The information below was provided by Complete Our Rail Trail (CORT).
“Bridge the Gap” was the resounding message protesters delivered to the Minister for Conservation & Environment Sherryl Garbutt and the Mount Lilydale College.
The rally was attended by more than 300 people protesting Ms Garbutt’s decision to halt development of the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail at Maroondah Highway. The government has endorsed the land zoning for public open space – parkland recreation.
“Bridge the Gap” was the resounding message protesters delivered to the Minister for Conservation & Environment Sherryl Garbutt and the Mount Lilydale College.
The rally was attended by more than 300 people protesting Ms Garbutt’s decision to halt development of the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail at Maroondah Highway. The government has endorsed the land zoning for public open space – parkland recreation.
“The rally overwhelming called on the school to “bridge the gap” in the community and work together for a resolution. There was a resounding demand for the government to support the council’s bid to build the bridge over Maroondah Highway bridging the gap between the popular recreation trail and Lilydale Station,” Mr Francis said.
The protesters streamed up Maroondah Highway from Lilydale Station to Queen Rd under Police escort on Sunday morning to highlight the dangers recreational tourists faced coming to the valley without the completion of the trail’s last 2km from Lilydale Station to Maroondah Highway.
Yarra Ranges Council has set aside $150,000 towards the pedestrian and cycling bridge across Maroondah Highway at the rail trail.
Bicycle Victoria’s Richard Smithers told the rally the rail trail was generating significant economic benefits to the Yarra Valley townships along its current 38km length and the final link to Lilydale Station offered huge potential for the station precinct to become a tourist hub with cafes and shops serving the increasing numbers of cyclists and walkers wanting to use the MET system to walk or cycle through the valley.
Mr Francis called on Ms Garbutt to urgently convene a meeting of the school principal and a representative of the Committee of Management to start working towards a workable solution.
“The fears held by the school principal can be addressed if the parties get together and talk about their needs and search together for solutions,” Mr Francis said.
“We believe there is a win-win solution there and it would be extremely sad if the government perpetuated this rift in the community by failing to broker a solution.”
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Sign UpLegislation to make it easier to approve new rail trails in NSW has been passed by both houses of the NSW Parliament, wi...
NSW Minister for Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes has announced funding of $770,000 for the develo...
Improved access to drinking water and a community bike repair station are two new additions to improve the user experien...
The Knowsley Forest’s Smart Track Day Visitor Area has recently had new facilities installed for users arriving in thi...
New South Wales, a state with over 2000km of prospective rail trails but only 146km open to date, is at a crucial poin...
The Barossa Rail Trail extension between Gawler East and Kalbeeba is now open and proving very popular with cyclists and...
The Boyne Burnett Inland Rail Trail committee invites you to the opening of the Burnett River Bridges section of the Boy...
The Friends of Canadian Creek situated in Ballarat, has received a $33,000 community bank grant. The grant is to build a...
On 28 June 2022 the Queensland State Government announced $3.5M funding for the Bethania to Logan Village 10.5km section...
The ‘missing section’ of the Gippsland Plains Rail Trail has finally been completed with the official opening of the...
Rail Trails Australia welcomes the publication of the New South Wales State Government’s Framework for the develop...
The East Gippsland Rail Trail (EGRT) recently received an $82,500 grant from the East Gippsland Community Foundation’s...
The NSW Government, Regional NSW, has just released the long-awaited report of the impact of the construction of the Tum...
Walking, running or cycling on the O’Keefe Rail Trail in northern Victoria, it may seem that nothing new has been happ...
An impressive turnout of riders came together to ride the Hamilton – Coleraine Rail Trail. Riders traversed throug...
A 2km extension of the Barossa Rail Trail from Kalbeeba to Gawler East is nearly complete. After significant weather del...