Transport Minister Rita Saffioti visits Geraldton to officially open Chapman Road Shared Path in Drummond Cove

The $1.8 million second stage of the Chapman Road Shared Path project was officially opened on Friday, connecting the City of Greater Geraldton’s outer northern suburbs to the cycling network. Drummond Cove is now linked to the City of Greater Geraldton by the Chapman Road Shared Path cycling network, with Transport Minister Rita Saffioti visiting the city to officially open the new connection on Friday. The 3.5km-long 3m-wide path provides a continuous link between Corallina Quays in Sunset Beach and Glenfield Beach Drive. It’s the second stage of the project along Chapman Road after the construction of a shared path between Hillview Drive and Chapman Road, completed in 2022. Stage three is currently in the design phase and will see a shared path along Brand Highway from Tarcoola Beach to Cape Burney. The project is part of the State Government’s $4.9 million commitment to expand Geraldton’s cycling network by 8.3km when completed. Ms Saffioti said there had already been a lot of positive feedback from the community and looked forward to progressing to the third and final stage of the cycling network. “We know there’s a real passionate and activated cycling community in Geraldton and last time I was here, I met met a number of people who are very passionate about improving the paths and connections, in particular along the coasts, so it’s great pleasure to be officially opening the second stage of the cycling network,” she said. “There’s a lot happening in this area and we want to continue to work to improve transport connections, but also supporting new routes and new facilities throughout the Geraldton community.” Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton said people were already taking advantage of the new route and the cycling connection to Drummond Cove would reduce vehicle traffic and provide safer transport opportunities. “I really want to congratulate the community for their advocacy towards this as part of the City of Greater Geraldton’s Cycling Strategy and I’m really thrilled that the State Government were able to support it,” she said. City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said he was pleased the long-awaited project was finished after it was made a top priority in the City’s Cycling Strategy in 2018. “Community requests for an off-road cycle path at this location started more than 13 years ago and never wavered during that time,” he said. “Thanks to generous funding from the State Government this community aspiration has finally become reality and it is very rewarding to see people using it every day.”