Doonside station upgrades overlooked in 2019 State Budget
Doonside station has again missed out on funding for much-needed upgrades in this year’s State Budget, despite a 20-year community campaign.
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Doonside station has missed out on lifts once again, despite almost 70 stations receiving funding for upgrades in yesterday’s State Budget.
The station missed out on a slice of more than $330 million in funding when NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet handed down the 2019/20 budget on Tuesday.
While 68 stations will be upgraded as part of the State Government’s Transport Access Program, Doonside did not make the list.
Blacktown state Labor MP Stephen Bali said he was ‘devastated’ that Doonside had missed out once again.
“Once again, minor stations have been funded and Doonside has demonstrated a need in numbers, parents with prams and people with a disability, yet they overlooked us,” Mr Bali said.
“This is nine budgets in a row that this government has refused to fund it.”
Mr Bali said he was disappointed the station would again miss out on much-needed accessibility upgrades, including lifts, and a commuter carpark.
“If Doonside lifts is not on the Forward Estimates for the next four years, we’ll never get funded,” he told the Advocate today.
“The government is setting Blacktown up to fail. We’re doing the heavy lifting and we get very little funding.”
More than $885 million has been allocated over four years to upgrade stations across the state with new lifts, ramps and footbridges.
For more than two decades, Doonside residents have lobbied both Labor and Liberal State Governments for upgrades.
Despite a $960,000 facelift in 2017, major upgrades continue to be overlooked.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson told the Advocate station upgrades were continually reviewed.
“Transport for NSW will continue to consider Doonside Station for an accessibility program as part of Transport Access Program,” the spokesperson said.
A range of criteria, including Opal data, demographics, expected future growth, proximity to key facilities such as education and health and on the ground site investigations, are used to determine station upgrades.
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