New Town Rivulet Track
The New Town Rivulet runs through Upper Lenah Valley to New Town Bay, mostly parallel to Lenah Valley Road and Creek Road. The Maypole Creek runs parallel to Forster St and Risdon Road in New Town, although sections are piped underground. Both waterways provide east-west links between Lenah Valley and New Town to the Intercity Cycleway. If cycling infrastructure was developed along these corridors they would provide connections to schools and shopping centres from residential areas.
Section 1 - New Town Bay to Brooker Hwy
2023 - As part of a restoration project for the New Town Rivulet, pathways will be constructed on both sides of the waterway. Cycling South made a submission requesting that the Lutana side met shared path standards from Lennox Ave and extended all the way to the Brooker Highway.
Section 2 - Brooker Hwy to Main Road
There are a number of gaps in the New Town Rivulet Track in this section but there is a lot of potential to make improvements. This section forms part of an important detour for the Intercity Cycleway, if works need to be carried out on bridges along the cycleway. Major works would include a link between the Intercity Cycleway and New Town Rivulet Track and replacing the stairs at Main Road with a long ramp. Other works include:
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1. Risdon Road crossing
Install refuge on Ridson Road. Potential location is north of Bell St where there is already a traffic island. The footpath on the western side of Risdon Rd is wider than the footpath on the eastern side but there is a squeeze point by a pole at Emmett Place.​ -
2. Entry to path leading to Wilmslow Road
Remove bollards. Install permanent directional signage “New Town Rivulet Track 500m"​ -
3. Wilmslow Rd – path leading to Risdon Road
Install kerb ramp at path entry. Remove bollards on path. Install permanent signage “Risdon Road 80m”​ -
4. Tower Road crossing
West side - Install kerb ramp
East side – Move fence back closer to rivulet and concrete the corner to create a crossover point for people crossing Tower Rd from the New Town Rivulet Track. Add kerb ramp on Wilmslow Ave to transition on/off the quiet local road.​ -
5. New Town Rivulet Track – light pole
Investigate option for using existing light pole on school oval to provide additional lighting for rivulet track. Improve track surface and widen.​ -
6. New Town Rivulet / Central Ave Bridge intersection
Remove chicane gates. Install permanent directional signage on the track.​ -
7. Central ave access path
Realign to move path away from blind corner.
Section 3 - Main Road to John Turnbull Park
In 2023 City of Hobart released a Local Area Mobility Plan (LAMP) for the northern suburbs, which includes a proposed separated cycleway along Creek Road. There is a narrow footpath alongside New Town Rivulet but it's in poor condition, disjointed and lacks space.
The proposed bi-directional separated cycleway along Creek Road is 2.7m wide with a 300mm buffer from the 3.0m wide travel lanes. It has been identified as high priority in the LAMP.
A shared path along the New Town Rivulet between Lenah Valley Road and the Intercity Cycleway has been identified as a long term priority in the LAMP.
