Albury Council votes against spending $25,000 on a feasibility study into Lavington-Jindera recreational path

Councillors were on Monday night presented with an option to jointly fund a feasibility study into the Jindera Gap path with Albury and its northern neighbours to contribute $25,000 each.

Cr Mack joined Cr Murray King, Cr Graham Docksey and Cr Alice Glachan in opposing council funding the detailed study after deputy mayor Amanda Cohn, Cr David Thurley, Cr John Stuchbery and Cr Henk van de Ven backed the investigation to be carried out by an external consultant.

Cr Darren Cameron was an apology for the meeting.

Significant environmental issues were raised in early analysis of the project, but staff recommended a feasibility study be carried out based on more than 600 people responding to a survey.

Cr Glachan, Cr Docksey and Cr King raised major concerns about the project cost and in response staff member Steve Millett confirmed it could run into "multi millions of dollars".

"We had a significant amount of people from Jindera writing in, but almost zero from Holbrook, Culcairn or anywhere else in Greater Hume," Cr King said.

"The report was pretty clear when it used words such as significant roadside environmental areas.

"We're going to knock down a lot of trees and rip up a lot of areas that might have the Sloane's Froglet.

"I can't see one net benefit for the residents of Albury.

"It is a costly waste of money".

Cr Thurley and Cr Stuchbery disagreed and felt spending $25,000 on a feasibility study would be "money well spent".

"Spending $25,000 to find out how greenie cyclists can balance off the need for cycling with the chopping down of a few trees is well worth it," Cr Stuchbery said.

"I'm waiting with bated breath to see how they are going to present that argument."

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Cr Cohn and Cr van de Ven have joined Greater Hume councillors on a working group looking at the project in the last two years.

"We need to take into account the status quo which is people ride their bikes up and down Jindera Gap and cars pass them by less than one metre," Cr Cohn said.

"It is only a matter of time until we have a fatality.

"We owe it to the 655 people who gave us their feedback and to the people who are currently unsafe to at a minimum ask the question, find out the information, how this might be done and how much it might cost.

"We can then make an informed decision."

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