Hello bridge supporters On Monday night, Darebin Council accepted the feasibility study for improved pedestrian and cyclist access over the Merri Creek, and voted to commence detailed design of a new bridge between Northcote and East Brunswick, running from near Beavers Rd to near Kingfisher Gardens. We are delighted that Council voted in favour of the project, with no argument against it! An excerpt from Council's agenda with the full motion is available at the link at the bottom of this update. - Council accepted Option 4. It's an interesting read, with designs for the bridge, a picture of an indicative cable stay bridge, and even a timeline. The link to the full feasibility study into the bridge can also be found at the bottom. Darebin Council also voted to consider funding their $1.165 million share of the construction costs as part of their 2017-18 budget, and to ask Moreland Council to do the same. Moreland has already contributed $75,000 towards the detailed design. We are so grateful to all the people who have campaigned for a bridge over many years, and it was lovely to hear this acknowledged by Council on Monday night. We have a photo and story appearing in next Wednesday's Northcote Leader and dearly wanted to invite all of our supporters to be part of the photo, but the Leader asked us to keep it small. Maybe when we get funding for the construction of the bridge we can do something bigger? That is the next stage of the campaign - securing funding from both Councils in their 2017-18 budgets to construct the bridge - and with Council elections happening this October, we need to ensure all candidates know how important this bridge is to residents in Northcote and East Brunswick, as well as our supporters from further afield. Next Wednesday 14 September is Moreland Council's last meeting before they go into caretaker mode and we'll let you know if the bridge is on the agenda, as we might need some supporters there. We're currently looking to organise a tour of the site to familiarise everyone with where the bridge will be located and talk through the proposed design - stay tuned for the date. In the meantime, three cheers for all of you who helped make the case that a new, safer bridge over the Merri Creek was needed. Best regards Helen McDonald and Juliet Hall On behalf of the Merri Creek Bridge Group merricreekbridge@gmail.com Link to Darebin council agenda - great read about the bridge. Go to pages 17-26. You will probably need to cut and paste. http://www.darebin.vic.gov.au/-/media/cityofdarebin/Files/YourCouncil/HowCouncilWorks/MeetingAgendasMinutes/CouncilMeetings/2016/5Sep/Council-Meeting-Agenda--5-September-2016.ashx?la=en The link to the full feasibility study into the bridge (cut and paste): http://www.darebin.vic.gov.au/-/media/cityofdarebin/Files/YourCouncil/HowCouncilWorks/MeetingAgendasMinutes/CouncilMeetings/2016/5Sep/Item-603-Appendix-A--Council-Meeting-5-September-2016--Merri-Creek-Bridge-Feasibility-Study.ashx?la=en