THE long fight to install a missing link in a key western suburbs bike path has had a breakthrough with the state government committing to build a $5.3 million overpass on the Federation Trail.
But Brimbank Bicycle Users Group president Ferdi Saliba said that for the path to be used to its full potential, the government needed to set aside funding for a final stretch from the Deer Park Hotel to the Western Ring Road.
Mr Saliba called on the government to allocate $600,000 to create a 1.2-kilometre bike path that would run underneath Ballarat Road and along Kororoit Creek Road to join with the Western Ring Road bike path and connect with the Federation Trail.
He said the group had been lobbying Brimbank Council and the government for four years.
“The council has already started work on a bike path between Station Road through to Cairnlea and down to the Deer Park Hotel.
“The final link for cyclists in Brimbank is the connection to Kororoit Creek Road. At the moment it’s a terrifying experience for cyclists riding along Ballarat Road to the Western Ring Road underpass, so this path is needed for the safety of cyclists in Brimbank.”
Mr Saliba hoped the Federation Trail overpass would encourage more residents to cycle instead of drive. “Research in the west has shown that people want to cycle but they want infrastructure that separates bikes from cars to feel safe. This was the final piece of the puzzle. Once the project is complete Brimbank cyclists will have a direct link to the city via Punt Road or Docklands.”
But critics have dubbed the proposal as simply a reannouncement of existing funding and a step back from original plans to continue the trail through to Williamstown Road.
The Federation Trail is a 24-kilometre shared bicycle and pedestrian path that will eventually run from the Maltby Bypass in Werribee to Hyde Street in Yarraville.
Roads Minister Terry Mulder announced on March 28 that the Newport-Albion freight line overpass would finally connect the end of the current trail in Brooklyn to Fogarty Avenue in Yarraville. The announcement came a day after the Weekly met frustrated cyclists and shadow roads minister Luke Donnellan at the site where the current trail is fenced off near Millers Road. The cyclists said the missing link was keeping many people, particularly female riders, from commuting into the city or around the inner west. The first stage of the trail from Werribee River to Millers Road finished abruptly 250metres west of the Newport-Albion rail reserve, on the north side of the West Gate Bridge.
Mr Mulder said the next stage would involve a bridge over the Tottenham rail line and industrial land that would lead into Fogarty Avenue.
“This exciting stage of the project will ensure that all users of the path, including cyclists, will be able to cross the rail line safely and continue on their journey.”
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury said the trail extension would make cycling more accessible to residents in Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Laverton and Brooklyn.
The government is yet to commit funding for the two final stages to complete the path, from Fogarty Avenue to Williamstown Road and then on to Hyde Street.
A spokeswoman for Mr Mulder confirmed the $5.3 million was part of the original $9.2 million allocated for this stage of the project. “Stages three and four of the Federation Trail, which will continue on the existing alignment, are still in the planning phase. The costs for each won’t be known until design works are completed.”
Western Metropolitan Greens MP Colleen Hartland said it was basically a reannouncement of existing funding and a halving of the project’s scope after nearly two years of delay.
