Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Kooyong, it's time we finally build the Box Hill to Hawthorn safe cycling corridor. Imagine riding your bike along a car feed trail from your home in Kew to your school in Camberwell, to Surrey Hills and to the city for work, to ride or walk in calm and safety from Balwyn to Canterbury to Swinburne University in record time. For years, our community has been crying out for governments to build the final nine kilometre stretch of the path connecting the suburbs with the main Yarra trail and the anniversary trails. More than 20 schools and other educational institutions will be served by the Box Hill to Hawthorn cycling trail. It will be used by thousands. It will bolster businesses, cut emissions and save transport costs.

Don't just listen to me; listen to my community. Suet Mon Wong from Surrey Hills, who currently rides her children to Canterbury Primary School said that the trail will 'provide a safe journey to school, to shops and links to explore other bike trails'. Kate Prest of Camberwell told me, 'Both of my children risk their lives to ride to school. Building this trail will provide an enormous uplift in wellbeing to many school-aged children and their parents.' Greg Heminway of Kew points out that 'off-road riding is far safer with substantially lower probability of collision'.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet with several groups of interested cyclists from my community and we discussed how we can inspire local, state and federal governments to work together to finally get this bike path built. They are all raring to go, with good reason. The trail has already been subjected to a Victorian Department of Transport feasibility study and was designated a strategic cycling corridor in 2019. Of course, any decision on infrastructure funding must be merit based, but we believe—we know—that this is a project with a whole lot of merit. I'm really looking forward to working with my community groups and with local representatives from all levels of government in Kooyong to make the case for finally building the Box Hill to Hawthorn trail.