WestCycle visited Pingelly recently as the Shire hosted an e-bike workshop that was well attended by local seniors – and found a Shire in the midst of a bike-based revolution.
The workshop saw deals being done on the spot with Perth-based e-bike vendor Ryder Bikes.
“Many people left with a fresh desire to take up cycling, including e-bikes and e-trikes,” Shire CEO Andrew Dover told us. “The former Shire president was at the workshop today. He’s 86 and he knocks around town on his e-trike. It’s inspirational.”
The Shire boss donned his tredly to show us the town’s budding path network that now connects 70% of residents, with more to come as it implements the bike riding strategy it first laid down in 2022, and which Dover helped piece together.
“The main aim of the strategy is to build a bike riding culture in Pingelly,” Dover told us. “The main aim there is not only to activate the town, but to bring the benefits of cycling to the people of Pingelly…it’s a very rideable town – with it’s size – it’s about three kilometres across – it’s a very easy distance to ride to get from anywhere to anywhere else in town. So now that much of the infrastructure is in place we start the next element which is to encourage more people to use it.”
Other Shire-led projects include a just-minted BMX pump track and new trails and loops to attract cyclotourists.
“We don’t have significant hills here but we still have a lovely terrain – many nice trees and rocky outcrops…”
Beverly to Narrogin ‘transport trail’
Dover said the town’s strategy also sought to link Pingelly to other towns and boost its cyclotourism and offroad riding presence through an expanded trails network that included developing the Beverly to Narrogin rail trail.
“We are calling it the Beverly to Narrogin transport trail because it might not be exactly beside the railway, Dover said, noting the train line remains active for the moment although frequency is extremely low at one train every three months.
“It includes linkages to York in the north and then through Williams and West Authur in the south.”
Pingelly is the lead Shire on the project for which a feasibility study has already been inked.
The broader vision, he said, was to extend the ‘Kep Track’ through to Beverly, Narrogin, Williams and finally the Bibbulmun and Munda Biddi tracks.
“That would make it 800 kilometres long and one of the longest loops in the country. We’re now looking for funding.”
Find out more about it here.
