The Duck River is the most significant north-south watercourse in Parramatta, and connects the City of Parramatta with Canterbury Bankstown and Cumberland City Council. South of the western rail line in Cumberland, the river is within regional scale parklands comprised of formal and informal sporting fields, as well as large areas of natural vegetation. To the north, within the City of Parramatta between the M4 and Parramatta River, the river corridor is more constrained and bordered on both sides by industrial and commercial uses. To the east is the Silverwater employment lands that as of 2016 employed more than 7,000 people. To the west is Camellia, a suburb that is currently in a state of transition. As part of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s draft Rosehill-Camellia Place Strategy, it has been identified for more intensive employment and 10,000 new dwellings. Directly adjacent to the river, the former Shell Oil Refinery has been reduced in scale to an import terminal and land subdivided for industrial uses that do not require clearances for blast zones and exclusion areas around sensitive pipelines. This has opened the opportunity for access on the western foreshore to match what has been long proposed on the eastern bank.
While the Parramatta Valley Cycleway (PVC) has been delivered over 35 years in stages since 1991, patronage has grown exponentially in the last five to six years with the completion of some of the final stages. This is largely due to the safety of being completely off-road. Our community embraces active transport and benefits from improved physical and mental health outcomes when provided with safe opportunities to walk in nature and to ride along separated paths. The accelerated delivery of Duck River Nature Trail offers the opportunity to promptly deliver the 4.5kms of links in less than four years to ensure the benefits to the community of a completely separated walking and cycling facility are immediately realised. Employees within Silverwater and Camellia, along with future residents of a re-developed Camellia, will be provided with alternative healthy, enjoyable and direct connections to their place of employment and neighbourhood facilities. The project will also draw-in walking groups and cyclists from a wide catchment for personal recreation and transport trips. The Duck River Nature Trail will contribute to a more accessible, healthy and connected community that will have a greater visibility and awareness of the environment. With a minimum design life of 50 years, the benefits will be enjoyed by the generations to come.
To be delivered in three stages from mid-2025 to 2028 this ambitious project looks to unlock previously inaccessible foreshore land allowing residents and visitors to enjoy 4.5km of off-road walking and cycling while taking in scenic river views. In Silverwater Park (Stage 1), the existing 2.5m wide shared path will be replaced with a 4.5m wide path, with line-marking to provide separate space for pedestrians and riders. Lighting will also be provided along with bicycle parking, a water fountain and more bench seating. The 450m off-road path will provide more space for people to safely enjoy the park and connect from Wilson Park down to Clyde Street. The following stages of the project including the Eastern River Bank and Western River Bank will see the Duck River Nature Trail provide one of the few north-south walking and cycling routes in the Central River City that will be separate from traffic.
Eastern River Bank:
- 1km+ of separated bike paths and footpaths along the streets of Silverwater where the Duck River foreshore is inaccessible, with new street trees, lighting and raised priority crossings of all streets
- Almost 2km of boardwalk and concrete shared path along the river corridor and in Silverwater Park
Western River Bank:
- A 5m wide, 35m long pedestrian and cyclist bridge over Duck Creek
- Just under a kilometre of boardwalk and generous shared paths adjacent to the river corridor
While lighting upgrades will form part of this project, because of potential impacts to ecology and a desire to discourage night-time use where it can be up to 700m from the nearest egress, the entire western route, and the eastern corridor between Giffard Street and Canarvon Street will not be lit. The project will include lighting at all street crossings and the route adjacent to public streets will also be lit. Lighting along the northern Silverwater street alignment will be upgraded to meet current standards and short sections of the Duck River corridor that connect public streets (Giffard Street to Holker Street, Canarvon Street to Adderley Street West) will be lit as they are short connections with better passive surveillance.
Early surveys and maps suggest the Duck River area downstream from the confluence with A'Becketts Creek was a wetland of saltmarsh, rushes and grasses. Upstream, there were Eucalypt forests. While there are now weed species throughout the site, one of the goals for the Duck River Nature Trail is to unlock the foreshore for public use and through sensitive environmental design create a riverscape that improves the landscape and the environmental performance of Duck River and its foreshore areas.
