By Kerri-Anne Mesner
ST ALBANS traders have hit out at the State Government’s audit on level crossings across Victoria, despite two major risk level crossings in the area being in the top five of a list of more than 1800.
Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the completed list of level crossing assessments (for 1872 level crossings), based on nationally agreed safety criteria, was a working document for road and rail safety experts to plan for upgrades.
St Albans Traders Association president Sebastian Agricola said the association welcomed the news that the Main Rd level crossing was number four on the list and the Furlong Rd level crossing was number five on the list but the association had concerns over proposed solutions.
“The devil is in the detail,” Mr Agricola said.
He said the association had heard the State Government proposed a bypass of the St Albans shopping precinct and grade separations (aligning a junction of two or more transport axis at different heights).
“We don’t want a bypass,” Mr Agricola said.
He said a bypass would not solve any safety issues as traffic would still flow through Main Rd to access the St Albans shopping precinct, along with congested pedestrian traffic.
Association secretary Asip Demiri hit out at the report released last Wednesday, saying a similar report was released in 1999 and had Main Rd as number one and Furlong Rd as number three on the priority list.
He said the 1999 report was released before the expansion of Sunshine Hospital, Victoria University and the establishment of Cairnlea.
Mr Demiri said it was also before metro trains starting running through St Albans.
The report released last week by the State Government showed that level crossings on Springvale Rd in Nunawading and Springvale were first and second priorities, while Mitcham Rd in Mitcham was the third.
Mr Demiri said he did not understand how Springvale Rd level crossings were seen as a higher priority than St Albans’ crossings considering the media had reported 10 near misses in the past three years as the State Government’s reasoning for their priority status.
He said he could not understand how near misses could take priority over fatalities.
“Of course the Eastern Suburbs are more important,” Mr Demiri said sarcastically.
“We’ve had nine people die on our rail tracks (in St Albans) in the past eight years.”
Last year, there were three people killed on the tracks in St Albans — all three were pedestrians.
In 2004, three people were killed at the Furlong Rd level crossing when their car was stuck on the track.
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Mr Demiri said he was concerned that while Main Rd and Furlong Rd level crossing were in the top five of the priority list, any solutions to address the high risk of accidents at these crossings would not be put place in order of the priority list.
He said an example of the State Government ignoring its own priority list was seen when roads identified as riskier than Taylors Rd were ignored — including Main Rd — and the State Government allocated funds for the duplication project in the Brimbank area.
The St Albans Traders Association has sent a letter to Brimbank City Council highlighting the association’s concerns with the level crossings and other traffic issues in the area, along with concerns over the State Government’s proposed solutions and what the association would like to be done to address safety concerns.
Mr Demiri said the association was working diligently with the local State and Federal MPs to get the relevant ministers and departments to understand the issues in the area and to address them in the near future.
There are 10 other level crossings in Brimbank in the top 160 on the list, including the non-metro line level crossing on Anderson Rd in Sunshine at 49, the non-metro line level crossing on Fitzgerald Rd in Ardeer at 57 and the metro line level crossing on Anderson Rd in Sunshine at 64.
Victoria Univerity’s Iramoo Sustainability Centre volunteers welcomed the news the Furlong Rd level crossing had been identified as the fifth riskiest level crossing in Victoria and were hoping a connected bicycle path across the tracks (or underneath, depending on works to be carried out) would be part of the solution.
