Pathway petition: Sandra Brown (left) and former Kyabram councillor Carol Howell holding some of the petition forms calling for completion of Kyabram's shared pathway. The photo was taken at the northern end of Breen Avenue, where it approaches Allan St and runs through an avenue of Federation trees.
A 900-signature petition calling for the completion of Kyabram’s shared pathway was this week submitted to Campaspe Shire Council.
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Kyabram-Deakin ward councillor Daniel Mackrell will present the petition at council’s March 21 meeting on behalf of local residents who have been waiting 10 years for the dual walking/cycling circuit to be completed.
The 1.5km missing section runs parallel to Breen Avenue and, when constructed, will finally close the shared pathway loop around the town's southern outskirts.
Petition organiser Sandra Brown hopes the petition will highlight a dangerous situation that has existed for almost a decade and spur the council into action.
Parts of Breen Avenue have 100kph and 80kph speed zones. Walkers, joggers and cyclists are forced to either share the road with high-speed vehicles, use the narrow road-shoulders along the edge of the bitumen, or walk through long grass and rough terrain between the road and railway line.
“The dangers of having bike-riders, joggers and walkers sharing a road with fast cars are obvious,” said Sandra. “It’s a potentially lethal situation that has dragged on for far too long.”
Former Kyabram councillor Carol Howell, who has been helping collect signatures from local residents and sporting clubs, is also keen to see the project completed.
“Kyabram is a renowned sporting town, yet it must be one of the few towns in Victoria that doesn’t have a proper walking and cycling track,” she said.
“Many parents have said they won’t take their children around the circuit because the missing section along Breen Avenue is too dangerous.”
An initiative of the now-defunct Kyabram-Lancaster Advisory Group (KLAG), the shared pathway project was later adopted by a steering committee and opened by then-Member for Rodney, Paul Weller, in December 2013.
Reporting on the official opening, the Kyabram Free Press (December 18, 2013) wrote: “The Kyabram Walking and Cycling Trail was listed as a high priority through the Kyabram Community Plan, a document developed to determine high-priority projects for the Kyabram community.
“At present, the trail does not run in a complete loop and if the loop is to be closed, the council will first need to negotiate a lease with VicTrack for a 1.7km x 20m piece of land along Breen Avenue.”
At the time, the ‘missing link’ was expected to be completed within 18 months, once concept designs and a lease agreement with VicTrack had been signed off.
But the project stalled and has never been completed, despite funding being allocated in council budgets for the past three years. It is understood that paperwork with VicTrack still hasn’t been finalised.
Local keep fit enthusiasts and family groups who want to take the kids and family dog for a walk around the circuit are becoming increasingly frustrated by the long delays and lack of action, and are now calling on Campaspe Shire Council to fast-track completion of the pathway.
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