Two years ago Transplan Pty Ltd prepared a detailed trail development plan for the entire rail trail between Busselton and Flinders Bay, in the south west corner of Western Australia. Based on that plan a new section of the rail trail has recently been constructed between Gnarawary Rd and Rowe Road West. A casual inspection of the extension revealed several major issues that will need to be resolved to enable safe passage by trail users. Notably, dangerous barbed wire fences have been erected within centimetres of where trail users will be cycling or walking. The new fences also contain what appear to be electric wires (“hot wires”) designed to keep cattle away from the fences. The use of barbed wires and electric wires in such close proximity to trail users is definitely a no-no. The Shire has been asked to remove these offending and dangerous things. Signage along the trail and fences on the culverts on the crossing of Boodjidup Brook will soon be installed. The unfortunate thing about this extension is that, due to an historic land swap arrangement in the late 1990s, the trail no longer follows the original railway alignment. The trail route follows an alignment around the edge of the farmer’s property/paddocks – not ideal, but at least the trail is now complete between these two roads. Further development of the rail trail south of Rowe Road West (to Witchcliffe) is currently underway. As highlighted in the trail development plan, this section of trail is subject to several encroachments including a large dam (built on the railway corridor), tree plantations (planted on the railway corridor) and the Witchcliffe Polo Grounds (developed on the railway corridor).
Photos of the rail trail extension can be viewed at this link:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/transplan/sets/72157655264638769