Authorities are urging people who encounter anti-social behaviour or become the victim of a crime on the Fernleigh Track to report it, especially in light of recent incidents, but a solution to the problem appears unclear.
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Questions over safety on the popular shared pathway between Newcastle and Lake Macquarie have been revived this week after a 22-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted and two women in their 70s were reportedly shot at with a pellet gun on the trail at Whitebridge in recent days.
The young woman, who asked to be named only as Rose, told the Herald she believed security cameras could be a useful deterrent along the track.
"In the comments of my [social media] post, it seems there is a lot of anti-social behaviour and harassment on the Fernleigh Track, primarily from these children on bikes," she said.
"I think cameras would act as a deterrent to these children, as hopefully their actions will finally have consequences."
Meanwhile, the 70-year-old woman who believes she and her companion were shot at with pellets by two boys last week, said monitoring would be a problem on the 16km track.
"What can you do? It's a massive track," the retired primary school teacher said.
"How do you make people safe there? It's a beautiful place to walk, but I don't know if there's an answer."
A NSW Police spokesperson said yesterday the assault of the 22-year-old was being investigated and officers have reached out to local schools to help identify those responsible.
Police responded to an inquiry from the Herald about how the area is monitored with a statement urging people to report anti-social behaviour or crime.
"Illegal and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated by police, and those doing the wrong thing can expect to be investigated," the statement said.
"Police routinely act on information received from the community and take legal action when appropriate."
Lake Macquarie Council said via a spokesperson it promoted "friendly and safe behaviour" on the Fernleigh Track and encouraged people to comply with its Shared Pathway Etiquette guidelines - a document published online.
The council said it was the responsibility of police to investigate and pursue people who did the wrong thing on the track.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley - who is also Swansea MP and Minister for the Hunter - said in response to an inquiry about whether she believed further safety measures were needed on the Fernleigh track: "I encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed a crime to report it to the NSW Police Force so they can investigate".
Rose, 22, was running along the track about 3.30pm on Sunday when a dirt bike carrying two young boys tore past in a near-miss.
The bike soon returned from behind and one of the boys allegedly hit Rose on the buttocks as it drove past at speed.
It came after a retired teacher and her walking partner were allegedly shot at three times with a pellet gun on the track on July 17.
Safety on the trail has been a long-running issue.
In 2015, a woman was almost knocked off her bike when a man lunged at her. In 2017, Tania Thompson and Tracy Sheath called for an increased police presence on the shared pathway after a run-in with a "creep on a pushbike".
In late 2022, 85-year-old Greg Hood was seriously injured after he was allegedly run off his bike by two people riding either e-bikes or small motorbikes. Mr Hood died while still in hospital being rehabilitated for his injuries nine months later.
