Western suburbs MP Bernie Finn has called for the Hoppers Crossing level crossing to be included in the state government’s crossing removal program.
Mr Finn, from the state opposition, raised the matter in Parliament in December.
Addressing Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan, he said: “Will the minister explain to the Wyndham community, including the mayor and council, why she refuses to include the dangerous and congested Hoppers Crossing level crossing on the list of level crossing removals?”
The state government has committed to removing 50 of the state’s most dangerous level crossings by 2022, including those in Cherry Street and Werribee Street, Werribee.
But the Old Geelong Road crossing in Hoppers Crossing is not among those earmarked for removal – something Mr Finn told Star Weekly he found “absolutely astonishing”.
“I don’t think there is a soul in Hoppers Crossing or Werribee who thinks that level crossing shouldn’t be removed,” he said.
“It is bizarre … I think it’s clear there has been a stuff up here.”
Mr Finn’s comments came after the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office issued a scathing report into the level crossing removal program.
The report, published last month, stated “ … not all of the 50 level crossings selected for removal are the most dangerous and congested” in the state.
The report said 18 of the state’s most dangerous level crossings, as judged by the Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM), had not been included on the removal list.
The ALCAM uses factors such as a level crossing’s physical properties to calculate its risk.
In 2008, the state transport department released a list of level crossing removal priorities for Victoria, using the ALCAM method.
On this list, Old Geelong Road was ranked as the 15th most-dangerous level crossing in the state, with Cherry Street coming in ninth.
The state government was contacted for a response.
