Negotiations are ongoing between private landowners and the Port Lincoln City Council over proposed upgrades to the popular Parnkalla Trail. 

Key points:

  • The Coalition is committing $6.86 million to improve safety on the Parnkalla Trail
  • Council wants to link the Axel Stenross Museum with the trail along the city’s foreshore
  • There are hopes works will begin within the next 12 to 18 months

If approved by property owners the foreshore walk from the Lincoln Hotel will be extended through to the Limani Hotel.

Council CEO Matthew Morgan said discussions with home owners have been ongoing since 2016.

“We’re dealing with various different landowners including private landowners and government landowners,” he said.

“We [already] have full government permission to utilise the coastal path from the Limani to Axel Stenross.

Mr Morgan says urgent upgrades are needed to the path as walkers are “dicing with traffic”.(Supplied: Port Lincoln City Council)

This week the incumbent Member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey, announced $6.8 million to upgrade parts of the Parnkalla Trail if he is re-elected this month.

The upgrade is phase 3 of City of Port Lincoln’s Foreshore Redevelopment Project.

The council has already begun works along the foreshore earlier this year as part of phase 2 of the project.

Mr Ramsey said the trail was an important part of the city’s attraction and said that both locals and tourists would enjoy the upgrades.

Discussions with home owners along the foreshore have been ongoing since 2016.(Supplied: Port Lincoln City Council)

“I think we will see a lot more of the locals getting out to exercise in the morning, going for a walk, going for a run, all those things. And it will be great for the Port Lincoln community,” he said.

“I think it’s a really, really important part. The frontage of Port Lincoln is one of the delights of the place, it’s a great tourist attraction.”

The trail was formally developed in 1986 and follows the coastline around Boston Bay, providing visitors and locals with the opportunity to enjoy the views of the coastline.

In 2008, the council developed a Parnkalla Trail Strategy, identifying key aspects of the path that needed upgrading.

Council CEO Matthew Morgan (left) and incumbent Member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey.(ABC Eyre Peninsula: Bernadette Clarke)

Mr Morgan said the upgrades were needed urgently between the Limani Hotel and the Axel Stenross Museum close to the highway as it could be dangerous for some walkers.

He added the council was looking to start construction on phase 3 of the project within the next year.

“It probably has a 12-month construction period, so [it’ll be] about two and a half years until the path is completed,” he said.