Griffith Retirement Estate and Pioneers Lodge, both located on Sidlow Road, are currently disconnected from the city's footpath network.

The situation means residents wishing to walk into town can either traverse across rough, uneven grass or walk dangerously along the road with traffic whizzing by.

But Griffith City Council's revised pedestrian and bicycle strategy, currently on public exhibition, has named connecting the sites to the existing path network a key priority.

The strategy includes the top 30 paths council plan to prioritise over the next few years, with shared footpaths along Merrigal Street and Sidlow Road at the top of the list.

The two proposed footpaths, expected to cost about $140,000, will connect with the existing path on Willandra Avenue - meaning Griffith's elderly residents will be able to follow paved foothpaths all the way into the CBD.

Lyn Mason, the manager of Griffith Retirement Estate, says she has been pushing for the footpath for years and seeing it on the horizon is an exciting moment.

"Residents are really excited about having the footpath because they really need safe passage," Ms Mason said.

"We have a lot of really active residents who love walking and we can see that with the growth of the estate and the surrounding areas we need a footpath to keep everybody safe."

"It's quite tricky to walk down here on the grass and obviously it's dangerous to walk against oncoming traffic so there's really nowhere safe to walk at the moment ... having the footpath will change that."

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According to Ms Mason, keeping residents at the estate connected with the rest of the community is a key priority.

She hopes that making it easier to walk into the CBD will help keep that connection alive.

"We are independent living, so residents are encouraged to continue participating in all events across the community and they need safe access to town if they are going to walk," she said.

"They want that option. We have over 200 residents here and many of them walk for enjoyment, exercise and because it's part of healthy aging."

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