The Minister for Transport Infrastructure has decided the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) will build a separated, on-road, Copenhagen-style cycling corridor on Queens Avenue, Caulfield.  

While Council was supportive of progressing an on-road Queens Avenue option, our support was conditional on the LXRP being transparent and giving meaningful consideration to safety and amenity enhancements through the detailed design phase. The Minister’s decision will understandably come as a major disappointment to residents, after more than 900 people took the time to share their views and suggestions. 

We are very concerned to learn the LXRP will not investigate any of the suggestions Council put on behalf of the community to reduce parking loss and boost safety through the detailed design phase. The Minister has dismissed Council’s recommendations without evidence, including the suggestion to move the kerb on the western side of Queens Avenue.   

We called for evidence to support their statement that moving the kerb would require major and untenable disruption to underground infrastructure, but this call for transparency has gone unanswered.   

Dismissing community recommendations without evidence demonstrates a concerning lack of accountability and raises questions about the integrity of the LXRP’s detailed design phase. We feel that we have been left with no option but to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to better understand how their assessment was made. We will consider undertaking our own independent assessment of the options if we don’t receive this information. 

We welcome the Minister’s advice that revegetation works on Derby Crescent will start soon but we are concerned that there appears to be little opportunity for the community to review and provide feedback on the proposed works. We encourage the LXRP to show greater respect for our community by involving them more in the design.   

Council’s focus will now be on holding the LXRP to account through the detailed design to ensure the process is transparent, and the design is safe. We believe there is still an opportunity for the Minister and the LXRP to do the right thing for the community and look at every available option to minimise the impact on local amenity and parking in particular. 

Cr Anne-Marie Cade
Mayor

Click here to read the letter from The Hon Danny Pearson MP.

Click here to read Mayor Cr Anne-Marie Cade’s full response to The Hon Danny Pearson MP.