Expensive lack of councillor oversight: new bike path draws criticism

The pathway in question, currently under construction, runs parallel to Canadian Creek, down the quiet, tree-lined street of Steinfeld Street North in Golden Point and Ballarat Central.

"This would have to be one of the most expensive bike paths in the southern hemisphere - it beggars belief," said Bruce Crawford, president of the Ballarat Ratepayers and Residents Association.

"I don't think there'd be many people who would look at this project and say, 'yes, this is value for money' or 'I'm pleased this is where my recent rates rise has gone'.

"Given all the issues we have around roads and homelessness, the community is quite justified in questioning why we're spending so much on a new pathway, especially if there was a cheaper option."

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Initial plans developed under the Victorian government's $19.3 million Ballarat Safer Cycling Connections project earmarked the Steinfeld Street North roadway as a future shared cycling car zone. This conceivably owed to the quiet nature of the street, which is characterised by light and predominantly one-way traffic.

Based on estimates provided by the Department of Transport, the cost of transforming the roadway into a "safe cycling street" stood in the order of $35,400, covering such works as new signage, line-marking and minor alterations to road infrastructure.

Noting this was ultimately the sum provided to City of Ballarat for the project, the Department of Transport said any "additional investment" by council was a matter for council to explain.

In answer, City of Ballarat chief executive Evan King said council's decision to spend an additional $580,800 on the off-road pathway was primarily grounded in safety and amenity considerations.

"Under the [Victorian government's] Safer Cycling Connections program, there is no requirement of how the projects must look," he said, adding that there was, to this end, "no requirement" to create shared cycling car zones.

Contrary to the conclusions of the Department of Transport, Mr King said, council had determined the road's width would not safely accommodate a shared cycling car zone.

He also said widening the street's existing footpath would not "achieve the experience of being on the Canadian Creek trail" and that it would, in any case, "conflict with power poles and drainage requirements".

"The decision to construct an off-road trail is consistent with our desire to support the best possible outcomes for user safety, amenity and rider experience along the Canadian Creek trail," he said.

Yet notwithstanding the high costs associated with the project, it can be revealed that at no point were councillors briefed on its particulars relative to the less expensive alternative.

The project was instead released for tender in November last year, after being developed and devised by council officers following council's formal adoption of the Ballarat Cycling Action Plan five years ago.

In February of this year, the tender was awarded to Butler Excavations Pty Ltd by the contracts approval delegated committee - a committee comprising three councillors and members of the executive, which has the power to approve contracts valued between $500,001 and $2 million.

On its face, that committee appears to carry the same powers as the council chamber to scrutinise or reject the shape or form of projects suggested for tender. But Cr Ben Taylor, who chairs the committee, confirmed the committee's role was wholly confined to the tender assessment process.

"We're not provided with alternatives about the way projects can be achieved - not at all," he said.

"We're only assessing the summaries of each tender [application] that's provided against the tender specifications. So, even if there was another option for achieving the project it wouldn't be looked at by the committee."

It follows that the extent of councillor oversight with respect to the Steinfeld Street project was limited to council's approval of the 2017 cycling strategy and its ensuing adoption of the capital works budget 2021/22; however, unlike the other 119 projects funded in the budget under "capital works", no express reference is made to the Steinfeld Street works.

In a statement, Mr King also said councillors were briefed on "active transport" on 16 June 2022 - some four months after the tender was awarded and when works had already commenced.

But Mr King declined to be drawn on whether councillors were briefed on the specifics of the project, including cost, relative to alternatives before it was released for tender.

"There have been multiple points of approval in the Steinfeld Street North project process, as there is for all projects," he said.

Acknowledging the limited councillor oversight over the project, Cr Taylor said it wasn't necessarily the role of councillors to "micromanage how and when" a project develops.

"That's up to the officers and [councillors have] got to have confidence the officers are actually going to do the best for the city," he said.

In Mr Crawford's view, however, the ability of "unelected council officers to bypass" scrutiny was a matter of concern.

"We've got elected councillors and they should've been kept in the loop," he said. "When things go wrong it's always the councillors who cop criticism, not the officers."

"The lack of transparency and oversight around expenditure is appalling."

The construction of the shared footpath involves extensive excavation works and a retaining wall. The same works will soon commence along the next section of Steinfeld Street North, situated between Peel Street South and Barkly Street.

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