Louise Sauvage Pathway

Coordinates: 33°49′59″S 151°03′56″E / 33.8331°S 151.0655°E / -33.8331; 151.0655

Louise Sauvage Pathway
Looking north towards ferry terminal Line length: 6.3 km (3.9 mi)
Legend
Rivercat to Parramatta or City River Walk to Newington Armory/ toilets and water beware : poles Warning Signunexploded landmines Rest Areawater Silverwater Marker Woo-La-Ra summit Woo-La-Ra carparkbeware : poles Rest Areawater Weapons Museumheritage railway tour Newington Nature Reservepre-colonial woodland Bell Frog Boardwalk to Bicentennial Park Newington Armory south exitsunrise → sunset Building 46 Rest AreaAusgrid training facility Holker Street stop 212798[1] / underpass Narawang Wetland US Navy artillery bunker Building 47abandoned Access to Precinct 3steps and Burma Road Access to Precinct 3 Blaxland Avenuesteps Access to Precinct 3 Sandpiper Crescent water Avenue of Oceania Larisa Latynina Walk to Newington Marketplace Haslams Creek Flats Access to Precinct 2 Paavo Nurmi Avenuesteps Access to Precinct 2 Bobby Pearce Avenuesteps Access to Precinct 2 Heidelberg Avenue Newington Public School Access to Precinct 1N Susie O'Neill Avenue Haslams Fieldcricket oval Access to Precinct 1N Michael Jordan Avenue to Olympic Stadium water / spiral hill Haslams Creek Marker John Ian Wing Paradecrossing Haslams Creek Access to Precinct 1S Snowy Baker Avenue Path to Teal Pond Access to Precinct 1S Louise Sauvage Place Access to Precinct 1S Beaconsfield / Jesse Owens Olympic Park boundary M4 Western Motorwayunderpass Duck River Cycleway to Parramatta

Located alongside the suburb of Newington, New South Wales, and named in honour of Australian paralympic wheelchair racer Louise Sauvage, the Pathway is the longest continuous section of pathway in Sydney Olympic Park.^[2] As such, the pathway is suitable for walking and pushbikes, as well as wheelchairs.

Facilities

The Pathway is two-lane, marked and sealed throughout, with numerous detours along its length, ranging from two-lane and marked, to one-lane sealed and an assortment of recognised and unrecognised unsealed paths. The pathway is only interrupted in two locations where the access roads cross into Newington, the former athletes' village. Amenities for travellers are provided along the path, including five water fountains and a toilet facility.

Historical links

The Pathway provides a north-south link between the Parramatta River and the Western Motorway, passing the last remaining piece of virgin woodland in Sydney's Cumberland basin. The Pathway also provides access to Newington Armory as well as passing by some adjoining land, closed to all public access due to unexploded ordnance buried in the swamp.

Two of the former buildings of the Newington Arms Depot are accessed by the Pathway and no longer within the grounds of the Armory: Building 46, a renovated educational building operated by Ausgrid, and a former US Navy trench-style artillery bunker behind Newington Precinct 3. These bunkers were serviced by narrow-gauge railway to carry the highly sensitive explosive shells; the rail tracks are still maintained, and many are openly accessible via the Pathway.

Environmental links

Numerous waterways and wetlands adjoin the Pathway and its linking paths. Some of the water bodies such as Haslams Creek link to the Parramatta River, whereas others such as the Narawang Wetlands are artificial lakes created as part of the Sydney Olympic Park environmental rejuvenation. The Bell Frog Boardwalk side-track provides access to some rare habitat of the Green and Golden Bell Frog.

The Newington Nature Reserve contains a Turpentine Ironbark Margin Forest^[3] that survives intact in the same condition as it was before Sydney was colonised.

Recreation and Events

Each year in September the pathway is closed for one day to make way for long-distance bicyclists travelling through Olympic Park. The pathway forms an integral part of the route for sporting events such as the Sydney Spring Cycle (Classic Route).^[4][5]

For cross-city riding, many preferred routes will use the combination of Silverwater Road Bridge, River Walk and Louise Sauvage Pathway. Such routes include any travel from the Hills District to the southern suburbs around Liverpool, and from Parramatta to the inner-western suburbs or Sydney Airport via the Cooks River Cycleway.^[6]

See also

• Sydney Olympic Park
• Newington Armory
• Newington, New South Wales

References