December 15th, 2023Tenders out to connect growing Ballarat suburbs  

Tenders have been released for a contractor to construct the trail from Victoria Park to Morshead Park along the Ballarat’s busy Sutton Street.  

As the population of Ballarat grows and more people participate in recreation outdoors, the City of Ballarat is committed to providing better connections for active transport.

This is the first stage of a trails and connection project that will eventually include connections to Doug Dean Reserve and a loop trail around Morshead Park along Rubicon Street, Pleasant Street and Bell Street.

The stage one connection will be close to 1.2 kilometres and will provide safe access to the open spaces of Victoria Park and Morshead Park.  

The shared path will be 2.5 metres wide, to allow for a wide range of users to use the trail.  

Along with the trail, the project will include planting of more than 150 trees, more than 200 plants and a few thousand ground cover plants, improved accessibility to bus stops and additional seating at nine separate locations.

Signage, pram crossings, seating and vehicle barriers will also be installed.  

Some benefits of the Trails and Connections Project include:  

• Safer and accessible shared path connections for walking, cycling and running.  
• Increases the connectivity of the off-road shared path network in Ballarat.  
• Provides opportunities for active and passive recreation to further achieve positive health outcomes.
• Easy to navigate linkages between key open spaces.

Improved tree canopy and improved biodiversity between open space areas.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson (above) said trails like this provide easy access to open spaces and outdoor destinations in Redan and Delacombe.  

“This connection aims to create safe and healthy connections for cyclists, walkers, runners and pedestrians between our reserves and parks”, he said.

“We will also have raised pedestrian crossings, when possible, at intersections along the route to create safer road crossings for all users.

“Sutton Street is a busy street, and being able to provide a safe corridor for our active transport users is a great outcome.”