Sky rail protesters vow to fight Victorian Government’s plans

UPDATE: ANGRY sky rail protesters have taken their fight to Spring St, rallying outside State Government offices this morning.

this morning at vivtoria's treasury place people held a protest against the Andrews' government new Skyrail Proposal pictured is Emily (10) Picture: Paul Loughnan

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ANGRY sky rail protesters have taken their fight to Spring St, rallying outside State Government offices this morning.

About 30 residents affected by the plan to run sky trains on three sections of the Cranbourne-Pakenham line chanted and waved signs for more than an hour.

“This is just the beginning,” protest leader Karlee Browning said.

“It’s a visual blight on my property and I don’t want it. Nobody asked for my say — I have had no choice, I have had no voice in this whole consultation process.”

Nearly 3000 people have signed a petition against the proposal which Opposition planning spokesman David Davis said he would table in Parliament tomorrow.

Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan visited Noble Park station this morning and said the plan would ease congestion caused by level crossings in the southeast.

Skyrail protest. Picture: Jay Town

She said there had been “significant consultation” and that every affected resident would have access to an individual case manager to deal with their concerns.

With the project to open up the equivalent of 11 MCGs of open space, Ms Allan said she was “really looking forward” to having conversations with residents about how that space could best be used.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the government had consulted residents about the sky rail plan, which was revealed by the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday.

But hundreds of furious residents, who yesterday gathered at Murrumbeena’s Boyd Park, said the government had not consulted them on the sky train, vowing to continue protesting against the project.

A government press release yesterday said the designs were informed by more than 1500 pieces of community feedback.

However, the government could not identify how many of the consultation documents related specifically to the sky train, rather than the level crossing removal project as whole.

Ms Browning, whose Carnegie home sits metres from the sky trains, said she was never asked for input on whether the line should be elevated or underground.

Artist’s impression of a sky train.

“I fear my property will be overshadowed, and for the privacy of my young children playing in the backyard and in the pool, and I hold grave concerns for the impact on my property value,” she said.

“We will now be pushing the Government to come back and have an open, transparent community consultation.”

Residents have been voicing their concerns about the proposal since the Herald Sun revealed the plan was being considered in January. Nearly 3000 people have signed a petition against the proposal.

Mr Andrews yesterday did not rule out some residents being compensated — but did rule out land being acquired.

“Each and every one of those residents will have a case manager from the Level Crossing Removal Authority who will work through all the different issues,” he said. “This tired and ugly rail corridor will become one of Melbourne’s largest community open ­spaces with room for parks.”

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said Mr Andrews should have taken the sky train proposal to the election. “If he had taken an elevated railway proposal to the ­election, people would have had a chance to make a decision,” he said.

The project includes five new elevated stations at Carnegie, Murrumbeena, Clayton and Noble Park. Construction is due to start this year and be completed before the state election in ­November 2018.

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