RESIDENTS fighting to preserve the heritage of the McKay Memorial Gardens have celebrated a significant redesign of the Anderson Road grade separation.
The Regional Rail Link Authority has gone back to the drawing board in a bid to appease residents and groups critical of early designs.
Changes include relocating power lines underground, cutting the footpath width from 3 to 1.5 metres and including a new pedestrian bridge joining the eastern side of Sunshine’s Anderson Road.
Footscray-Deer Park Alliance general manager Elliot Young said the compromises allowed heritage gates to stay in place and reduced the need for land acquisition in the HVMcKay Memorial Gardens.
The authority put the changes to invited members of key groups on Thursday night.
Friends of the McKay Memorial Gardens spokeswoman Michelle Edwards said the group was relieved the latest proposal had addressed the major impacts on the gardens.
“There are still some details to be revealed and concerns to be discussed but this proposal is a significant improvement,” she said.
“People in the west are passionate about their community and its heritage and it’s rewarding to see that their voice has been heard.”
But sticking points remain, such as the closure of King Edward Avenue as Anderson Road is lowered to take vehicles beneath the Bendigo and Sydenham railway lines.
Residents pushing for a public meeting on the project have accused authorities of picking off selective groups and residents, rather than dealing with the full range of concerns.
Sunshine Residents and Ratepayers Association president Darlene Reilly said the “cobbled together plans” would effectively landlock Albion.
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Bernie Finn has raised the matter in Parliament, asking Transport Minister Terry Mulder to “facilitate a consultation process” between the authority and residents.
