Wednesday, 21 February 2024

Joseph Road precinct, Footscray

Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (17:47): (720) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, and my ask is that she commit to taking a role in coordinating and funding the appropriate works to make the Joseph Road precinct in Footscray safe and livable. The precinct is home to hundreds of people who live in several new high-rise developments. These residents are facing a plethora of road hazards on a daily basis, from atrocious pedestrian crossings to a lack of disability access, dirt roads, no bike paths and gutters littered with broken glass and debris from surrounding construction sites.

In November last year Frances Jeyann Ramirez was tragically killed when she was hit by two cars at a notorious intersection at this precinct. She was an international student from the Philippines, just 22 years old. Though her death sent shockwaves throughout the community, few people were surprised, as many of them had experienced near misses of their own.

I spoke recently with representatives from the Joseph Road precinct action group. They have fiercely been advocating for improved safety in the area for years to little avail. They say that the absence of safe crossings and pathways poses a tangible risk to pedestrians navigating many streets in the area. This is further exacerbated by unsafe road conditions and insufficient pedestrian infrastructure, which results in residents often walking on the road.

What we are seeing here are the direct results of the planning approvals made by then Minister for Planning Matthew Guy, which allowed property developers to build towers of heights that were double what the local council preferred. These approvals were also made with little community consultation and in opposition to the advice given by the Office of the Victorian Government Architect. It also appears that these property developers were not required to contribute much, if anything, towards the local amenity. This clearly demonstrates that when governments are beholden to property developers and possess unwieldy planning powers, it is the community and local councils who will ultimately pay the price in terms of amenity and safety and who are left to pick up the pieces.

The community are urging that the Joseph Road precinct to be upgraded for safer use by pedestrians and that the government make good on its promise for active transport infrastructure in the area. The local council has agreed that there are a range of improvement works that need to happen and that these should be largely developer funded. However, after years of inaction community members are growing increasingly frustrated. Minister, I am sure you would agree that the requests being made here are the bare minimum of what should be available to any community in any neighbourhood. My question is: will the state government take a role in coordinating and funding the appropriate works to make the Joseph Road precinct safe and livable?