Underpass closure short-sighted
The closure of the North Williamstown railway station underpass is putting lives at risk (Residents fear more train deaths, Star Weekly, May 20).
Impatient pedestrians are taking dangerous steps and risking their lives in order to bypass the new pedestrian crossing.
The new crossing, in operation for less than a fortnight, has automatic gates that are regularly closed for five to six minutes between trains. This, along with the removal of the underpass, has left pedestrians stranded on the wrong side of the track, prompting some to take extreme measures to cross the railway.
I have witnessed several pedestrians climbing over the automatic gate, pushing the emergency release button and even running onto the road and around the boom gates in pursuit of a train. The short-sighted, illogical move to remove the underpass without community consultation has resulted in a crossing design that might look safe on paper but is putting lives at risk.
Branwell Travers, Williamstown
Second crossing needed
Tim Pallas, Jill Hennessy and the Labor Party have again shown their contempt for the people of the west by opposing the much-needed western section of East West Link.
By opposing this congestion-busting second river crossing, Labor is consigning people to choke on decades of congestion and truck traffic on our streets. It is abundantly clear that only the Liberal Party cares for the people of Melbourne’s west.
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Andrew Elsbury
Time for action on trucks
A $900 fine is a joke (Truck crashes into Napier Street railway bridge, online).
No wonder these drivers continue to be careless. Imagine what the actual cost of this is. I’m so over trucks in our neighbourhood. When is the government going to get serious here?
Bill, via web
Francis Street works mishandled
It’s important to challenge regional director Patricia Liew’s contention that people had problems with VicRoads performing essential maintenance on Francis Street (Trucks’ detour brings chaos, Star Weekly, May 13).
People had issues with the incompetent handling of the truck traffic displaced by this work. This led to thousands of port trucks idling in gridlock for hours, only metres from vulnerable preps at Kingsville Primary School and two other primary schools on Somerville Road.
These problems were predictable and should have been planned for. When the problem became obvious on Monday, measures should have been taken on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to ensure trucks that weren’t local took the prescribed detour via the West Gate Freeway. Most of the problem truck traffic was port-related, none of which is local to Somerville Road. It was ultimately
Ms Liew’s responsibility to manage this. She should have done much better.
Jeremy Dillon, via web
Patricia Liew has a bit of cheek suggesting that the resurfacing work on Francis Street was all about creating a smoother surface for local traffic. If she is so concerned about local traffic, how about banning truck traffic from the port that is probably causing most of the damage in the first place?
VicRoads Doesn’t Care, via web
If the majority of Francis Street traffic was detoured via the West Gate Freeway, with access for locals via Somerville Road, then why was Somerville Road clogged up with port trucks for four days straight?
Confused, via web
