PROVING demand, then identifying funding opportunities, will be
the next hills to climb in the establishment of a proposed bicycle path between
Swan Hill and Lake Boga.
Lake Boga Inc’s Wes Pye said concepts for the
proposed project had been costed, cleared by health and safety regulations, and
identified in Swan Hill Rural City Council’s projects following meetings with
Vic Roads, Vic Track, and the council.
The uptake of the project now relies
on two key aspects: a proven demand for the proposed path, and the probably most
important thing, funding.
While quoted figures were not disclosed, Mr Pye
said a bike path between the two towns would be “quite expensive” and would
probably require some form of Federal Government funding to get it off the
ground.
“There are no real obvious opportunities for that now and it’s
probably a while away under current council kitty funding,” he said.
“The
key thing is funding is not going to come along easily. It’s a matter of getting
the project to a point where it could be ready for any opportunity.”
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian (25/1/13).
