Thursday, 7 April 2022

Sandringham electorate transport infrastructure

Mr ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (17:15): (6334) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, and the action that I seek is for the minister to meet with representatives of Bayside council and Kingston council and me to discuss the removal of the dangerous and congested Highett Road and Wickham Road level crossings and to discuss Kingston council’s proposed plan for the Cheltenham Suburban Rail Loop station and precinct.

The major projects being undertaken in Highett over the next decade must not be seen in isolation. There are many planning, social and environmental impacts that need to be considered. There are three significant locations that must be considered as part of the Highett level crossing removal and the Suburban Rail Loop development, including the planned high-density residential high-rise to be built on former CSIRO land on Graham Road, directly impacting traffic along the Highett station activity strip; the vacant land at the Highett gasworks site, currently owned and managed by Development Victoria and earmarked for development; and the Sir William Fry Reserve, which is set to lose some 40 per cent of its open space to the Suburban Rail Loop project without provision of high-quality open space to offset those losses.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting at Highett Road’s level crossing with the mayor of Kingston council, Cr Steve Staikos; deputy mayor of Kingston council and local ward councillor, Jenna Davey-Burns; and deputy mayor of Bayside council, Cr Hanna El Mouallam. This was after an earlier one-on-one meeting with Kingston’s mayor, Cr Steve Staikos, to discuss these important projects. Cr Staikos and Kingston council, together with Bayside council, are as one on the matter of the removal of both the Highett Road and Wickham Road level crossings. It is disappointing to note that the government has not yet announced the removal of these crossings, but of course there is opportunity for it to do so in the budget during the next sitting week. Our meeting was the coming together of the two councils, Cr Staikos, Cr Davey-Burns, Cr El Mouallam and me to discuss the need for this project to be undertaken and why it is important for the Victorian government to consult with our communities and local councils about future such projects.

Cr Staikos also drew my attention to some of the wonderful work done by Kingston council. I was handed a report that identifies key issues with the government’s Suburban Rail Loop. Cr Staikos explained that through strong community engagement they were able to design a vision that would provide greater growth and opportunity for the local community. By considering the future of these three sites and using this information to inform how we remove Highett’s level crossings and develop the Cheltenham Suburban Rail Loop precinct, there will only be a better outcome for our communities. Again, I implore the minister to meet with Cr Staikos, Cr El Mouallam, representatives of council and me to understand the strongly held views of locals and get these generational projects done correctly.