The upgraded Reddall Reserve Promenade has been recognised with a prestigious engineering award. Photo: Shellharbour City Council.
Shellharbour’s revamped Reddall Reserve Promenade has gone from worn-out walkway to award-winning waterfront, picking up an Engineering Excellence Award from the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA).
Awarded at the IPWEA conference on 11 April, it means the promenade’s eco-friendly design, improved accessibility, and community-focused features are more than just a hit with Easter holidaymakers this month.
The prestigious award shines a light on the stunning promenade project by Shellharbour City Council that transformed the deteriorating Lake Illawarra foreshore and concrete promenade into a vibrant and accessible community space.
Part of a wider Reddall Reserve Master Plan, the two-part project completed in September 2023 involved creation of a shared path, improved foreshore seating, increased pedestrian accessibility and greater connection to the wider reserve.
It also incorporated an environmentally friendly seawall design to help provide an intertidal habitat for marine life.
Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer said that unique design involved eco-friendly rock walls, sand areas and improved connections to the lake.
“It’s extremely pleasing and a credit to council’s infrastructure and projects team to see the renewed promenade recognised with this prestigious award,” Cr Homer said.
“Having the benefits of the new promenade recognised with a state award, highlights council’s commitment to deliver high-quality, community-focused projects to help enhance the beauty, access and liveability of our city.”
The final design of the promenade incorporated feedback from the community identified in the Reddall Reserve Master Plan.
At the opening, Cr Homer said it was an outdoor space that would benefit Shellharbour residents and visitors to the area, adding to earlier projects such as public artworks and The Red Lamp play space.
“The old promenade was very popular with locals and tourists but had unfortunately reached the end of its life,” he said.
“Over time, it had experienced storm and weather damage. Many sections were at beach level and became covered by sand, making it inaccessible.”
Its creation was backed by a $3 million contribution as part of the NSW Government Public Open Spaces Legacy Program.
In moving on to the next stages of the master plan, council last month completed new amenities.
Following extensive vandalism of the previous amenities block, an evaluation identified the need for a larger, enhanced structure to accommodate increasing visitation to the area.
This bigger building features 10 standard, ambulant and accessible toilets, four changerooms, two outdoor showers, handwashing basins and new landscaping.
The next stage of the master plan involves the design of the Reddal Reserve Kiosk to create a building that is more sensitive to and integrated into the unique setting.
