City of Ballarat Council is developing a Footpath Construction Strategy to guide how it prioritises and funds where new footpaths are built in the local government area.
Once completed, Council says the Strategy will outline a framework that prioritises where new footpaths are needed most, where sealing of existing unsealed footpaths should take place and will identify missing links in the local footpath network.
Ballarat has 844 kilometres of existing footpaths. Council says there are around 600 kilometres of “missing” footpaths in the municipality, with an estimated construction cost of around $100 million.
Mayor, Des Hudson said that with an annual budget of around $900,000 for the construction of new footpaths, the Council need to prioritise which are given the green light.
“Footpaths are important to everyone however with limited funds, we need to prioritise where new footpaths are built,” he said.
The Mayor said feedback from the community will help inform the Draft Footpath Construction Strategy. The community will also be invited to provide feedback on the Draft Strategy through a second phase of community consultation.
Meanwhile, Council’s 2023-2024 footpath construction program will build 13 footpaths, including a footpath of approximately 220 metres in Raglan Street (Miners Rest), extending from Sharpes Road to near Howe Street.
