Despite finishing its first section in May last year, there are plenty more works ahead for the Sturt Street shared path.
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So far, the path runs on the south side of the Sturt Street gardens and statue gallery, from Pleasant Street to Dawson Street - this is the area controlled by the state government.
After much community debate, a concrete path replaced an existing gravel path, which linked into a set of new intersection treatments for north-south crossings, including traffic lights and U-turns.
READ MORE: January construction blitz set to begin
This aimed to cut down on crashes, which were becoming an epidemic as traffic increased.
The next section, which is controlled by the City of Ballarat, will be from Dawson Street down to Grenville Street.
According to council, this $3.7 upgrade will also include streetscape works and a cycling lane, and will begin in late January - it will pay for about half, with the Department of Transport stumping up for the rest.
Tender documents from June state the 600 metre path will also include new pedestrian crossings at every intersection and is proposed to tie into the planned Bridge Mall upgrade, with cyclists able to run through the mall and into Bakery Hill.
It will also use cut bluestone to match the existing heritage streetscape.
There's another aspect of the first stage of the shared path that isn't quite finished yet, and it's become quite conspicuous during Ballarat's e-scooter trial.
While many readers commented they'd "never" seen anyone use the shared path since it was built - perhaps lockdown had something to do with this - it's now a safe and popular track for e-scooter riders, separated from traffic and easy to access.
However, if one wanted to go from Pleasant Street all the way to Bridge Mall, they'll quickly hit a snag - technically, there's meant to be little traffic lights for pedestrians across Sturt and Drummond streets.
Right now, there's a dead end, with a sign promising the traffic lights but urging people to use the existing lights away from the path, which means crossing Sturt Street, then Drummond Street, then Sturt Street again to get back on the path, which means waiting for three sets of lights to change.
Some good news, path fans - work's about to begin to fix this.
According to the Department of Transport, this final part will "address current access issues and provide a consistent path down Sturt Street for cyclists and pedestrians".
Works will include boring, open excavation, cabling installation, new signals, new kerbs, crossing and LED lanterns, line marking and road resurfacing, with 40km/h zones in place during works and some lane closures.
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In response to questions from The Courier, Regional Roads Victoria's Grampians region director Michael Bailey said in a statement the Sturt Street and Drummond Street intersection was one of the city's busiest, "which is why we're upgrading it to give pedestrians and cyclists a safer journey along the shared path, and upgrading the existing traffic signals to LED to improve efficiency."
Expect more works on Mair Street to kick off soon as well, with Black Spot funding to add turning lanes and remove centre parking between Armstrong and Mair streets "later in 2022".
A proposed set of traffic lights at Dawson and Mair streets appears to have been scrapped, with the department noting there are "no further plans" for work on Mair Street.
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