Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Ashley Street underpass, West Footscray

Dr CUMMING (Western Metropolitan) (20:01): (2054) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety and Minister for Public Transport, and the action that I seek is for the minister to commission a traffic study on Ashley Street and Sunshine Road near the Tottenham underpass. I have previously raised the issue of the Ashley Street underpass at Tottenham station in this chamber. This underpass is at the intersection of Ashley Street and Sunshine Road. Sunshine Road has five lanes, yet the underpass has only got two lanes and creates this bottleneck in Ashley Street. This is an important north–south route linking Braybrook and Tottenham, but it also affects all the traffic from the port and from the east, from Footscray into Sunshine and through the west.

In response to my previous questions, the minister confirmed that the Ashley Street corridor does have a public acquisition overlay along key sections that secures additional land for future road widening. This would mean the possibility of Ashley Street being four lanes. The minister also confirmed that the upgrades completed as part of the regional rail link project considered the need for future road widening and that the newer part of the underpass was designed to leave space for those additional two lanes. Yet the minister never answered my question about the funding, the opening up of the underpass and where this project is as a priority for this government.

If a traffic study was completed, I am sure it would confirm that opening up the underpass is a priority. This area of West Footscray, Tottenham and Braybrook absolutely needs this underpass. It is the most important route into the city and into the west. We need the widening of Ashley Street. This government needs to make this a priority. It would seem that the government has looked at the area and made a Cross Street underpass a priority. Cross Street is just near Whitten Oval. Cross Street is only two baby lanes on the back of Whitten Oval, near West Footscray station. This government was more than happy to make a land swap with the Western Bulldogs to the tune of about $6 million or $8 million for that to occur and for the council to do that. But the main thoroughfare, which is Ashley Street and Sunshine Road, and the widening of Ashley Street from two lanes to four lanes this government has not made a priority. I need an answer from the minister.