Path Surface - Sealed or unsealed?
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When constructing or reviewing a shared path the question of surface treatment can be an important element to consider. Initial and 'whole-of-life' costings, current versus potential use and safety are all factors.
April 07. When Banyule City Council and VicRoads were upgrading the Main Yarra Trail in the Warringal Park area they chose to use a coloured concrete to be more sympathetic with the surrounding environment.
This ensured that a high quality path could be built in keeping with the aesthetic concerns of stakeholders.
The contrast between this path and bitumen can be seen in this photo (right), which also illustrates a good road crossing treatment.
The path to the south of the Salt Creek Bridge, approaching Banksia St has also been coloured so as to avoid the 'road-like' feel and was constructed with a coloured bitumen (with concrete edges to maintain structure and reduce maintenance costs).
Jan 07. The High Country Rail Trail is a spectacular trail following the shores of Lake Hume and offers a fantastic ride between Wodonga and Old Tallangatta.
Trail surface
The 21km trail between Wodonga and Tallangatta is unsealed and not suitable for bikes with narrow tyres. The trail then continues for 6km east of Tallangatta to the abandoned
town of Old Tallangatta. This section is sealed and is enjoyable on all types of bikes.
This difference in surface directly influences which sections riders choose to use and the amount of tourism spending in local businesses.
The 21km unsealed section of trail attracts an estimated 35 users per week, which could generate up to $8,000 in tourism spending per week.
The 6km the sealed section has had 175 users counted per week and could generate up to $45,000 in tourism spending over the same time period.
These figures, based on a recent economic study, show that the higher capital cost of sealing a trail will be quickly repaid by increased use and tourism spending.
Whilst these direct economic tourism benefits may not be available to communities in urban areas, the distinct message from riders is that they prefer a sealed path please!
Unsealed path attracts only 15% of riders.
Sealed attracts 85% of riders
