Thursday, 17 August 2023

Constituency questions

Kew electorate

Jess WILSON (Kew) (14:50): (280) My question is for the Premier. Will the Premier release the $200,000 scoping study and business case for upgrading the century-old Walmer Street Bridge in Kew, commissioned by the Andrews government in 2018? Residents in the electorate of Kew are rightly frustrated by the management of Walmer Street Bridge. The bridge is comprised of three parts: the land bridge in Kew, owned by the City of Boroondara; the river bridge across the Yarra, owned and managed by the state government; and the land bridge in Richmond, owned by the City of Yarra. The river bridge has been facing persistent problems, including structural defects, splitting railing posts and failing beams. It is too narrow and simply not fit for purpose for both pedestrians and cyclists.

A failure of leadership and management by this government has led to both councils having to proceed with uncoordinated land bridge works, forcing prolonged periods of closure and greatly inconveniencing residents and cyclists. Despite committing to a scoping study to upgrade the bridge in 2018, the findings of which were never publicly released, this state government has since slapped a heritage listing on the bridge to prevent any improvements. As a result, when the bridge reopens the river bridge will have had no upgrade despite design and accessibility improvements to both land bridges. Residents in Kew need a new purpose-built bridge that meets the safety and accessibility standards, something I was proud that the Liberals and Nationals committed to at the 2022 election.