Riders will soon have direct access to the scenic Darebin Creek Trail from Alphington with work beginning soon on connecting Farm Road to the creek.
A new 120-metre shared path will take riders initially alongside Farm Road, then over it on a raised crossing, and then to a junction with the existing Darebin Creek Trail.
This precinct was the scene of a seemingly eternal, multi-year Bicycle Network battle to connect the Darebin Creek Trail to the Main Yarra Trail at Kew Billabong.
Now one of the most attractive spots on the Melbourne trails network, the project was fiercely resisted by local interests who unsuccessfully dragged the proposal through the courts in order to stop it.
One of the outcomes of the successful Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing was that a link for the Alphington community should be provided in a follow-up project once the task to bridge the trail over the Yarra had been achieved.
Planning for the Alphington Link began in 2018, with a number of proposals being explored and abandoned along the way.
A concept to build an elevated trail on piers was rejected because of environmental impacts in the sensitive area.
The final design is a ground-level 3-metre-wide path through an operating golf course.
Riders and walkers will be protected from wayward gold balls by protective fencing. There will be 0.5-metre shoulders between the riders and the fence.
Works begin on the Department of Transport and Planning project this month and construction will occur between 7am and 6pm on weekdays.
Note that the designs on this page may change.
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