By Matthew Sims
Melton council has joined Brimbank council in calling for all major parties in the upcoming state election to commit to a new rail station at Calder Park.
As previously reported by Star Weekly, former Brimbank mayor Ranka Rasic raised a notice of motion at a council meeting last August, calling for the council to write to the state government to advocate for the construction of a new station at Calder Park, including the provision of parking facilities.
On top of building a new train station at Calder Park, Melton council has also advocated for an overhaul of the Calder Park Drive corridor between the Calder Freeway and the Melton Highway, replacing the current dangerous intersection with a full diamond interchange and duplicating the lanes.
The state government has committed to a business case to upgrade the Calder Park Drive and Calder Freeway interchange and has started work on removing the level crossing on Calder Park Drive.
Melton mayor Goran Kesic said a fully integrated transport approach would relieve congestion at the nearby Watergardens station and car park.
“Our rapid population growth will continue to put stress on our already congested roads and the overcrowded Watergardens station,” he said.
“By including a new station as part of the Level Crossing Removal project, there would be major cost savings and delivery of an integrated approach to transport infrastructure.
Cr Kesic said it would make sense to deliver all works at the same time as the level crossing removal.
“There is no benefit to the community to draw out the disruption from the partial closure of Calder Park Drive,” he said.
“Let’s get it done right.”
According to Melton council modelling, there would be more than 34,000 cars passing through the Calder Park Drive corridor by 2031 and 150,000 people living near Calder Park by 2051.
