The Wagga Rail Trail project was officially launched at the council chambers on Wednesday.

Project chairwoman Lisa Glastonbury was confident of being able to work with landholders to bring the vision to life.

But Councillor Julian McLaren was so sure the project would not leave the station that he made a bold declaration.

“I will walk down Baylis Street naked if the (Wagga Rail Trail project) goes ahead,” Cr McLaren said.

“The state government says for a rail trail to get funding, it needs overwhelming support from affected landholders.

“That does not exist.”

Cr Julian McLaren and Councillor Alan Brown said they weren’t against the concept of developing a cycleway, but the ongoing costs to maintain a rail trail would be too expensive for ratepayers, and was unreasonable to lump onto property owners along the proposed track.

“People have to understand that families have built businesses around a disused track,” Cr McLaren said.

“It’s unreasonable (to have that change for a recreational facility).”

Cr McLaren said other alternatives needed to be raised.

“We could look to widen existing roads to allow for bike tracks,” he said.

“That way everyone wins – the bike users get their track and landholders are not affected.”

Councillor Alan Brown, who is also the chairman of the Wagga branch of NSW Farmers, agreed with Cr McLaren, but suggested the concept of land swapping as a potential solution.

Land swapping would mean using the equivalent land along a roadside edge of a property, rather than having a track through the middle.

“But the (rail trail proponents) have their heart set on using the actual rail corridor,” Cr Brown said.

“The bulk of (rail trails in Victoria) are on roadsides and do not divide farmland.”