Significant improvements have been proposed for the busy Gardiners Creek Trail in Melbourne’s middle south east.
The trail through Ashburton, Malvern East, Glen Iris, Kooyong and Hawthorn to the Main Yarra Trail at Toorak carries stonking numbers of bike commuters every weekday and has been declared a strategic cycling corridor by the Department of Transport.
Out of peak times and during weekends it becomes a relaxing environment for riders and walkers enjoying the natural environs of the creek.
Although it has been periodically upgraded over the years and is now mostly three metres wide and well-lit, many annoyances persist.
Now, in a new draft master plan for its section of the creek, the City of Boroondara has some bold upgrades in mind, not just for the trail but for the environmental and recreational values of the creek corridor.
You can comment on the plan here.
There is a survey and also number of drop-in sessions have been arranged during June.
The draft master plan is available here.
Boroondara shares the lower reaches of the creek with the City of Stonnington which last year also produced a new master plan and the council intend to collaborate, although many if the improvements will require state government involvement.
The draft breaks up the creek valley into six precincts and makes a number of detailed suggestions for changes in each
In a move that will be welcomed by riders the draft plan advocates to the Victorian Government to upgrade the existing suspended shared user path under the freeway near Kooyong Tennis Club to create separate pedestrian and cyclist paths with improved lighting for safety and break out/rest stops to increase usability and enhance cyclist and pedestrian safety.
For the same section it argues for a new link from the trail directly into Scotch College.
It also calls for the upgrading of six bridges along the trail which are insufficiently wide and sharply angles in places.
Another significant proposal is for an investigation of a new alignment for Trail to connect to Markham Avenue Reserve or Gardiners Creek Trail near Warrigal Road.
All trail users would also welcome the suggestion of increased naturalisation of the sections of the creek that are currently a concrete channel.
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