Geelong City - Linking the Barwon, Bay & Bellarine trails
About this page
The 'three Bs' are the major links needed to connect the heart of Geelong. The 'three Bs' are the Barwon River path, Bellarine Rail Trail and the Bay Trail.
Bellarine Rail Trail moves closer to South Geelong Station
Feb 2008 VicRoads have allocated $291,000 in the 2007/08 Bicycle Facilities Program to help fill the gap between the existing Bellarine Rail Trail (at the showgrounds/Breakwater Rd) to South Geelong Station. Greater Geelong City Council are delivering the project. We will be seeking the details of the final design from Council to ensure a good result for riders.
Both Stages One and Two (see map, right) between Breakwater Rd and St Albans Rd will be a 2.5m wide sealed asphalt path and the target completion for the 2km trail extension is 14 March 2008
Stages 1 and 2 can be viewed in the map (see right). This link is a great win for locals and visiting riders. The Rail Trail provides a viable commuting route from Leopold whilst visiting riders will be able to get to the trail by VLine train at Sth Geelong Station.
To do:
This project still leaves the path a few hundred metres short of the South Geelong Station. To complete the link to the Station we will need some separation on Strong St, a direct and sealed route through the reserve on Foster St and a clear and separated route through the carpark.
The final stage will be a separated pedestrian and bicycle route along Lonsdale St and crossing signals at Moorabool St. This last route will also serve the football fans coming to the Stadium by train.
Planning underway to finally link the Bellarine, Barwon and Bay Trails
Feb 2007 In the flurry of announcements before the November 2006 State election the Labor Party promised $3.5 million to link the Bellarine, Barwon and Bay Trails. This was great news after many years of campaigning.
VicRoads in Geelong have now started looking at the best design option for linking the trails and are consulting with local riding groups and Bicycle Victoria. We are keen to see an on-road separated bike lanes (similar to Swanston St in Melbourne) built along Yarra St or possibly Swanston St.
This project will link three of Geelong's best trails and will significantly increase the number of people riding bikes for recreation and transport.
Jan 06.
Bicycle Victoria has been liaising with the Geelong City Council about new opportunities to fund the missing link as well as general improvements in rail trail quality.
We are hopeful that early 2006 will see some positive meetings with council, the rail trail advisory group and the Barwon Regional Bicycle Council leading to commitments to build the missing section of trail.
Background
Bicycle Victoria has a vision to see Geelong's three great trails, the Barwon River Trail, the Bay Trail and the Bellarine Rail Trail linked up to provide a fantastic off-road network for residents and visitors. See map at bottom of page.
Bicycle Victoria visited Geelong in December 2003 to look at how it could be done. To connect the Bay Trail to the Barwon River Trail a north-south link through the town centre makes sense as it provides links to shops and schools.
We measured road widths and looked at possible connections along Yarra St and Swanston St.
The generous road space on these streets should make it possible to install an off-road cycling facility (see photo, above). It's just a matter of working out how to do it.
At a meeting with the Barwon Regional Bicycle Council we discussed options, pros and cons and how a cycling facility could be installed. A protected bike lane is one option which would offer a car-free experience through town.
See protected bike lanes for more information.
While in Geelong we also met with Cr Bruce Harwood to discuss the concept of linking the trails and the potential tourism as well as local benefits it would bring.
The Bellarine Rail Trail needs to be extended from the Showgrounds along Carr St to South Geelong Station where it would meet up with the proposed bike facilities on Yarra or Swanston St.
The City of Greater Geelong has identified further development of the trail in their Open Space Strategy, with plans to link the trail to South Geelong station, the Barwon River trail and Eastern Park but it needs to move from a vision to reality.
Over the last couple of years Geelong Council has done some good work for bikes with the installation of new bike lanes on Ryrie Street through the town centre, a $1m upgrade to the Barwon River path network (including two new bridges at Buckley Falls) and extra bike lane funding from VicRoads.
The next step is to connect up some of these facilities to create a cycling network.
