The purpose of this Walking and Cycling Plan is to enable people of all ages and abilities across the Town of Gawler to choose walking and/or cycling as a regular day-to-day activity for transport or recreation, and further promote the Town of Gawler as a unique, vibrant and accessible tourist destination. During the preparation of this Plan, the Vision for walking and cycling was identified as: ‘Gawler residents choose to walk and cycle more often for transport, local errands, health and enjoyment. Tourism in the region is enhanced by the provision of local and regional walking and cycling routes.’
This Plan was developed by undertaking an extensive analysis of the existing walking and cycling environment (through demographics, site visits, and data) and integrating this information with guidance from Council members, staff, stakeholders and the community. This process helped identify the barriers to walking and cycling uptake and opportunities to enhance the walking and cycling environment for all residents across the Town of Gawler. The Plan establishes the long-term (ultimate) walking and cycling network, as well as 10-year Action Plan for priority works. The recommendations made in this report are based on safety, connectivity, permeability, amenity, access for all abilities, tourism and planning for future growth. Recommendations within this plan apply to both Council-owned and State-owned assets, meaning that some works will require partnering with the State Government to complete. The top 5 priority works identified include:
^aEURc Connecting the Jack Bobridge Bikeway to Gawler Bike Hub; ^aEURc Connecting the Stuart O’Grady Bikeway to Gawler Bike Hub; ^aEURc Connecting the Bike Hub to the River Shared Path Network; ^aEURc Improving access and safety to and from Schools; and ^aEURc Undertaking a Wayfinding Strategy to install directional signage to key destinations – i.e. Bike Hub/Visitor Information Centre, Train Stations, Shops/cafes, and the River Shared Path network.
Additional Priorities for walking and cycling in Gawler include: ^aEURc The ongoing upgrade and widening of footpaths and footbridges; ^aEURc Improving safety at busy road crossings, squeeze points and roundabouts; ^aEURc Connecting the suburbs of Reid, Willaston and Hewett; ^aEURc Connecting the new growth areas; ^aEURc Completing the Gawler Greenway; and ^aEURc Fill in missing links in the network.
This Plan is intended to be a live-document that is reviewed every five years for reassessment of works and prioritisation.