Koonung Creek Reserve the green victim of North East Link
The devastation to Koonung Creek Reserve in Balwyn North for the North East Link Project has been revealed, and locals are furious.
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The devastation to Koonung Creek Reserve in Balwyn North for the North East Link Project has been revealed, and locals are furious.
The parkland, which runs linear to the Eastern Freeway between Doncaster and Bulleen roads, has been identified in documents released by Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan.
The Environmental Effects Statement (EES) reveals parts of the reserve will be used for “project structures or facilities such as shared use paths and would not be publicly accessible during operation, permanently altering the land use”.
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“This would mean that overall, the existing functionality of the open spaces would be maintained even though some of the physical space would be lost,” it reads.
The statement calls the impacts “temporary”, however, it has noted they “could last for most of the seven-year construction period in some places.”
About 1.6km of Koonung Creek will be also be piped.
Residents United Against North East Link Option A spokeswoman Lorrae Willox said the statement was “shocking”.
“Koonung Creek Reserve is the height of the Balwyn North community,” she said.
“We’re going to lose about 83 per cent of the park during construction, which will be about 7 years.
“Hundreds of cubic square metres of green space and thousands of trees will be lost. It’s the wrong decision for the community.”
Kew state Liberal MP Tim Smith agreed, labelling the link as “just a bad design”.
“During the election I made it clear that I supported a link between the Eastern Freeway and the M80, but not this design that would ruin Koonung Creek Reserve,” he said.
“It’s absolutely bizarre to channel thousands of extra cars down the freeway for it to just continue to end at a T-intersection at Hoddle St.”
The statement can be viewed at northeastlink.vic.gov.au and is now open for public submissions.
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