Hi, I’m Kat Theophanous - the Labor Member of Parliament for Northcote in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
Hi, I’m Kat Theophanous - the Labor Member of Parliament for Northcote in the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
Investment: $9.1 million
Status: Construction underway
Construction for the Alphington Link - a safe and direct bike riding and walking link for the Alphington community has finally begun!
The new off-road path will provide a 120-metre link to the Darebin Creek Trail and access to over 600km of bike riding and walking paths across Melbourne.
Alphington residents seeking to access the Darebin-Yarra Trail, which runs right though their suburb, have not had any safe and practical way to access it. Residents must go either through Sparks Reserve in Ivanhoe or via Willsmere-Chandler Park in Kew East. For many this means travelling along the busy Heidelberg Road which is neither safe nor convenient, particularly for school children using this route.
In recognition of the value of building a new local link, in 2017 the Victorian Labor government committed to making it happen, and since being elected I have been working with the community and within government to deliver on that promise.
Through an extensive process of community engagement to inform technical development of plans, designs and option, it was ultimately found that the most direct route for the Alphington Link goes through a parcel of land privately owned by the Latrobe Golf Club.
To progress this option, I worked with the Minister for Roads to pass the Transport Legislation Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2021 in the Victorian Parliament. This Bill authorises the compulsory acquisition of the land needed for the Alphington link project, and the project can now get underway.
The final preferred route was announced on 17 November 2021 and will include entry from Farm Road and the construction of a 4-meter wide bridge. This will take cyclists and pedestrians safely over part of the golf course – connecting them to over 600 kilometres of bike paths across Melbourne, including the Main Yarra Trail, Anniversary Trail and Capital City Trail.
This will make for the safest, most accessible and most functional connection for pedestrians and cyclists and greatly enhance the cycling corridor in Melbourne’s inner north.
Community feedback will play an important role in the development of the Farm Rd Alphington Link.
Online information sessions were held by VicRoads in December 2021, and the community provided feedback on the proposed design until 31 January 2022.
You can find out more about this project and the design at Alphington Link| Path works complete - Transport Victoria
A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in this project so far - stay tuned for updates!
