Point Lonsdale Bike Park
- Project statusSeeking grant funding
Council worked on designing a bike park alongside the existing Point Lonsdale Skate Park, and pending successful grant funding, this park was expected to be a win for everyone in the community.
In 2024 Council applied for grant funding through the Sport and Recreation Victoria’s Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund. Council received notification that the grant funding application for a bike park in Point Lonsdale was unsuccessful. Council had allocated $179,000 in its capital works program to contribute to the project, however construction was contingent on securing external funding.
While this funding opportunity was not successful, Council remains committed to delivering a local bike park and will continue to work with the state government to identify alternative funding sources. Council will monitor upcoming grant opportunities throughout the current financial year and apply as they become available.
Bike Park concept design
Council conducted two rounds of consultation to finalise a concept design for the park and provided this feedback to a consultant to complete a technical design and finalise the project scope.
Council used the feedback shared during the first and second rounds of consultation to produce a concept design for the bike park. At the Ordinary Meeting of Council in February 2024, Council appointed Velosolutions Australia P/L to design the bike park.
The design was located on the vacant area of land at the intersection of Bellarine Highway and Point Lonsdale Road, which was a disused road reserve. Discussions with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action indicated the area was suitable pending Marine and Coastal Act Consent. A due diligence report on the cultural heritage values at this site had also been undertaken.
Some features of the concept include:
- A 105m long asphalt track suitable for all levels of riders including beginners and young children
- A 125m long asphalt jumps track including a berm top wall ride for more experienced bike riders
- Red safety lines and signage to determine a safe direction of travel
- A park shelter
- Shared existing toilet facilities with the adjacent skate park
- Access off the main shared path that runs from Queenscliff to Point Lonsdale.
Click on the image below to review the proposed 3D render of the park.
To review the concept plan, click on the photo below.
The process
Feedback received from the information session on Friday 6 December 2024, was considered in the final design and presented to Council for final endorsement in early 2025.
Council had sought Marine and Coastal Act Consent from DEECA to use the site, and an agreement with the Department of Transport and Planning was negotiated to use the vacant road reserve land.
A cultural heritage management plan was prepared to allow the construction works to proceed at this site.
Council allocated $179,000 in its capital works program to contribute to the bike park, however, construction of the park remained contingent on achieving funding through the State Government Local Sports and Infrastructure Fund. If successful, it was anticipated that construction would proceed in the second half of 2025.
Project Background
Council has heard from riders for a while that a new bike park would be a great feature for our local community. In fact, several participants in previous budget surveys told us this was one of the projects they most wanted us to invest in. We try to be responsive to ideas we get from local residents, and we think this is a great idea that will give riders a place to practice their skills and spend time together.
Council has closed a number of informal bike tracks in Point Lonsdale to protect sensitive coastal vegetation. We've really appreciated local riders staying away from these areas to help them regrow, but we know that this means there are even fewer places to ride than before. Building a proper bike park will give riders a fantastic new facility so they don't need to ride in areas with sensitive vegetation – the solution is a win for everyone.
In 2021, we conducted an initial round of consultation to learn where our community thought the park should go, and what it should include. We heard ideas from nearly 500 people as part of the first stage of consultation for this project. Click here to read the full stage 1 consultation report(PDF, 5MB). We used the ideas you shared with us to create a concept design for the park, which was taken to a second round of consultation through a workshop with local riders in May 2022. A feedback report for this workshop is available here(PDF, 1MB).