A community push is under way to unite the two halves of West Footscray via a footbridge over the railway lines.
An online petition calling for a new footbridge between Sunshine Road and Cross Street in West Footscray has attracted 200 signatures within days of being launched.
Petition creator Mitch van Kaathoven said a link in the vicinity of the Roberts Street intersection would bring benefits to people on both sides of the tracks and encourage interaction between the two neighbourhoods.
“It would make life a lot safer for our children and will connect the two areas, avoiding the need for so many cars on the road,” he said.
Mr van Kaathoven said the railway lines served as a wall keeping the suburb divided and many residents isolated from shops and services.
Existing pedestrian crossings at Tottenham and West Footscray stations, about two kilometres apart, were “super dangerous” to try to reach given the amount of traffic and heavy truck movement in the area.
Mr van Kaathoven believes a new footbridge would bring more people from the south of the line into the Barkly Village shopping strip, also giving people north of the line better access to open space at Hansen Reserve.
While conceding the project could be expensive, he believes the booming population and traffic safety concerns mean the project warrants consideration.
Maribyrnong council’s 2008 West Footscray Urban Design Framework document contains just such a “proposed footbridge”, but mayor Catherine Cumming said the necessary height of any crossing would make the required disability access requirements almost impossible to meet.
“If you look at the little footpath on the side of Sunshine Road and then think about the ramps you would need, I don’t even know if you could actually do it,” she said.
“When you look at the amount of infrastructure needed for the West Footscray station crossing, for all that amount of money … I’m not sure you could even contemplate a walkway over the rail there.”
A VicTrack spokeswoman said any decisions about a pedestrian bridge over the railway lines would sit with Maribyrnong council.
“Transport agencies would get involved during the actual construction, to ensure rail services aren’t affected,” she said.
Mr van Kaathoven said the petition was launched to gauge interest and the next steps would be further planning and lobbying.
