By Benjamin Millar
A $200,000 bike park will be built in West Footscray after attracting the most community votes from the area in the state government’s Pick My Project scheme.
The first of its kind in Victoria, the new park at Hansen Reserve will feature wide paths and riding challenges including hills, curves and bridges.
The project – proposed by BikeWest to help children learn safe riding skills – received the highest level of funding available through the $30 million Pick My Project.
Announcing the funding at Hansen Reserve on Tuesday, Premier Daniel Andrews said 237 projects would receive funding from $20,000 to $200,000 after more than 95,000 Victorians cast votes for their favourite local project.
“This is all about giving local communities a say over local projects, projects that benefit their local community where they have direct input,” he said.
“Here it’s going to support a really unique facility so that local kids can learn how to ride their bikes safely. There’s no other facility like it anywhere else in the state. It all comes from this local community reaching out and saying this is what we want, this is the gap we need filled.”
BikeWest spokeswoman Megan Bridger-Darling said the group was excited by the funding coming through.
“We’re just a little group that started six months ago; we’ve had overwhelming support from the community.”
Suburban development minister Lily D’Ambrosio said Pick My Project was the first time communities had been given the power to decide the projects that are right for them.
A total of $2.8 million was awarded to 25 projects in the western metro region, made up of Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay, Brimbank, Wyndham, Moonee Valley and Melton.
Other successful projects in Maribyrnong included $200,000 towards a school oval upgrade at St Margarets Primary School, $100,000 to the Footscray Community Bike Shed, $94,000 for the The Medical Pantry Project, $90,000 for revegetation and weed control at Pipemakers Park, and $64,000 for a composting project at Footscray City College.
Hobsons Bay winners were $150,000 for an inclusive playground at Altona Green Primary School, $141,000 for a kitchen garden at Spotswood Primary School and $77,000 for an outdoor video screen to hold twilight cinema and screen sports at at Bryan Martyn Oval in Newport.
