Cycling trail advocates have hailed funding for safety and accessibility upgrades at Longlea along the O'Keefe Rail Trail as "tremendous".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The City of Greater Bendigo has announced it would spend more than $250,000 on two unisex toilet facilities with one accessible, and a new car park capable of fitting up to 16 cars, and more.
Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail planning group chairperson Lindsay Clay said they had been strongly advocating for the project.
MORE NEWS:
"Longlea is situated roughly halfway between Bendigo and Axedale and the normal frequency of toilet blocks along rail trails is around about 10 kilometers," he said.
"So this is around about 13 [kilometres] from Bendigo and eight or nine from Axedale; it's an ideal spot about halfway between the two towns."
Mr Clay said the new car park was welcome as cars have had to park just off a 100-kilometre-per-hour road.
"There's a lot of car parking on Longley Lane and that's very dangerous because it's a narrow road [with] high speed vehicles and it's seen as dangerous," he said.
"It's been a continual source of concern, especially for parents with children."
Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail has been advocating for links between major cycling trails across central Victoria, mainly a Wallan to Heathcote Rail Trail.
Mr Clay said a feasibility study was completed in 2017 which found there was a "positive benefit cost", however the group was still waiting to see any work begin.
The project would cost about $24 million, Mr Clay said.
The Mitchell Shire has been contacted for comment.
The linking rail trail would mean cyclists would have a dedicated path from Bendigo to Melbourne, provided it linked up with the Merri Creek trail.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"The aim would be to be able to ride from Melbourne to Bendigo and then on to Ballarat, should you need to do so, on off-road trails and linking with the Great Victorian Rail Trail at Tallarook," he said.
"We like to think that we're providing a network of trails rather than just riding out to [somewhere] and then worrying about how you have to get back."
Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.
Jonathon Magrath
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
