Rick Temple Memorial Cycle Path

The building of the Rick Temple Memorial Shared Cycleway – Stage I (1990 - 1993)

Kenthurst Village to Park Road and Pitt Town Road to Burrell Road sections

Prior to 1990, there were no footpaths in Kenthurst. Concerned Kenthurst residents Marion and Eric Wood petitioned Baulkham Hills Council to consider building a footpath to ensure the safety of local children riding their bikes along Pitt Town Road.

The Council agreed to fund the cost of the concrete for the footpath, with the Kenthurst Community to provide the excavation, formwork, and labour. A committee was formed of Kenthurst businesses, residents, and community groups and in 1990 the construction of the cycle path began from Kenthurst Village shops to Park Road, then Pitt Town Road down to Burrell Road.

Each week one local resident excavated and set out approximately 70 meters of formwork, with a local family donating the timber from their mill. Volunteers, rostered from many local community groups, would turn up on Saturdays to spread concrete from the ten, sometimes more, truckloads to be poured.

More than 300 volunteers worked on the cycle path until its final completion in 1993. As you venture along the cycle path look for the names of the volunteer groups etched in the concrete.

The cycle path is named in memory of Rick Temple. Rick was a very well-respected and involved the Kenthurst community, who died suddenly in 1980 at the age of 38. There is a sign erected at the corner of the Ampol Service Station on the corner of Kenthurst Road and Nelson Street.

Eric Wood died in 1995, aged 50. The reserve in Sandpiper Place is named after him in recognition of Eric's involvement and commitment to the Kenthurst Community. The cycle path has kept the community, in particular our children, safe over the years.

Source; Kenthurst and Community News, October 2021

The Rick Temple Memorial Shared Cycleway – Stage II (2000 - 2001)

Kenthurst Village to Pellitt Lane, Round Corner

More than 300 volunteers worked on building the cycle path between Kenthurst Village to Park Road and along Pitt Town Road to Burrell Road, completing it in 1993.

Early in 2000, other Kenthurst residents, realising the wonderful amenity the cycle path was, took a proposal to Council to extend it from Kenthurst School to the Ellerman Centre at Round Corner.

The Council agreed, this time committing to fund both the excavation and materials. Once again, the Kenthurst community rallied, volunteering on Saturday mornings, the local butcher still providing sausages each week for the ritual sausage sizzle, and the final section was completed in 2001.

Look for the plaque on the kerb near the retaining wall outside Kenthurst Public School.

The cycle path has kept the community, in particular our children, safe over the years.

Source; Kenthurst and Community News, October 2021.