In June, Council launched the "Your Street Your Say" campaign, engaging with the community on a series of proposals. However, buried within these plans were changes—deemed “trials”—that were never properly consulted with residents. One such proposal is the trial of a one-way traffic system on Railway Place, which would force all traffic to flow east to west only.

This change would have a significant impact on local residents. Those living between Gillies Street to the east and Victoria Road to the west—including families, students, workers, and commuters—would be forced to take longer, more congested routes via Heidelberg Road to access essential services like Fairfield and Alphington Primary Schools, Wingrove Medical, local shops, and employment hubs. Heidelberg Road, already jammed with traffic and bike lanes, would bear the brunt of this added burden, particularly the bottleneck at the left turn onto Station Street.

The rationale behind the one-way proposal is to address “rat-running” traffic using Railway Place as a shortcut to avoid the left turn onto Station Street from Heidelberg Road. While this is a valid concern, the one-way trial is an overblown, blanket solution that will only worsen the situation for local residents. It’s a short-term fix that fails to address the root cause of traffic issues and disrupts the daily lives of the entire community, forcing many to endure longer travel times and more congestion on already strained roads.

We urge Council to reconsider this one-way proposal and explore more targeted, effective solutions to reduce through-traffic, without compromising residents who rely on local roads for easy access to their homes and essential services.