The Margate bridge is dangerous. The budget is in two weeks. Time to act.

The North West Bay River bridge on Channel Highway has no safe crossing for pedestrians or cyclists. Trucks pass within arm's reach. There's no barrier. That's the reality for anyone walking or riding through Margate right now.

I've lived in Huntingfield for six years. My family can't walk or ride the 5km to the Margate Tavern, Brookfield, or the Margate Train. Not because it's too far. Because the bridge and the highway are genuinely dangerous. In the other direction there's at least footpaths or tracks all the way to Kingston and Blackmans Bay. The contrast is hard to ignore.

Eight local residents have had enough. Roz Thurn, Don Stewart, Morris Worsley, Angela Brinkhoff, Jane Mole, Cam McFarlane, Ben Brinkhoff and Anne Briggs have been actively campaigning for a safe crossing. Don wrote to Infrastructure Minister Kerry Vincent in April, laying it out plainly: the bridge doesn't meet Australian design standards, the narrow ledge is barely walkable, and lowers the already inadequate barrier preventing a fall into the river. It's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt.

This week, Kingborough Council unanimously passed a motion recognising the Margate to Huntingfield Shared Path as a high-priority infrastructure project and committing to advocate to state and federal governments for funding. Good. That's the right call.

But the bridge sits on a state growth road. The state government owns this problem. Council can and should advocate, but Minister Vincent's department needs to deliver the fix.

This project has been crawling along for over six years. Realm Studios' 2024 Margate Mainstreet Master Plan calls for wide shared mobility paths as part of a broader vision for commercial and residential growth. Margate is growing. Making that growth car-dependent is a bad outcome for everyone.

People of all shapes, ages and fitness levels want to walk and ride to the Kingborough Bowls Club, Hopfields Brewery, the Margate Train, Inverawe Native Gardens. Right now, only the bold are doing it, alongside heavy vehicles with no separation. That's not good enough for a growing community.

The 2026–27 state budget is handed down on 21 May. That's two weeks away.

If you want to see this project funded, now is the time to say so. Contact Minister Kerry Vincent (Infrastructure and Transport) and Treasurer Eric Abetz and ask them to set aside funding for the Margate to Huntingfield Shared Path in this budget.

Kerry Vincent: [email protected]
Eric Abetz: [email protected]