By NICOLE VALICEK
BICYCLE users and residents have been left in the dark again amid claims that the Napthine Government will ditch the western extension to the Federation Trail.
The trail is a 24-kilometre shared bicycle and pedestrian path between the Maltby Bypass in Werribee and Hyde St in Yarraville.
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan said the Napthine Government looked to have ditched the extension despite strong community demand.
A $9.2 million extension was the single-largest project under the previous State Government’s $115 million Victorian Cycling Strategy.
Mr Donnellan said that work stalled on the trail in 2011 due to the State Liberal Government’s failure to deliver the Truck Action Plan in Melbourne’s Inner West.
“The Napthine Government claims it wants to see growth in areas such as the Melbourne bike hire scheme, yet Roads Minister Tony Mulder refuses to fund the infrastructure needed for people to utilise it,” Mr Donnellan said.
The missing link, providing an off-road route to the city, was planned to be built along the same alignment as a truck route linking Williamstown Rd and Hyde St.
Following the news, Minister for Roads Terry Mulder announced $5.3 million will be spent on completing the next stage of the Federation Trail.
Mr Mulder said an overpass across the Newport-Albion freight line will be built to connect the end of the current trail to Fogarty Avenue in Yarraville.
“We are today announcing the next stage from Millers Rd with a bridge over the Tottenham rail line and industrial land 250 metre west of the rail reserve that will lead into Fogarty Avenue, Yarraville,” Mr Mulder said.
“This will be followed by a further two stages to complete the path: stage three will be Fogarty Avenue to Williamstown Rd and then stage four from Williamstown Road to Hyde St.”
Member for Williamstown Wade Noonan said communities across Melbourne’s Western Suburbs wanted to see the original plan for the Federation Trail finished.
“A new proposal from VicRoads to change the route of the trail because of the Napthine Government’s budget cuts could put cyclists’ lives in danger,” Mr Noonan said.
He said the trail needed to stay adjacent to the West Gate Bridge as was originally planned by the previous Labor Government.
Hobsons Bay Bicycle User Group president Noel Dyson said cyclists and residents felt a lot of anger towards the current government because a lack of action on the Federation Trail.
“As it seems, the Premier Dr Napthine is living up to his name and moth ball the extension of the Federation Trail to the ferry and like his predecessor, the Coalition Government is continuing the impression of a do nothing style of government,” Mr Dyson said.
“The government is paralysed by an inability to provide an array of transport commuter solution; we can only expect this is going to continue until there is a change of government.”
Mr Dyson said he was personally “disappointed and let down” by the news.
“The Western Suburbs, like other areas of growth, are disadvantaged by poor planning at government level for the infrastructure to get people to and from work without using their cars.”
He said the purpose of the trail was to provide Western Suburbs cyclists with a safe and efficient path/route, but that there was still a lack of infrastructure.
“Wyndham is an area in need of significant growth and the Federation Trail is a feeder for every cyclist from that area who can safely get to that trail.”
“There are a whole lot of things that need to be done, we know the solution, but the problem is there aren’t people around to provide leadership and build infrastructure.”
“There needs to be other east west links such as bicycle lanes from Tarneit road out in Wyndham into Williamstown. So people can commute to and from areas west of the city effectively by bicycle just as people in the eastern suburbs have.”
