way from Eastward Road past Wonthella, past other sports fields, all the way round onto the foreshore into the City.” Cr Elphick, who grew up in Wonthella, said a pathway from Horwood Road to Place Road would be a pathway that “didn’t go anywhere”. “If you want to create a great liveable city, you want to look at your suburbs inland,” she said. “If you want to revitalise those, then you need to create pathways that can connect them into the City to make a reason for people to reinvest. “Otherwise you’re just going to keep ending up with a lower socio-economic area.” Their motion was lost 7 to 4. The decision clears the way for landowners on the west side of that section of Flores Road to buy the land adjoining their blocks, subject to certain formalities. Mr Kalajzich and Mr Purcher lease parts of that land. Mr Purcher said the decision would be good for Flores Road, inject positivity into the area and created more certainty for business. He said the rail reserve harboured “undesirables” who used it to enter business premises, unseen, from the rear. “There wouldn’t be a business in that stretch that hasn’t been broken into at one stage and they hotfoot it along there,” Mr Purcher said. “It was never going to be a place where a walkway would flourish.” Mr Kalajzich said Transport Department staff had told him it would now require 100 per cent take-up, so as not to create “land locked” vacant blocks with no access.