A new shared trail can now be put to good use in Mill Park, allowing residents to leave their cars at home and still have access to important services and facilities.
The $950,000 Mill Park Reserve Connecting Shared Trail project has delivered 1.6km of all-weather and accessible walking and cycling paths, encouraging people to enjoy active lifestyles through recreational exercise.
It will also give residents the option to forgo driving and instead walk, run, or cycle to facilities such as the Mill Park Leisure Centre, All Abilities Play Space, Mill Park softball diamonds, Mernda Rail line, and more.
City of Whittlesea Chief Executive Craig Lloyd joined Member for Mill Park Lily D’Ambrosio on site to celebrate the trail’s construction this month.
Council’s contribution of $475,000 towards the project was matched by a $475,000 grant from the State Government’s Growing Suburbs Fund.
Mr Lloyd said the trail benefited those living in surrounding suburbs such as Thomastown, Lalor, and South Morang.
“Council wants to encourage residents to be active and enjoy the natural environment here in the municipality,” he said.
“Shared walking and cycling trails are a great way of doing just that as they cater to people of all ages and abilities.
“The added bonus of this trail is that it is not just good for recreational use, but can connect people to many of the facilities and services in the Mill Park area.”
Ms D’Ambrosio said she was grateful for the path that would bring people closer to facilities.
“I’m really pleased to see that this work has really good, accessible, and sturdy connections between where people live,” she said.
“This is all about making sure that we’ve got really strong connections between where the public transport is, and where people live in close proximity.”