Some two hundred enthusiastic bike riders, pedestrians and residents of Richmond and Kew attended the It’s time to replace Walmer Street Bridge! rally on Saturday 4 August at Williams Reserve to hear Richard Wynne MP for Richmond and Minister for Planning commit $200,000 to the first stage of work needed to secure a replacement for the unsafe and structurally unsound Walmer Street pedestrian and bicycle bridge.

“We’re delighted to announce funding for a detailed business case and design process for Walmer Street Bridge – a critical piece of community infrastructure.” “We’re looking forward to getting both councils and community engaged in this important work,” Mr Wynne said.

The compelling case for a new bridge was supported by David Davis MP, Shadow Planning and Transport Minister, Tim Smith MP – Member for Kew and Kathleen Maltzahn, Greens Candidate for the Victorian seat of Richmond who also spoke at the rally.

In an engaged question and answer session, speakers welcomed the action on a replacement bridge now under way. The main messages to all political representatives were to ensure that critical design issues for all key users were addressed and that this should be quickly followed by construction of a new bridge capable of handling the rapidly growing traffic. The rally also saw the number of signatures on a petition to Parliament advocating for a new bridge pass three thousand.

Speaking after the rally, Sue Donovan of the Walmer Street Bridge Coalition said “We are very glad that the State Government is stepping in to take the leadership role in planning for a new bridge.” “Timing is everything,” she stressed. “It is critical to ensure construction is delivered by mid-2020 to dovetail with both Salta’s construction and the growing urgency to replace the Kew land bridge, Our Coalition will be working closely with the State and local government agencies to ensure this happens.”

Contact details:
Sue Donovan
0411 138 113
9429 5059

Mike Waller
0438 616 240
9853 1791