STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Dr RYAN (Kooyong) (16:00): For 30 years Kooyong has been calling for construction of the missing link in Melbourne's active transport network, the Hawthorn to Box Hill trail. First proposed in 1995, the trail has been recognised as a priority by local councils, Infrastructure Australia, Infrastructure Victoria and the Victorian government. The level crossing removals at Surrey Hills and Mont Albert have delivered one kilometre of the trail, but nine kilometres remain unbuilt and unfunded.

More than 20 schools are located within a kilometre of this route. Seventy-five per cent of Victorians would be interested in riding more if they could be safely separated from traffic, but only two per cent of short trips in Melbourne are made by bike. Every dollar spent on protected cycling corridors returns up to $4 in benefits to our communities.

This is exactly the kind of project that the Urban Congestion Fund and the Active Transport Fund should support, so I call on the federal and Victorian governments to work with Boroondara and Whitehorse councils to urgently fund completion of the Hawthorn to Box Hill trail. Our community has waited long enough. Let's build it.