Most of the conversation to date about the proposed replacement for the Glenorchy War Memorial Pool has focused on the internal design of the facility – the various architectural components – with little concerning its surroundings.

The observant reader will have noticed that the Intercity Cycleway comes within a few metres of the entrance of the proposed replacement for the current Glenorchy War Memorial Pool.

A major active transport route coming within a stone’s throw of a proposed major recreation centre with no safe connection defies logic.

There is currently no way to walk from the cycleway to either the entrance of the Tasmanian Transport Museum or the entrance of the Glenorchy Pool without crossing a roadway and potentially dealing with traffic. Some painted walkways across the nearby car park seem to exist only to help those who park there and then cross the railway lines to go to shop or work in the Glenorchy CBD. The car park is unfriendly to pedestrians. Council’s own Glenorchy Parking Strategy 2017-2027 makes it very clear that “Well-designed parking improves … pedestrian safety”. Council must make it safe.

Many council policies mention Council’s enthusiasm for active transport – walking, riding, scooting, running, etc. One of the more recent is the Active Glenorchy 2040 Framework for Sport and Recreation Infrastructure published in 2021.

The new facility provides an ideal opportunity to take advantage of the cycleway to promote active transport; in fact, to make the cycleway the preferred method for people to get to the pool.

To encourage this approach, patrons need a secure facility where they can lock up their bikes etc. CCTV would reassure those worried about theft.

Even if patrons don’t use the cycleway to go all the way from home to pool, some might be willing and able to park nearby and walk the last few hundred metres. Not so much a park and ride, more a park and walk. To allow this in all weathers, shelter needs to be provided along the cycleway – shelter against the heat and the cold. There is virtually none now.

There is or was apparently a Master Plan for a King George V Sports and Community Precinct Master Plan. It focussed entirely on places for people to go, the facilities, but nothing about how they can safely move around.

The close proximity of the cycleway to the Transport Museum and proposed pool gives council an opportunity to add a vital link to the pedestrian network in the city. Council need not wait for the construction of the new pool. It must plan the link immediately.