Adelaide walkway highly popular during lockdown

Tyla, Olly, Zahra and Sarah enjoy the fresh air and exercise.

Dannevirke's Smith St-Adelaide Rd Walkway has been hugely popular since level 4 lockdownr. Local residents along the walkway have been amazed at the number of people who have come out to escape their normal abode just for a change of scenery and a breath of fresh air.

One said he has seen many who had never used the walkway before to his knowledge.

He was also impressed that they had observed the social and physical distancing, some detouring on to the road when meeting others in the opposite direction.

Walkers seemed to be made up of soloists - often kitted out for exercise, couples, mums and youngsters often in a pushchair, whole families and people walking their dogs. One couple who regularly do the full circuit said they have walked 100km since lockdown.

The weather during lockdown has been most conducive to walking and late morning and afternoon were the favourite times.

Most seemed to walk from the north along Smith St or south along Cadman St, turning off down Cole St or doing the full circuit.

If weather had co-operated the Cole St leg would have been completed to King St but things did not work out. First a downpour swamped the track making the site impassable and then the drought became so severe the engineering work to replace a culvert under the road and build a bridge on the track placed fragile pipes in too much jeopardy, should they be accidentally broken and precious water lost.

Then as the rain came so did the lockdown!

Spokesman Terry Hynes says everything is ready for installation of the culvert and bridge. The bridge is built but not positioned and the culvert is available. It awaits the council green light with Ernie Christison – one of the early drivers in the project – set to complete the pathway.