The wetland areas within Duck River are of regional conservation significance, providing home to three Endangered Ecological Communities and several threatened species. Native wildlife includes possums, many species of birds, frogs and reptiles such as the water skink. Budgerigars and brush turkeys have been recorded along with the Satin Bowerbird and Red-Browed Finch.
In addition to the mangrove vegetation that lines the riverbanks, wildflowers are common in late winter, and small orchids may be observed.
Designed with the smallest footprint possible and placed in locations which will tolerate disturbance, boardwalks and paths will offer the community safe access to the wetland areas of Duck River, unlocking new pedestrian and cycle paths for all to enjoy.
There are a number of birds and native animals that make Duck River and surrounds their home including:
- Grey Headed Flying Fox
- Eastern Dwarf Tree Frog
- Striped Marsh Frog
- Superb Fairy Wren
- Satin Bowerbird
- Brown Gerygone
- Red-Browed Finch
- Dusky Woodswallow
The Duck River Nature Trail project is co-funded by the NSW Government with a $28.5M grant. Council is also contributing to the project. Funding is provided under the NSW Government’s Western Sydney Infrastructure Grant Program and Transport for NSW’s Get NSW Active.
The $2 billion Western Sydney Infrastructure Grants Program (formerly known as WestInvest) is funding transformational infrastructure projects across Western Sydney. Funded projects will improve the liveability of communities and support economic recovery, making a real difference to the quality of life in 15 Local Government Areas in the region.
For more information see https://www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/western-sydney-infrastructure-grants-program
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) are documents that are prepared to demonstrate due diligence and comply with the requirements of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act (1979). An REF typically applies to construction activities which do not require consent under the act. Instead, the proponent (in this case, the City of Parramatta) must clearly demonstrate it has identified all environmental impacts of the proposal, along with mitigation measures to minimise those impacts. The REF needs to be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposal, and often draws on specialist studies to reach a conclusion on the nature and extent of impacts and mitigations. An independent planner was commissioned to prepare the REF for Silverwater Park. The planner integrated the advice and findings of all specialist designers and engineers who prepared the design for the upgrade and associated works. This was supplemented by reports commissioned for the project from heritage specialists, archaeologists and ecologists. The City of Parramatta is committed to implementing the mitigations and safeguards identified in the REF. The REF for Stage 1 Silverwater Park will be shared with the community shortly. An EIS is being commissioned for Stage 2 and Stage 3 of the project.
The vision for Duck River Nature Trail is to unlock the significant areas of high-value ecological communities that are currently hidden from view and allow the community to safely experience walking and cycling along the foreshore. The project will undergo rigorous planning processes including the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement and for Silverwater Park a Review of Environmental Factors. Prepared by specialists, these planning instruments mean that plant and animal species will be documented, any protection zones identified and clear construction methods specified to ensure minimal footprint and impact on the environment including fragile saltmarsh and mangrove areas. The overarching goal for the project is to improve the river landscape. Construction will comply with environmental performance measures to ensure the protection of land and water.
City of Parramatta will promote the opportunity for residents and interested stakeholders to provide input into the Duck River Nature Trail over various stages of the project including viewing the overall concept design and at key points where community consultation will further shape the design for Silverwater Park (Stage 1). At this stage the concept design for Silverwater Park will be on public exhibition in 2024. Public participation will be sought on the concept designs for Stage 2 (Eastern Streets) and Stage 3 (Eastern and Western River) when more detail is available. Council will offer the opportunity to provide feedback via its Participate Parramatta engagement website (this page) as well as via email, in writing and verbal submissions. The project will be promoted via Council’s website, and other channels including eNewsletters and social media. Letterbox drops and advertisements in the local paper will also promote the opportunity for the community to respond to the public exhibition of the concept design.
