Esplanade upgrade extended for Bathers Way

Newcastle City Council will transform Shortland Esplanade between Zaara Street and Watt Street by extending the traffic and amenity improvements already made between Nobbys and Newcastle beaches.

The southbound traffic with contra-flow cycle lane arrangement will be lengthened from Newcastle Beach to the Watt Street intersection opposite the Newcastle Police Station as the city's ambitious Bathers Way showpiece marches on.

The work - scheduled to begin this month - will see ageing retaining walls south of Newcastle Beach Surf Lifesaving Club rebuilt to provide better access to the beach from Shortland Esplanade and support Bathers Way's signature shared pathway.

Footpaths and the roadway will be replaced and improvements made for on-street parking, cycle and beach access, and traffic management.

"We are making these pedestrian and traffic improvements to replace ageing infrastructure and continue the Bathers Way from Newcastle to King Edward Park," Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.

"We are getting on with the job of delivering this major infrastructure upgrade that stands to rival the Bondi to Bronte Walk as a tourist drawcard."

The one-way traffic solution for Shortland Esplanade was included as part of the Bathers Way Domain Plan approved by Council in 2012.

The concept plan for Shortland Esplanade and Church Street between Zaara Street and Watt Street was endorsed by Council in December 2014, including the one-way restriction from Zaara to Watt.

The Shortland Esplanade project will be simultaneously delivered with another Bathers Way link -- Memorial Drive to King Edward Park.

Designed to alleviate the strains of increased numbers of people attracted to Newcastle Memorial Walk, the new link includes upgrades to the King Edward Park carpark, a pedestrian crossing at the entrance of Strzelecki lookout and formalisation of one-way traffic in Cliff Street.

Keep up to date on the coastal revitalisation project here.