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Quarry Park, Footscray

Quarry Park is a large municipal reserve located off Farnsworth Avenue in Footscray. The land was a former quarry and then landfill site, which ceased operation in 1988.

Status

Council endorsed the Quarry Park Master Plan (the Master Plan) in December 2016, which aims to deliver a dramatic, sculpted landscape which creates a distinct character as viewed from the surrounding area, while maximising the experience of the open, elevated landscape with spectacular views.

The Master Plan caters for a variety of activities including: play; walking; biking; informal sports; social gatherings / picnics and barbecues; and community events. The Park also contains the Korean War Memorial, honouring the Australians who served in the Korean War, 1950-53.

The implementation of the Master Plan is being staged over a number of years.

Stage 1 Works and Mountain Bike Facilities

The first stage of soil capping of the upper oval and northern edge of the site and turf and irrigation improvements were undertaken in 2019.

This allowed the Mountain Bike Trails and Skills Park to open on 12 October 2019.

Stage 2 Capping Works

We’ll be completing capping works required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the latter part of 2024, to support further improvements to Quarry Park.

Capping involves adding additional layers of compacted early to the top layer of the existing landscape to manage any contamination from previous use of the land as a quarry.

These works will include importing and laying of soil, topsoiling and hydro-seeding, along with the installation of swales and irrigation across approximately 3.25 hectares in the eastern part of the Park.

Works are scheduled to begin in September and take around six months to complete.

As part of the site preparation, the work area will need to be closed to facilitate any asbestos removal, ground preparation and week removal. There will also be periods of restricted access to the bike track during these works.

In the interests of your safety and that of the workers, please adhere to any signage and follow the instructions of the crew.

Site entry is planned off Skyline Drive, where a 10 km/hr speed limit will be in place. Signage will be posted in advance and traffic management in place to support safe navigation.

These works will support the implementation of further elements of the Quarry Park Master Plan 2016, which is also scheduled for review over the coming months.

The Mountain Bike facilities at Quarry Park comprise:

an ascent trail rated easy/green
an easy/green descent trail
two intermediate/blue descent trails, one with jumps
a skills park; a single direction loop with three tracks in the flat area focused on skills development with technical features such as balance beams, berms, rock features etc
pump tracks (junior track with dirt surface and intermediate track with asphalt surface) with highly sculpted loops full of rollers and berms that users can 'pump' around without pedalling.

These facilities were delivered in a partnership with the Victorian Government through a Community Sports Infrastructure Grant.

Visitors driving to Quarry Park are encouraged to park at Footscray Park off Farnsworth Avenue where there is ample public parking

Safety improvements

A new retaining wall is being constructed at the interface of the Park to stabilise the embankment along Hillsdale Avenue.

These works will involve removing existing cyclone fencing, constructing a new low retaining wall, drainage works, and mulching the existing planted slope.

They are scheduled to begin during the week of 19 August 2020 and take around three weeks to complete, weather permitting.

A portion of Hillsdale Road and adjoining footpath in front of the area where the retaining wall is being build will need to be blocked off during these works. Traffic management will be in place to help road users and pedestrians move through the area.

Further Information

If you have questions in relation to the retaining wall or capping works, please email projects@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au with Quarry Park in the subject line.