Formal approval has been given to start construction early next year for the bike and pedestrian connection from Alphington to the Darebin Creek Trail.
Since the trail was extended south through to the Yarra River, local communities have not had convenient access to the spectacular trail precinct and the new Yarra bridge crossing due to the barrier of the La Trobe Golf Club carpark and other facilities.
The Department of Transport has recently received planning approval of an application submitted in March for an elevated structure above the Golf Course land that will carry riders and pedestrians from Farm Road in Alphington to the trail.
The complex $9.1m project, now in the final design stages, is required to ensure no significant impacts on the creek environment nor impede the Darebin Creek floodplain. It also has to meet design criteria for accessible gradients
The structure is 120 metres long and 3.5 metres wide travelling alongside the clubhouse driveway.
Once onto the new bridge, locals will have direct access to hundreds of kilometres of connected trails across metropolitan Melbourne.
The bridge will connect riders and pedestrians from Farm Road with the Darebin Creek Trail
It will also provide an important link for school children getting to and from school in a safe riding and walking environment.
A local connection was—decades ago—part of the original conception of a Darebin Creek trail through to the nearby Yarra River, but was not built along with the rest of the project due to planning permit complications resulting from a futile legal challenge against the trail extension.
Now, with massive residential development underway at the former Alphington Paper Mills site nearby, the new connection will enable many more people to access both the Darebin Creek and Main Yarra Trails.
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