Knox City Council has approved a $2.18 million, 650-metre footpath in The Basin that will total costs as much as 10 times more than normal urban pavement – but part of the project is banking on a $509,000 federal grant.
What’s happening? During a council meeting on Monday September 28, councillors passed a motion to lock in $400,000 in the 2026/27 budget and $1.1 million in the 2027/28 budget to extend the footpath near Wicks Road to the bus stop outside 1405 Mountain Highway.
The second stage of the development, from the bus stop to the intersection of Mountain Highway and Claremont Avenue, was allocated $171,000 in the 2027/28 budget.
This leaves a shortfall of $509,000 to complete the entire project – money the council must ask the federal government for.
How’d we get here? Works on connecting The Basin to properties north began in 2018, when the council built a $365,000 footpath link along Mountain Highway.
In the 2024/25 budget, the council allocated a further $300,000 towards designing the extra $2.18 million extension.
Value for money: According to the council report, the project would cost about eight to 10 times more than a typical urban footpath, due to the site’s steep terrain requiring additional works such as retaining walls and planned tree removals and relocations.
The first stage would support 240 properties, while the second stage would connect about 40 to 50 additional dwellings.
What they said: Knox mayor Paige Kennett said setting aside money now for the second stage was “a long-term investment”, as a future council may not have the funding to deliver the extra works.
The council pushed a number of footpath projects further down the line to create the funding for the Mountain Highway project, including sections along Dorset Road in Boronia and Bayswater and Alfred Street and William Street in Upper Ferntree Gully.
Safer connections: Councillor Kennett said local pedestrians walking along Mountain Highway had reported a number of “slips, trips and near misses”.
🗣️ “We cannot put a price on a life,” she told the chamber.
Opposing views: Councillor Susan Pierce was one of three councillors who voted against the motion, arguing it was “policy on the run” to allocate funds without confirmation of federal funding.