Wednesday, 22 March 2023

Progress Street, Dandenong South, level crossing

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:43): (132) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure in the other place and relates to level crossing removals. Recently I met with the owners of businesses on Progress Street and Nathan Road in Dandenong South. Progress Street and Nathan Road form a dead-end street. The only way in and out is via the Progress Street level crossing. On the cul-de-sac side of the crossing there are several properties, all of them industrial manufacturing businesses. The roads are wide and well suited to the large trucks which need access to these businesses, and there is easy access to the freeway. The owners of these businesses specifically chose Progress Street and Nathan Road because of this road access, and the government is now taking it away from them with their level crossing removal so-called solution.

The government solution is not to remove the level crossing at all; instead they are just closing it and permanently splitting Progress Street in two. Then the government is proposing building a connecting road over Eumemmerring Creek to join Progress Street to the much narrower, windier and more congested Fowler Road. Fowler Road is not suited to the large trucks that use Progress Street, some of which carry single-span cranes which are up to 35 metres long, and it forces more traffic onto the already congested South Gippsland Highway. Every single business on the other side of the Progress Street level crossing would prefer that the level crossing remain in place than traffic be diverted onto Fowler Road.

There is very little congestion currently at the Progress Street level crossing. It is only used to access industrial manufacturing businesses. The Level Crossing Removal Project is supposed to be about decreasing congestion, not increasing it. So the action I seek is for the minister to save the government’s money by not removing the level crossing and not constructing a connecting road over Eumemmerring Creek, and I request in this action that the minister actually considers the impact that this will have on the businesses and meets with the people, along with me.