Rail corridor ruled out for entire Sutherland to Cronulla cycle-walk path

This will mean the entire route will be outside the rail corridor after the original plans that about 40 per cent would be accommodated, with calls for more.

Sutherland Shire Council will consider at Monday night's meeting refusing to co-operate with completing the project until the transport authority justifies its final plans.

The council says .Sutherland to Cronulla Active Transport Link (SCATL), is "the largest active transport project undertaken within Sutherland Shire".

Stage 2 East , from east of Westfield Miranda to Gannons Road, Woolooware, was recently completed at a cost of $14.5 million.

The remaining sections are Stage 2 West, Kirrawee to Miranda, and Stage 3, Gannons Road to Cronulla.

The council has consistently urged the path be constructed within the rail corridor where possible.

A staff report to be considered by councillors on Monday said, "Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has now advised council that all future stages will not involve the rail corridor and sought council's agreement to work on SCATL being in the road reserve".

"Council staff, cognisant of standing council resolutions, provided a list of questions to TfNSW, to understand why 100 per cent of the rail corridor will be excluded from future stages," the report said.

"Despite the reasonable time frame provided, no response has been received from TfNSW to date.

"In the absence of information sought from TfNSW, council Officers are not in a position to accept TfNSW's decision, on behalf of the community."

The report challenged reasons given by TfNSW for excluding the remaining sections of the path from the rail corridor, which included:

"Based on the level of information provided to council by TfNSW, there are several risks outside council's acceptable risk appetite," the report said.

"Detailed safety and design compliance audits are therefore required to treat these risks, especially where the usage of E-bikes / E-scooters has increased the likelihood and consequence of injury on shared paths within the road network.

"It should also be acknowledged that there is greater prospect of tree and parking loss if the SCATL is constructed outside the rail corridor, potentially creating significant reputational repercussions for council if it agrees to an on-road option, without greater community engagement."