I finally got around to riding on the renewed Yarra Trail today, and in general it looks like it's been worth the (unreasonably long) wait. All of the ramps have been re-coated with that non-slip surface you often see at public swimming pools these days. I've no idea what it's called but it looks like it might be up to the task - someone has already tested its durability with a couple of nice black skid-marks that don't appear to have harmed the new coating in any way. The ramps don't seem to be as rattly as they were (the boards have probably been tightened up) and most of the loose metal joining plates have been fixed.
Persist
A few problems persist though: nothing has been done to flatten the troublesome joining plate at the Burnley Harbour crossing (it's still a neck-jolting, teeth-clunking bump if you're not expecting it) and the recently added extension to the plate at the bottom of the long ramp near the Church Street bridge remains uncovered and is a potential slip hazard in frosty or wet conditions. I expect there will be accidents here this winter unless it has a non-slip surface added.
But overall it's a good job and one can only hope that this is the beginning of a new era of preventative maintenance on this high-traffic route.
HRH
So in the unlikely event that Her Maj decides to throw her leg over a treadly and take a trundle along the main sewer during her five minute stopover in Melbourne tonight the city won't be embarrassed about having shoddy ramps on our pathways.