Cycling groups on the paper trail over rail proposal

By Melissa Donchi
TWO of Victoria’s peak cycling groups have weighed into the controversy surrounding the Shire of Yarra Ranges’ bid to manage the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail.
The shire’s bid has forced the current committee out of its volunteer position, leaving groups such as Bicycle Victoria and Rails to Trails Australia deeply concerned.
Bicycle Victoria facilities development manager Mark Dixon said council-operated trails had generally not been successful.
“The main reason is a lack of consistent funding,” he said.
“People come and go from the council all the time. Some have a vision and a plan for the trail and some don’t.”
The outgoing committee is also concerned about the council’s vision and has called for its submission to the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) to be made public.
“The volunteer committee, which finishes on 31 March, is concerned the shire has too many conflicting priorities to protect the park adequately,” Committee president David de Gama said.
“Their submission should be available for public scrutiny and comment.”
Citing a list of incidents from the past 12 months, the committee says the shire has repeatedly cut down trees and interfered with native vegetation without consultation or replacement, failed to act on vandalism in the area and made frequent blunders with funding and permits.
“Yarra Ranges ratepayers represent a very high proportion of the trail users and they deserve an explanation from the council on how it proposes to manage the park in to the future,” Mr de Gama said.
“The shire cannot even effectively manage its current nature reserves to a high standard, without taking on the complexities of a 40-kilometre linear park,” he said.
“The volunteers and trail supporters are justifiably concerned the trail will deteriorate over the next three years due to a lack of focus and commitment.”
Rails to Trails Australia spokesman Damian McCrohan agreed the submission shouldn’t be a secret.
“It’s a significant commitment they’re making and they’re re-sponsible to ratepayers to do a good job of it,” he said.
“We’re happy that the government is trying to improve the standard of the committee and wants to take it to a new level.
“We hope to see some major improvements but we’d also like to see some evidence of their commitment.”
Yarra Ranges Shire community relations spokesman James Martin said at this stage a proposal hadn’t been submitted to DSE.
“We are more than happy to provide details once these have been passed on to DSE and the government,” he said.