Tuesday, 30 August 2022

 Mr KENNEDY (Hawthorn) (15:41): I would like to talk about an issue that both constituents and traders have raised with me consistently over the last year, the Auburn station pedestrian crossing. As some of you may know from your visits to my leafy electorate of Hawthorn, when you arrive at Auburn station you are presented with a picturesque shopping strip. It is home to industrious local businesses like Piquancy, a terrific Indian restaurant where my wife had her 60th, incidentally, or the Auburn Hotel, which is a very pleasant pub. However, it is sorely in need of a pedestrian crossing next to Auburn station. This would not only link the two railway trails but allow a high number of pedestrians to not make the onerous detour to the lights at Burwood Road, all whilst removing a significant safety risk. That is why in the most recent budget we committed $250 000 to complete the bulk of the planning work for this project. Pedestrians should not have to run the gauntlet of the approximately 21 000 vehicles that pass through this crossing every day—another Andrews government triumph.