Tuesday, 4 February 2025

Western Metropolitan Region

David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (14:04): (1320) My constituency question was originally directed to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety in October, but it apparently falls within the purview of the Minister for Planning. So, take 2.

Last year the Premier announced 25 new precincts for increased housing density around railway stations as part of the activity centre housing program. While my constituent supports locating housing in transport corridors, designating Tottenham as an activity centre will inevitably put more strain on the Ashley Street underpass, which I have raised in this place previously. It is the only north–south railway crossing within a five-kilometre area and has only one lane each way. It has no bike path, and the narrow footpath, the only entrance to the station from the north, floods whenever it rains. With Tottenham being slated for hundreds of new homes, my constituent asks: will the government consider additional rail crossings, or is the plan to simply funnel more residents through Melbourne’s most miserable underpass?