The Djerring Trail is a 17-kilometre shared path for commuters, pedestrians and cyclists, built as part of the Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project initiated by the Victorian Government.
The continuous route from Caulfield to the EastLink Trail connects cycle and walking paths that run through transport interchanges and community ‘activation nodes’, connecting several suburbs through linear parks.
Designed by ASPECT Studios and COX Architecture, the Djerring Trail was conceived to improve public amenity and make use of underutilised or redundant public spaces around Melbourne’s busiest rail corridor. Spanning Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, the project elevated the existing rail line, removing nine ground-level crossings in the process and opening a previously underutilised realm to create new opportunities for community use and connection. The trail is considered one of Victoria’s largest public infrastructure projects in recent history, unlocking the potential of the land and transforming it into vital open space for public use.
The Djerring Trail features five station forecourts and associated open spaces, three linear parks and shared user paths, one civic square, five large-scale activation/ sport/ multigenerational spaces, multiple small community nodes, as well as integrated water management throughout the parks.
The optimised transportation hubs include amenities that encourage a multimodal approach to get around, while the station forecourts are designed to enhance the community experience. The activation nodes in the linear parks range from small areas with fitness stations, seating and picnic areas to larger neighbourhood locations with playgrounds, dog parks, basketball courts and leisure activities that encourage physical activity and community engagement.
Amenities provided along the trail include publicly accessible drinking fountains from CIVIQ with water bottle refill and dog-watering stations, distributed at a number of transport hubs and activation zones. CIVIQ’s Aquafil Bold 850BF drinking fountains installed on the Djerring Trail are engineered to endure outdoor environments.
The project brief for the drinking fountains sought DDA-compliance, robust construction, flexible functionality, vandal resistance and ability to withstand the rigours of public use. Following deep research, the chief engineer of the Level Crossing Removal Project specified the Aquafil Bold 850BF.
The Aquafil Bold combines a strong, sleek stainless steel design with a protective rubber mouth guard, an antibacterial bottle refill nozzle, as well as a dog drinking bowl accessory.
Standing 850mm tall, the Aquafil Bold features a robust stainless steel construction as well as a sculptural form to provide a visually appealing solution for outdoor settings. Compliant with AS/NZS 4020 standards, it has a DDA-compliant wheelchair-accessible design – an important consideration for today’s inclusive public environments.
The Aquafil Bold is also WaterMark Certified — one of the few lead-free certified drinking fountains on the Australian market.
An optional signage panel provides councils with the ability to include branded advertising, wayfinding or historical signage for public space users.
