LABOR candidate for Flinders Sarah Race joined representatives Ross Kilborn and Graeme Rocke from Mornington Community Safe Link Group, Labor Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh, and about 20 community members to cycle along a section of the Peninsula Trail. The Peninsula Trail is a 170km mostly continuous walking and cycling trail circling the Mornington Peninsula.
The Mornington Community Safelink Group has been advocating for five years for the completion of the Peninsula Link Trail from Moorooduc Station, into Mornington. It will connect the rest of Melbourne with Mornington and Mt Martha, and offer safe off-road walking and riding for nearly 40% of the peninsula’s nearby residents. With a shared path in nature, alongside the Mornington Tourist Railway, it will also be a boost for year round visitation.
The Somerville to Baxter section of the trail received $7.7m in funding from the state and federal government. Construction has started and the section is expected to be open to the public by late 2025. Labor candidate for Flinders, Sarah Race, said she is looking forward to the improvements but said there’s still more to do.
“It’s great to see the first stage of the plan to remove these missing links coming together. On council I advocated for funding at all levels of government to connect the Peninsula Trail,” said Race. “If elected to represent Flinders in Canberra I will work hard to secure funding to complete all sections of the trail that are detailed in the Peninsula Trails Masterplan.”
Work on the Somerville to Baxter section includes extending the path from Eramosa Road in Somerville through to Golf Links Road in Baxter, upgrades to road crossings, and a signalised crossing point at Frankston-Flinders Road to improve pedestrian safety.
“My family and I love the outdoors. The Somerville to Baxter trail is the first of several links on the trail that need to be joined up so we can all get out in nature and safely enjoy everything the peninsula has to offer.”
The Peninsula Trails masterplan detailing the next steps was released to the public in draft form in December 2024 with community consultation closing on 31 January 2025. Following refinement, executive and council briefings, the masterplan is expected to be endorsed by council in mid-2025.
First published in the Mornington News – 18 February 2025
