Visitors to Westport Park can look forward to wider shared pathways, new lighting, seats, shade trees, bubblers and bike racks. There will be upgrades to car parking, stormwater services and the foreshore rock wall.

Port Macquarie resident Maya Spannari said the pathway upgrades would be great.

“It is a fairly heavily used area, particularly when the markets are on,” she said.

Port Macquarie resident Monica Hayes said the upgrade would be fabulous.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council director Melissa Watkins said it was great to see elements of the recently developed Coastal Walk Master Plan starting to come to life.

The master plan aims to provide a world-class walking track to showcase our coastline from Westport Park to Tacking Point Lighthouse.

Future improvements to other coastal walk sections will include viewing platforms and lookouts, wider paths and repairing steps and balustrades.

Ms Watkins said the community’s feedback was critical in the development of the future vision for the walk.

“With new 3m-wide shared paths, increased seating, bike racks, lighting and range of landscape improvements, Westport Park will definitely remain a top spot for tourists and locals to visit for many years to come,” Ms Watkins said.

The council allocated $556,000 to fund the Westport Park upgrade in the 2018/19 Operational Plan with an additional $240,000 also contributed under the NSW Government’s Restart NSW program.

Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams said: “The NSW government recognises that councils do not always have the capacity to fund such projects themselves so I am pleased the state has been able to support the upgrade with $240,000 of funding to see these works come to fruition.

“This is just the start of ongoing improvements to our iconic coastal walk with the state government also providing an additional $765,000 for significant improvements between Town Beach and Flynns Beach.”