What goes into planning an exceptional tracks and trail strategy?

Have you ever thought of what goes into planning an exceptional tracks and trails strategy?

TRC Specialists ensure the strategy encompasses prior planning, expectations, future aspirations and opportunities to tell a complete and comprehensive story to support sound collaborative decision making.

The Project? In January 2019 TRC were engaged by Glenelg Shire Council to develop a Tracks and Trails strategy to deliver an assessment and make recommendations on the prioritisation, planning and delivery required to develop the Glenelg Shire’s cycling, canoeing, MTB and hiking trails.

The importance of the Issues and Options Analysis? Gaining insight to the thoughts and opinions of the local community, user groups and land managers is one of the most important aspects of a site visit, as ultimately they will be the ones who deliver the best information to guide recommendations in any tracks and trails strategy. It’s important to understand their capacities, ideas and resources along with their perceived issues and concerns. TRC Trail specialists, Chris Halstead and Chris Ord, were on site in Glenelg last week carrying out consultation with stakeholders and assessing the trails. They report that the process was invaluable to forming a foundation for developing the Strategy.

What did we learn from the site visit? There are diverse landscapes, the Gunditjmara Country, open space opportunities presented close to the main towns, and the potential for future popular outdoor active pursuits. “There is a huge potential to really leverage Glenelg Shire’s stunning and unique landscapes for both community activation and tourism,” said TRC Consultant, Chris Ord. “At this early stage there are great opportunities that we believe hint at exciting outcomes. The Shire already identifies well that it has a distinct offering across coastal, river, bush and volcanic landscapes, a rare mix in such close proximity. But there are also hidden gems including existing trail and path networks that even many locals aren’t overly aware of.” In this case just by getting out and actually experiencing the trails, we unearthed huge potential for trail linkages and future developments.