Residents in Surrey Hills and Mont Albert are increasingly angry about the Level Crossing Removal Project’s (LXRP) approach and plans for Surrey Hills and Mont Albert.

Residents have come together to form the Rail Corridor Residents Group (RCRG). We're advocating for more positive LXRP project outcomes for our community and residential streets.

We're deeply concerned about the negative impacts on liveability and our community if the LXRP’s updated design (due for release in mid-2021) fails to achieve the outcomes put forward by the RCRG.

The RCRG supports the removal of the level crossings at Surrey Hills and Mont Albert. However, we're extremely disappointed that the promise to rebuild the stations at Surrey Hills and Mont Albert has been broken.

The decision to position an amalgamated station directly adjacent to residential streets (in particular Lorne Parade and Beresford Street in Mont Albert) was announced without any community consultation and presents a very real threat to the liveability and character of our area.

Lorne Parade and Beresford Street are narrow, tree-lined residential streets that run adjacent to the existing rail line in Mont Albert. Mature trees screen the rail line.

The LXRP plans to construct a rail trench, new premium station, and shared user path which will encroach on Lorne Parade and most likely on Beresford Street. To accommodate the new station and shared user path, Lorne Parade and Beresford Street will lose almost all trees and vegetation. We've been given limited information but our understanding is that both streets will lose most, if not all, on-street car parking.

The impact of the rail trench and loss of trees and vegetation on residential streets extends well beyond Lorne Parade and Beresford Street to include Sunbury Crescent, Bedford Avenue, Montrose Street and Windsor Crescent in Surrey Hills and Churchill Street in Mont Albert.

OUTCOMES WE NEED 

The RCRG calls on the Government and the LXRP to include the following key outcomes in the updated design. These outcomes will offset loss of amenity and streetscape and help maintain the distinctive character of Surrey Hills and Mont Albert.

1. Capping (aka covering) of the rail trench from Mont Albert Road to the new station building on Lorne Parade and Beresford Street

Capping at this location will orientate the station entrances away from homes and reduce pedestrian traffic on Lorne Parade and Beresford Street.  It will create a visible and functional link to the planned vehicle drop-off zone on Mont Albert Road and the Mont Albert Village.

2. Landscaping to act as a buffer between residential areas and rail infrastructure and sympathetic trench screening

Trench screening will be in very close proximity to homes. Significant and creative landscaping and sympathetic screening are required on all streets adjacent to the rail trench to reduce the infrastructural impact of the trench and new shared user path.

3. Maximised rail trench depth

Maximised rail trench depth will ensure all railway and trench infrastructure is below ground level and reduce noise and light pollution. Importantly, maximised depth allows for trench capping and a cantilevered bike path. These features will deliver desperately needed benefits in terms of returning residential car parking, creating space for landscaping, and improving the safety of cyclists and pedestrians.

4. New traffic and parking management for residential streets surrounding the amalgamated station

The LXRP plans to construct a drop-off zone more than 80m from the station entrance on Lorne Parade and Beresford Street. It’s unlikely that commuters will use a drop-off zone that requires a lengthy walk if they can utilise residential streets and be dropped off much closer to the station entrance.

It’s critical that the Government and LXRP work closely and proactively with Whitehorse and Boroondara Councils to ensure residential streets do not become completely congested with traffic using the streets as de facto drop-off zones and for car parking for the new station.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The LXRP’s current approach to engagement and communication is fuelling community frustration and distrust. Residents have provided constructive and thoughtful feedback to improve project outcomes. The LXRP has failed to engage meaningfully with residents and continues to dismiss suggestions as ‘unfeasible’ without evidence or discussion. Consultation has been limited to superficial design elements such as paving and seating.

When residents have highlighted issues with the LXRP’s proposed design (e.g. the loss of 120 car parking spaces on residential streets), the LXRP’s response has typically been to brush them aside (e.g. ‘park elsewhere’) or to state that addressing the issue they’re creating is outside their scope.

The community’s confidence in the LXRP’s commitment to achieving positive outcomes is low and deteriorating further every day.

In order to address the significant concerns of the local community, we request the Government to direct the LXRP to:

• Engage in genuine and meaningful consultation with local residents rather than presenting design outcomes that have already been decided upon
• Hold face-to-face consultation sessions specifically for residents of Lorne Parade, Beresford Street, Sunbury Crescent, Bedford Avenue, Montrose Street and Churchill Street, and impacted households on Gordon Street, Wilson Street, Blackburn Street and Windsor Crescent
• Host face-to-face community meetings for all residents

We urge the Government to ensure the LXRP’s updated design lives up to the vision, principles, objectives, and measures detailed in the LXRP’s Urban Design Framework and other urban amenity policies.

We consider that this project presents real opportunities to make a positive difference for our local community. However, these opportunities will be lost if the LXRP’s design for this project fails to achieve the outcomes we've outlined. The impacts of this failure will be detrimental, far-reaching, and felt for generations.

We have asked Hon Jacinta Allan (Minister for Transport Infrastructure) and Hon Richard Wynne (Minister for Planning) to respond to the RCRG with an update on the outcomes we're seeking by 7 JUNE 2021.