A WOMAN whose son was killed at a St Albans level crossing has vowed to continue pressuring the state government to fulfil its promise to separate the tracks.
Dianne Dejanovic’s son Christian died in January after he was hit by a train while walking through St Albans’ Main Road crossing.
More than 50 residents, family and friends rallied at the site last Monday, marking what would have been his 32nd birthday.
They held signs reading “16 and counting — how many lives need to be lost?” and “My son was killed at the St Albans Railway Crossing”.
Ms Dejanovic said the rally was a desperate call for the government to begin removal works and prevent more deaths.
She said while pleased with the turnout, she was distressed that posters and banners had been ripped down from the crossing moments after she left.
She said protesters, who rallied from 6am until 12.30pm, left to visit Christian’s grave and returned two hours later to find all signage had been removed.
Ms Dejanovic said she spent more than $1000 on banners and posters and planned to use them for another rally at the site on November 17 to coincide with a pre-election promise made by Transport Minister Terry Mulder.
Many of the banners were found crumpled in bins surrounding the station. “I feel this is an act of disrespect against my son, my family and the whole community,” she said.
“This is about saving lives. I will continue to rally until changes are made.”
More than 2500 people have signed Ms Dejanovic’s petition calling for the tracks to run on an overpass or underground.
The crossing is No.4 on the state government’s priority list, but no date has been set or funding allocated for its removal.
Metro spokesman Daniel Hoare said it had not been notified of the rally and nobody was authorised to put up posters or banners.
“If they are put up they are immediately removed by staff,” he said. “These posters were thrown out by our staff after being removed.”
Mr Mulder told the Weekly the government’s commitment to separating the crossing remained “crystal clear”.
