The second of two Community Workshops for the Tonsley Line Review was held on Thursday 20 June 2019 from 6:00 p.m.– 7:30 p.m. at the Mitchell Park Sports & Community Centre regarding “Setting Community Priorities” to prepare a report by 28 June 2019 for the Hon. Stephan Knoll MP, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government, Minister for Planning with whom the final decision about a new station lies.

Attendance was roughly the same in number as the previous workshop (25–30 people) except the mix of people was different: approximately half had attended the previous workshop and the others were attending a Tonsley Line Review workshop for the first time.

Most people understood that the original Tonsley station was going to be removed to make way for the Flinders Link overpass/viaduct and that the purpose of the workshop was to prioritise the issues raised in the previous workshop; however there was at least one disruptive attendee who wanted to shout over the proceedings. 

It seems that there are people in our community who are extremely distressed about the loss of Tonsley station who did not even realise it was being removed until the announcement of the community workshops. The disruptive behaviour was interpreted as coming from places of grief, loss, fear and anger. Community members reached out to explain the situation and once the behaviour had calmed down, everyone was then able to focus on the task at hand in an orderly fashion.

The previous workshop produced issues which were collated into
Five Key Themes:

1.  Increase services

·         Provide weekend services

·         Commence services earlier in the day

·         Run services later at night

·         Increase frequency of services during peak periods

·         Duplicate track

2.  A station (and Service) that is accessible for all – equity of access is considered

·         Locate consolidated (new) station at the midpoint between the existing Clovelly Park and Tonsley stations (also epressed as the midpoint between Flinders Uni Station and Mitchell Park Station).

·         Build new station at location of existing railway station.

·         Locate stations in a reasonable walking / wheeling distance from all users.

·         Acceptable walking distance will vary depending on a person’s level of disability – consider this when determining acceptable distances for access.

·         Access to stations for people with disability (or other mobility impairment) is a high priority as they have less capacity to travel distances and less transport alternatives to able-bodied passengers.

·         When locating the new station ensure that footpaths and road networks provide access to the station as planned.

·         Avoid residential roads to provide vehicular access to the station.

·         The quality of footpaths in the area are not safely passable for people who require mobility assistance. Paths are uneven and overgrown by vegetation. The low quality of footpaths will mean that some residents will not be able to access train services.

·         Clovelly Park Station and Flinders Uni Station are both too far for residents living at the southern end of the existing Tonsley line.

·         Consider safety of pedestrian networks connecting to the train station (e.g. lighting, sight lines, footpath quality etc.)

3.  Amenity and infrastructure

·         Adequate off-street carparking should be provided

·         Provide shelter at stations

·         Adequate lighting

·         CCTV

·         Kiss and ride options are desirable

·         Incorporate electronic signage

·         Safe access from the station to the train (this is not provided at Mitchell Park Station)

·         Incorporate public art in the station

4.  Assist the community to maintain quality of life during construction

·         “How are we meant to access the train service once Tonsley station is closed?”

·         The current footpath network does not allow for safe access between the existing Tonsley Station and Clovelly Park Station

5.  Engage with the community and listen to what is important to us

·         Residents want to be more considered than they have been to date

·         Feel that concerns about construction impacts have been dismissed as “short term” when the community has been affected by them for over 2 years

·         Would like decision makers to help solve problems, not just say why they can’t (e.g. footpaths – who will actually fix them?)

Workshop attendees were also presented with maps and asked to place ‘sticky dots’ in the locations where they would like to see a new station built.  The maps inaccurately included images of houses on Chestnut Court that are no longer there – the houses were removed by the State Government. This was noted by residents on the maps.

Suggestions for suitable pedestrian crossover points were drawn onto the maps. People also marked the maps with places that are dangerous right now because of current traffic conditions caused by construction related to the Darlington Upgrade and Flinders Link plus other areas of concern about potential danger in relation to future development.  Other suggestions for potential routes and development were also documented in this way.

Many people want the new station to be at the southern end of the Tonsley Innovation Precinct where there is room for a Park’n’Ride facility.  The potential of a road extension of Mimosa Terrace, Tonsley as an access point to this location from South Road (for commuters travelling from Aberfoyle Park and Happy Valley etc.) would reduce the pressure of traffic along Birch Crescent which is already a narrow, dangerous thoroughfare which was planned to be extended as a southern access route to the Tonsley Innovation Precinct. 

Locals are concerned that Birch Crescent is already too dangerous. They say they “take their lives into their hands” every time they are forced to drive along Birch Crescent (their only exit from the suburb during Darlington/Flinders Link construction) because the narrow street and parked cars force them to drive on the wrong side of the road to get through. Meanwhile the curved street is frequented by speeding motorists going in the opposite direction. The intersection of Birch Crescent and Sturt Rd has already been the scene of accidents and near-misses.

There is a concern that one of the attendees was spotted rolling up one of these maps and taking it with them at the end of the evening!  Let’s hope they were just helping to gather materials for the facilitators. I wonder if that was an unmarked map or one of those that were photographed on the night.  I do hope the workshop facilitators were able to get all of the information.

The results of the two workshops will be written into a report for the Transport Minister Stephan Knoll with a deadline of 28 June 2019.  Draft copies will go to the Department for Transport,Infrastructure and Planning and also to the City of Marion. Gould Thorpe Planning insists that the drafts will not be able to be edited by either DPTI or council but provided as a courtesy to allow them to plan for community needs. 

It would be more transparent and a courtesy to the community if the report became publicly available too.

The final decision about the placement of a new consolidated station lies with Minister Knoll.