A summary of subcommittee activities and related news since the March TBPA meeting.

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To help better protect the Park area and those who visit it, a gate has been installed by NPWS across the beach ramp at the northern end. Pedestrian access remains via an entrance on the right-hand side of the gate. Keys have been provided to TBPA for situations where emergency access is required.

Additional bollards and cabling along with another pedestrian entry point to the Northern Walking Trail have also been installed at the northern end, plus signage on the beach prohibiting vehicle access and dogs off-leash from the beach ramp area north.

While some in the community have expressed concerns about the gate’s presence and these have been addressed where possible, there has also been a significant level of positive feedback.

Early indications are that the gate is having its desired effect.

A document is being developed that provides a detailed explanation of the works and their benefits, which will be made available to the community.

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NPWS is continuing to work on interpretive and directional signage for the northern Park area. Drafts were circulated and feedback provided.

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Speeding and other poor driver behavior, illegal use of motorbikes and quads continue to be a challenge. A submission to various authorities outlining the problems and potential solutions is still being developed and will be presented to TBPA for its consideration when completed.

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Gates, fencing, signage and barriers associated with the Park continue to be damaged in various areas, including at Red Hill – NPWS has been repairing where identified and working with SAPOL on pursuing offenders.

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Available funding under the Coastal Protection Board’s Coastal Community Participation Grants has been identified by Sharon C. and various potential projects are being discussed. A couple of suggestions from David George are a geo-sensitive application that provides information on features of the immediate area where the user is located and also a monitoring program for local tide heights, coastal monitoring and weather.

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FAIBS have announced they are ceasing group activities for the time being due to the COVID-19 situation. We were very lucky that one of their last actions was a major cleanup in the old quarry/Red Hill area a few weeks back; as mentioned in the last update and on the TBPA website. We look forward to FAIBS’ resumption of activities in the future.