Tara Murray
Could Brimbank Park have its own 1000 steps?
That’s one suggestion being considered as Parks Victoria and Brimbank council discuss possible upgrades to the park.
Councillor Virginia Tachos started a petition last year to bring fitness and safety upgrades to the park in a bid to encourage more people to use it.
The petition will be submitted to Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily DAmbrosio.
“An issue that keeps coming up often is the very poor access to Brimbank Park,” the petition states.
“It’s been a constant challenge we have raised to Parks Vic attention for many years – particularly for Kealba and St Albans residents [who have] such an amazing flagship park at their doorstep.
“Unless you have a car, there is very little to zero public transport getting you there. Once you are there you hope that the river levels are low if you are on a bike or on foot coming from Kealba or St Albans or Keilor.
“I welcome your ideas on a campaign to promote this issue, along with a need for a 1000 steps track along the beautiful river trail to also be introduced, similar to the Kokoda memorial track at the Dandenong Ranges to improve health outcomes in Brimbank.”
Residents are also calling for upgrades to the park.
A letter sent to council and Parks Victoria, and seen by Star Weekly, talks about an incident earlier this month where a young boy fell into the river while trying to cross from one side to the other.
“The Kealba side of Brimbank Park has so much potential to be cleaned up and made into a more family-friendly safe path into Brimbank Park but I feel at the moment, it is more of a inviting hazard that is being pushed to the side.”
The council confirmed it was in early discussions with Parks Victoria about possible upgrades to the parks.
The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, the traditional owners of the land, have also been involved in the discussions.
Brimbank mayor Ranka Rasic said that Brimbank Park is extremely important to the council and the community.
She said the council had advocated for state government investment into the park as part of the council’s 19 Point Action Plan for COVID Response and Recovery.
“While the park is managed by Parks Victoria – we are keen to pursue opportunities to make the most of this wonderful resource on our doorstep,” she said.
“We look forward to ongoing discussions with Parks Victoria around possible future improvements.
“These discussions are in the early stages and exploring opportunities at concept level only.”
