Great Ocean Road Ridgeline Trail

Bellbrae Primary School parent Shauna Burford is one of three community champions behind the Ridgeline Trail Community Vision.

The 3.7km trail is parallel and to the north of the Great Ocean Road between Bellbrae and Torquay and is often frequented by children and their families riding to and from school.

“We’ve been working on this for about three years. It started after COVID when people were looking for ways to help people reconnect,” Shauna said.

“We noticed a lot of kids and their families riding along the trail. We went out to the community and schools and asked what they feel would encourage them to keep riding.

“For the parents it was about safety, and for the kids it was about fun, so the Ridgeline Trail Community Vision captures all those elements.”

It is a holistic vision, integrating active travel, recreation, and enjoying the environment through seating, interpretation signage, artwork, and playful off-pathway elements.

“It recognises nature is one of the Surf Coast Shire’s most valuable assets. The vision is linked to a variety of community groups including Bellbrae Primary School, Surf Coast Energy Group and Torquay Landcare,” Shauna said.

“The project was proposed to Council in June 2022, and Council’s Community Project Development Program then assisted us to capture our vision.”

The works include improving pathway quality and drainage, reducing weeds and rubbish impacting biodiversity and trail experience, improved road and pedestrian safety and pathway connections.

“We have a bit of work to do to transform it into a scenic community trail connecting us to nature and the places we want to go,” Shauna said.

Council is currently leading two pathway projects, funded via developer contributions, within the area covered by the Ridgeline Trail Community Vision.

This includes upgrading the existing 2.6km service road to a regional shared pathway from Christian College to Bellbrae Reserve as part of the Great Ocean Road Regional Pathway project. It also includes the design of a new section of the Great Ocean Road Regional Pathway (Christian College to Duffields Road) involving the remaining 1.1km trail section.

Do you have a project idea to make your community an even better place to live? Visit our Community Project Proposals page.