The long-awaited bike link from Farm Road in Alphington to the Darebin Creek Trail is back on the horizon.
Legislation is moving through Parliament that will allow required land to be compulsorily acquired from the La Trobe Golf Club—if necessary.
Although there is an outstanding trail connecting the Darebin Creek Trail to the Main Yarra Trial almost at their doorstep, the Alphington community don’t have a safe way for local families to access it.
The golf club is in the way.
But now, amendments to the Roads Management Act of 2004 will allow land to be acquired for the link to be built.
Speaking in Parliament to the Transport Legislation Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2021, local MP, Member of Northcote Kat Theopanous, said: "The bill which brings us another step closer to delivering on that vital local link.”
"The situation is this: although the residents of Alphington can admire the trail, which winds through their suburb, they have no safe and direct way to access the trail.
"Residents must either travel north to enter through Sparks Reserve in Ivanhoe or south via Willsmere Park in Kew East.
"For many this means travelling along the busy Heidelberg Road, an option that is neither convenient nor particularly safe, especially for the many schoolchildren who make this journey.
"On a bike this stretch can be difficult to manage and to navigate, especially as you cross the much narrower and more exposed Darebin Creek Bridge along Heidelberg Road to enter Ivanhoe. This is not even to mention the extra travel time and the distance for residents wanting to get onto that trail.”
Ms. Theopanous said that design work is well underway.
"It includes the construction of a 4-metre-wide bridge that will take pedestrians and cyclists safely over part of the golf course onto the Darebin Yarra Trail.
"Community feedback will play an important role in the development of the Alphington link, and I look forward to sharing designs and hearing directly from my community later this year about how we can get the very best outcomes out of this remarkable project.”