The state government announced on Friday it will invest $60m in next week’s state budget to build a 91km continuous pathway along Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River.It comes after the McKell Institute proposed the idea to the state government in 2020 as part of a 21-page report, with then chief executive Sam Crosby saying Sydney’s unique geography was “often underutilised”.NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said the pathway would improve the lives of tens of thousands from across the city. “This pathway will take in some of our most spectacular sights and unlock the incredible lifestyle and accessibility opportunities the route offers for the benefit of locals and visitors,” he said.The $60m in funding will facilitate the next stages of the project, which will include designs for the initial project stages, solutions for the remaining inaccessible foreshore sections and consultation work with councils.The 2020 McKell Institute report suggested the estimated cost of the construction phase could cost taxpayers anywhere between $200m to 300m, with financing coming from local and state government.But it is expected that the final construction costs will be less than that. The report also admitted the project could be “complicated” by private residences along a proposed 10km Foreshore Loop around Canada Bay.At the time of the report, there were 75 homes in that construction section with private access to the waterfront, meaning they would need to be negotiated with to unlock that part of the foreshore.The McKell Institute said the pathway would help Sydney re-emerge from the impacts of Covid.“New South Wales has been challenged by Covid. But policymakers must see the need to stimulate and re-grow the state’s economy as an opportunity to reimagine what metropolitan Sydney can look like, what it can deliver for its residents, and how it is viewed on the world stage,” the report said.“This project could help shape Sydney’s economic resurgence, creating immediate opportunities for local workers, help deliver productivity enhancing infrastructure that improves the long-term health of Sydneysiders, and provide a new attraction and experience for tourists.”The pathway will be one of Sydney’s longest walking and cycling routes and will run past 18 suburbs.Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Minister Rob Stokes hoped it will encourage more people to get active when they are out and about.“Since 1811 our city’s prosperity has been propelled by road and rail connections between the settlements of Sydney and Parramatta,” he said.“This new connection will allow walking and cycling trips to proliferate, making lives easier, healthier and more enjoyable for locals, commuters and visitors for centuries to come.”The McKell Institute report estimated between 1039 and 1671 jobs would be generated as part of a three-year construction process.
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