The state-of-the-art Woy Woy Wharf has officially opened to the public after much anticipation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new state-of-the-art wharf now features a floating pontoon with new accessibility features, solar lighting, and smart benches with mobile phone charging capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Woy Woy Town Centre Wharf is the largest wharf project ever completed for the Coast and is designed to rise and fall with Brisbane Water\u2019s varying tide conditions to ensure access in most weather conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Central Coast Council Director Infrastructure Services, Boris Bolgoff said the new wharf will improve the daily commute for many community members and will also be popular with locals across the region and visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe original wharf would become submerged during King Tide\u2019s and severe weather conditions, but the new wharf is designed to ensure this no longer occurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using a floating pontoon allows the wharf to rise and fall with the tide conditions served up by Brisbane Water and this ensures access to ferry services, even during challenging weather conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have also future-proofed this important amenity by ensuring it can dock vessels up 35-metres and 250 tonnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAdditional features of the wharf include mounting points for wheelchair lifting devices on the pontoon, covered pontoon gangway and passenger shelter, complete with solar lighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have also made a number of improvements to the immediate surrounds including a boardwalk made from recycled plastic decking, dedicated fishing area, widened pathway, smart benches with mobile phone charging capability, banner poles and landscaping with salt tolerant trees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in the true Coastie community spirit local MP Liesl Tesch held an opening for everyone to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe wharf has been a long journey for the community and it is the community who deserved to open the wharf and witness this historical event,\u201d Ms Tesch said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis has been in the pipeline since 2011 and in 2018 we pushed the NSW Liberal Government to give us our wharf with 4000 people signed our petition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday after three months of sitting and waiting despite the wharf being complete the fence was taken down for the official ribbon cutting ceremony which the community were not invited to,\u201d Ms Tesch said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInstead we held our own community opening with the lovely jazz band organised by Central Coast Ferries playing, the ferry operating and the community dancing and cheering as we celebrated this very historic day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the official ceremony, Ms Tesch invited Gwen Dundon, a 91-year-old local historian and researcher as well as John Bennett, President of the Australian Ferry Society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Dundon shed some light on the significance of the opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am so happy for the ferry owners that come in here because it really has been terrible for them at high tides for so many years, with the old wharf often going under the water,\u201d Ms Dundon said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis wharf is a huge improvement and can only bring more tourists to Woy Woy. The wharf has always been of importance to Woy Woy in the past, and in the present to some extent, with people who came to the Coast for holidays always getting off at Woy Woy station because Woy Woy had all the ferries that kept the coast connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official opening included Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch MP and Central Coast Council Administrator Rik Hart cutting off the ribbon with gold scissors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday people were already fishing off the wharf, riding their bikes along the path, enjoying their morning coffee on the benches and looking at the magnificent view off our wharf,\u201d Ms Tesch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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