The Parramatta City Council announced the opening of a new boardwalk along the Parramatta River on the first day of this month, and it wasn't an April Fools stunt.
The 500m stretch of shared path winds along the river to connect Parramatta Park to Melrose Park and adds the missing link connecting 20 kilometres of off-road path between Parramatta Park and Sydney Olympic Park
The project also provided two new sets of stairs to provide direct access to the boardwalk from Stewart and Macarthur streets.
The $18M project was co-funded by the Parramatta Council and State Government and is expected to attract up to four million bike riders and pedestrians each year, doubling numbers currently accessing the waterfront. The council is also aiming for 10% of workers to be riding to the CBD by 2036.
This boardwalk design includes strategic gaps between the 157 pre-case concrete panels to resist floodwaters, which has already been tested by recent extreme weather events.
The new boardwalk marks the first stage of the rapid transformation of the Parramatta Quay, with Australia's first diagonal arch bridge on Alfred Street due to open early 2022, and the upgrade to Charles Street Square amphitheatre beside the ferry wharf due to be completed later this year.
Read more: New bridge for Parramatta, October 2017