City of Parramatta has been working on the Duck River project for some time. The area poses a number of challenges and in some areas design options are limited. However, the opportunity to provide the community with improved access to the distinctive river landscape and extend our active transport routes is one that has been worth pursuing. The community is welcome to review the proposed design for Stage 1 Silverwater Park and provide comments. There will be more opportunity for the community to provide input into the design process in Stage 2 and Stage 3 where the project includes, boardwalks, bridges, opportunities for interpretative design including First Nations information and educational materials around endemic plants and animals.
In addition to wider (4.5m) line-marked and signed paths for cyclists and pedestrians, designed to offer safe clearance and enough space for path users to travel at their own pace, planned upgrades to Silverwater Park include a deluxe bicycle repair stand where cyclists can pump-up their tyres and use some basic tools for bike maintenance or repair. Tools include tyre levers, pedal wrench, wrenches and screw drivers. Path users will also find bike racks, drinking fountains, seating and bins.
Silverwater’s heavy industrial past means there are some interesting looking structures which lend a stark architectural backdrop to walks along the river. While there is still some industry present, saltmarshes and mangroves and the birds and animals that call the area home are key attractions that the community will be able to appreciate as boardwalks and cycle paths are built. City of Parramatta will be working closely with environmental specialists to reduce weeds, improve drainage and have an overall positive impact on the environment. As with other areas along the river dense with vegetation, mosquitoes can be an issue. Council expects that from time to time it will take active measures to control larvae and mosquitoes. Park users will be advised to use repellent, wear long sleeves, and avoid being close to the marsh areas during times when there are more mosquitoes around, including dusk.
A total of six (6) trees will be removed:
• Four (4) Casuarina cunninghamiana
• One (1) Eucalyptus moluccana (The arborist has identified this tree as a hazard because of its structual deficits which make the tree unstable and likely to fall)
• One (1) Casuarina glauca
Yes, a total of eight (8) trees will be planted. We will use species endemic to the area, specifically suited to the existing Estuarine Swamp Oak Forest vegetation community.
Consultation closes at 5pm on Monday 2 September 2024
Construction of Stage 1 Silverwater Park is expected to begin in February 2025 and be completed in late 2025.
- May - June 2024: Concept Design
- August - September 2024: Public exhibition of the Silverwater Park Stage 1 Concept Plan
- September - October 2024: Review of community feedback and detailed design
- Late 2024: Review of Environmental Factors public exhibition
- Late 2024: Procurement of contractor
- February 2025: Construction expected to commence
For information on the Duck River Nature Trail program, please contact the Duck River project team via our Customer Contact Centre on 1300 617 058 or email participate@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au
Stage 2 of the project focuses on the streets of Silverwater. On the eastern bank of Duck River between Clyde Street and Holker Street where existing uses, structures or ecology preclude access to the foreshore, the Duck River Nature Trail project proposes upgrades to the streets of Silverwater. Planned additions to the streetscape include new footpaths, trees, bike paths, lighting and priority crossings. Stage 2 could also potentially include upgrades to Junction Street in southern Silverwater. Subject to further investigations and design, a new 400m link along Junction Street would allow users to avoid the steep 1.6km diversion via Stubbs Street, and by-pass the majority of Canarvon Street in Silverwater.
It is expected that Stage 2 will be open to community feedback in late 2024, with construction planned to begin in May 2025.
- May - September 2024: Concept Design
- July - September 2024: Traffic Plan
- June - September 2024: Review of Environmental Factors
- October - November 2024: Public Exhibition
- November 2024 - January 2025: Review of community feedback and detailed design
Stage 3 is the largest and most complicated of the three sections which comprise the Duck River Nature Trail. Boardwalks and paths will hug the foreshore between Holker Street and Canarvon Street in Silverwater, a new 35m long bridge will span across Duck Creek and connect to foreshore paths in Camellia. It is expected that community consultation on this section of the project will begin in 2025 with construction planned to begin in 2026 – 2028.
- 2025: Concept Design
- 2025: Environmental Impact Statement Public Exhibition
- 2025: Review of community feedback and detailed design
- 2026: Procurement
- 2026-2028: Construction
- 2028: Anticipated opening
