Box Hill-Ringwood Bike Path: work continues and community views sought
Tenders have been called for the next stage of the Box Hill-Ringwood bike path, to run between Linsley Street and Sagoe Lane in Box Hill.
Community views are also being sought on the best alignment and other features for future sections of the path.
Member for Box Hill, Robert Clark, said that the new one kilometre section of path would run along the northern side of the rail reserve from Linsley Street to Sagoe Lane.
East of Sagoe Lane, the path will ultimately run behind Whitehorse Reserve and Box Hill High School to Middleborough Road.
“Once complete, the Box Hill to Ringwood Bike Path will run within one kilometre of many schools and colleges, making it easier and safer for hundreds of children to walk or ride their bikes to school,” Mr Clark said.
“The construction of the path will provide a sustainable transport solution that also supports the health and wellbeing of our community.”
Minister for Transport, Terry Mulder, said the tender process is currently underway to appoint a contractor to complete this section of path, which will ultimately extend all the way to Middleborough Road.
It is anticipated that work will commence later this year or early 2015 and take around three months to complete.
Mr Clark and the Liberal candidate for Ringwood, Dee Ryall, have also invited the local community to attend one of a number of information sessions to learn more about the project as a whole and to provide feedback on the best alignment and other features for future sections of the path.
“Community consultation is an important part of this project and the upcoming information sessions are a great way to find out more about this project,” Ms Ryall said.
“I would encourage local residents and business owners to go along and hear about some of the great work that’s going on, ask questions, and let us know what they think.
“Last month we opened a 1.3 kilometre section of high quality off-road path in Mitcham as part of this project, which was praised by the local community and provides safe and easy access around the new Mitcham Station precinct.”
Mr Mulder said that the length of the path and built up surrounding areas makes it a complex project.
“VicRoads has been investigating a range of options for each section of the bike path, focusing on the provision of an off-road path within the Belgrave/Lilydale rail corridor as a preference, with consideration of on-road options where off-road is not feasible,” Mr Mulder said.
“Some sections of the bike path has been particularly challenging in determining a preferred alignment because of limited space, existing features and design guidelines.
“To date, we have been consulting with a range of stakeholders including Whitehorse and Maroondah City Councils, Public Transport Victoria, Department of Transport Planning and Local Infrastructure, Metro Trains Melbourne, VicTrack and local cycling groups. Now it’s the community’s turn to provide input.
VicRoads, who is leading the project, will consider community feedback in determining the final bike path alignment. In some instances, further engagement with the community and key stakeholders will be required before final designs are prepared for construction.
The Victorian Coalition Government has committed more than $10 million for the planning, development and construction of the path. The majority of work is expected to be complete by early 2016.
Details for the four ‘drop-in’ community information sessions:
Date: Wednesday 10 September 2014
Times: 10:00am – 12 noon and 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Where: Blackburn Elderly Citizens Centre, 25 Central Road, Blackburn
Date: Thursday 11 September 2014
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: Maroondah City Council, ‘The Ringwood Centre’ Offices, 1 Civic Place, Ringwood
Date: Saturday 13 September 2014
Time: 8:30am – 11:00am
Where: Whitehorse Council Offices, ‘Willis Room’, 379-397 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading
Regular project updates will be made available on the VicRoads website at www.vicroads.vic.gov.au