“There’s never been a better time”: The 30-year push for bike paths from Box Hill to Hawthorn

Thousands of Whitehorse and Boroondara locals could benefit from a proposed shared cycling and walking path between Box Hill and Hawthorn that has been sitting in planning limbo for 30 years.

Advocates and experts say the plan is a safe way to ease congestion on our roads and public transport network, with Kooyong MP Dr Monique Ryan insisting there’s “never been a better time” to finally approve the project.

📍 What’s the plan? A 10-kilometre shared bicycle and walking path was first proposed in 1995 and would follow alongside the Lilydale rail line. One option proposed modifying the unused “ghost platform” at Box Hill station into a cycle path and bicycle parking space.

• According to campaigners, delivering the project fully would be about $80 million, while a more conservative version is estimated at $35 million.

• A petition calling for the State Government to provide funding for the design and construction of the trail has attracted more than 2,650 signatures.

🗺️ Long and winding: The Boroondara Bicycle Users Group first proposed the idea in 1995.

• In 2019, Box Hill MP Paul Hamer and former Hawthorn MP John Kennedy secured $370,000 for a feasibility study.

🫷 Hidden study: The State Government did not release the feasibility study report until Kooyong MP Dr Monique Ryan lodged a Freedom of Information request, leading to its release to her office in November 2023.

• The study confirmed that the Hawthorn to Box Hill Trail would deliver significant benefits to the community and is feasible to build, but requires funding investment for design and construction works.

• Ryan said she would continue advocating for Federal Government investment.

• 🗣️ “There’s never been a better time,” Ryan told the Eastern Melburnian. “We’ve got more traffic on our roads than ever before. We’ve seen the State Government put eye-watering amounts of money into the North East Link and Suburban Rail Loop and a tiny amount into active transport.”

↗️ An uphill battle: Local cycling advocate Peter Campbell said Boroondara was a “black hole” for safe cycling.

• 🗣️ “Every person on a bike is one less person in a car,” Campbell told the Eastern Melburnian.

🚲 Bike benefits: According to RMIT research, more than half of commuter’s trips to shops, schools and other destinations in most eastern Melbourne suburbs were less than five kilometres — about a 20-minute bike ride.

• RMIT Associate Professor Lucy Gunn said better connections between cycling and public transport were essential.

• 🗣️ “There is a lot of pressure on road space,” Gunn told the Eastern Melburnian. “We don’t want to just create more space on our roads, but instead make it more convenient for people to get around.”

Thumbnail Image Credit: PEPSI697