The opening of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail on 1 March 2023 was a milestone for bike riders and walkers in NSW, but even the local council hadn’t expected it to prove such a big hit.
When the first section of the trail opened in March, counters were placed along the 24km leg between Murwillumbah and Crabbes Creek.
The Tweed Shire Council had hoped to attract 27,000 people a year just to its section of the trail, but user counts reveal that 70,500 people used it in the first four months!
Mayor of Tweed Shire Chris Cherry said “Our Rail Trail is welcoming an average of 17,638 people per month, which is approximately 4,048 people per week, or an average of 578 people per day.”
The council says 87 per cent of trail users have also spent money at a local business. This substantiates that rail trails provide economic benefits to regional towns and employment opportunities.