Grenville St crossing closure adds 40 minutes to commute, increases traffic
Young students have had to walk along busy Beach Rd to get to school after the State Government blocked access to Hampton’s Grenville St railway crossing. And parents say the closure could push more cars onto already busy roads.
Inner South
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Children are forced to walk an extra 20 minutes to school and back each day along a busy Bayside road after the State Government boarded up the Grenville St railway crossing.
The notorious Hampton crossing was shut in November for “upgrade design works”, despite documents obtained under Freedom of Information showing taxpayer money has already been spent on detailed drawings for the site.
And the move has been slammed as “ridiculous” by families with young children who now have to walk along Beach Rd to get to Hampton Primary.
The closure followed community outcry over the State Government’s decision to abandon promised safety works for the site.
Arlene Harriss-Buchan said closing the crossing — where grandmother Gloria Holmes was hit by a train and killed last year — had essentially divided the neighbourhood in two and made it harder to “duck down to the shops” on foot.
She said the closure could force more cars on to the road.
“Many of us do our best to walk to school, walk to the shops but now (the crossing’s closed) it’s so tempting to just drive,” she said.
“The closure has added an extra 10 minutes to our walk to and from school each day, that’s 40 minutes out of my day and additional effort to get the kids up and ready earlier to make it to school on time.
“It’s ridiculous they closed the crossing and very disappointing they didn’t listen to the community at all.”
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Ms Harriss-Buchan said she feared closing the crossing would have a financial impact on nearby businesses and sports clubs.
“It used to be a two and a half minute walk across the tracks to get to tennis for us, now it’s about 20 to 25 minutes,” she said.
“I know someone else who has moved their daughter to a different tennis club because it’s easier to get to after school.”
Ms Harriss-Buchan said there was no doubt the crossing needed gates and warning signals but “I don’t accept it’s so dangerous that it should be closed (in the meantime)”.
“It’s extraordinary that they would close it — I don’t know anyone who wanted it closed.
“It should be reopened immediately with or without improvements.”
The State Government has been contacted for comment.