Long road ahead for ambitious shared path

THE Cowes to Rhyll Shared Path has been set into five stages of development with construction ramping up this year.  

The project aims to connect Rhyll to the main township of Cowes and improve pedestrian access.

Previously, the project was identified in Bass Coast Shire’s Aspirational Pathways Plan and will now transition to being part of the newly adopted Track and Trails strategy.

Stage one, Oswin Roberts Reserve to carpark has been completed with stage two, Cowes - Rhyll Road to Conservation Hill set to commence in February.

This stage will include the upgrade of an 800-metre section of boardwalk, widened paths to shared trails and upgrading of some gravel sections to concrete.

It is expected to be completed by April.

Conservation Hill to McIlwraith Road (stage 3) has been funded and is underway as well as McIlwraith Road to Beach Road
(stage 4).

The McIlwraith Road to Beach Road will allow users to travel from the existing Phillip Island Nature Parks (PINP) trail at the north end of McIlwraith Road, to the Rhyll Shopping Precinct located at the Lock Road/Beach Road intersection.

Council intends to construct the pathway along the road reserve on the west side of McIlwraith Road.

Users will then cross Reid Street before continuing east along Reid Street to the Rhyll Playspace. 

When users have reached the Rhyll Playspace they will then turn south to travel along the existing pathway. This existing path will be upgraded.

The pathway will proceed east crossing Walton Street before tuning to connect to an additional crossing on Lock Road.

The existing pathway along the south side of Lock Road will be widened.

While a Feasibility Report and Alignment was completed for (stage five) Redwood Drive to Coghlan Road to determine the preferred alignment.

According to the report, the path alignment connects to existing council path networks with two options:

• Option 1 – alignment along northern road reserve of Cowes – Ryhll Road from Redwood Dr to Coghlan Rd. 

• Option 2 – alignment along southern side of Cowes – Ryhll Road through (yet to be confirmed) rural and school properties utilising the land acquisition process from Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School (school crossing) to Coghlan Road.

Option 1 was the preferred alignment, with the next step to present this project to councillors with a recommendation for adoption.

Cost estimates for the path, as per option 1, indicate an approximate construction cost of $600K, with additional supervision and provisional costs bringing the total to approximately $702K.

The report also notes that a road safety audit, detailed biodiversity assessment report and cultural heritage due diligence report should be undertaken.