Warringah Council has recently completed the multi-use trail around Narrabeen Lagoon, allowing pedestrians and cyclist to circumnavigate Sydney’s largest coastal lagoon for the first time.
The 8.4km of trail includes bush and concrete tracks, low boardwalks and state-of-the-art bridges.
Narrabeen Lagoon, the largest of four coastal lagoons in Sydney, is an important environmental and recreational area; it was declared a State Park in April 2014 and is visited by thousands of people each weekend.
The most recently completed part of the Narrabeen Lagoon Trail, Middle Creek to South Creek, provides a regionally significant recreational and tourist facility for Sydney’s northern beaches.
It features improved accessibility for a wide range of users while ensuring minimal impact on the sensitive natural environment.
“Creating this accessible, multi-use trail in such a delicate environment is a major achievement for Warringah Council in organisation, management and engineering,” said Warringah Mayor, Michael Regan.
The exceptional design of the trail was developed with careful consideration for the environmental conditions of the site and the neighbouring land managers.
The route was established to minimise the environmental impact and takes advantage of the outlook and views across the lagoon and through the various ecosystems to maximise users’ experience.
The trail is constructed to a minimum level to avoid inundation by either flood or anticipated sea level rise.
Warringah Council spent $11 million on the entire project which involved building new bridges, 2km of new boardwalk, reserve and carpark upgrades, a boat ramp, toilet upgrades, park furniture, rest stops, vantage outlook points, heritage restoration, environmental protection and substantial planting of local species.
Middle Creek Reserve was upgraded as part of the project, with improved facilities and utilising water sensitive design to filter stormwater runoff from the carpark before it goes into the Lagoon.
The two new bridges across the ecologically sensitive Middle Creek and South Creek were engineered to be environmentally sympathetic and incorporate innovative design concepts and construction methods.
The final bridge designs were developed within a number of constraints including Endangered Ecological Communities, soft and wet ground conditions, significant spans, narrow access routes and changes in land tenure.
The patterns, textures and colours of the Lagoon and surrounding bushland inspired the design of the bridges.
The trusses were designed with no bracing overhead to meet the architectural intention for a more open feel.
Positive feedback from the community has been overwhelming, particularly on social media.
