Download pdf - JULY 2019 WERRIBEE STREET CONSULTATION REPORT...• Website visits to the Werribee Street page on our Online Engagement Hub totalled 813, with 140 documents downloaded and 57 new registrations

JULY 2019

WERRIBEE STREET CONSULTATION

REPORT

levelcrossings.vic.gov.auAuthorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

Project overview 1

Introduction 3

Levels of feedback 3

Top three outcomes 4

Feedback - what we’ve heard 5

Community surveys 5

Contact centre enquiries 10

Community drop-in sessions 10

Feedback collection 11

Outcomes and next steps 12

Key outcomes 12

Contents

Werribee Street. This structure would allow for both freight and regional trains.

The other feasible design is to build a new road bridge at Bulban Road. To help ease traffic congestion around this important link between Werribee and Wyndham Vale, we could build a new road bridge to connect Bulban Road and the Princes Highway.

The project is currently in the design development phase. The final design will be confirmed in late 2019.

This level crossing is an important gateway between Werribee and Wyndham Vale and is used by 20,000 vehicles each day. It is surrounded by homes, businesses and parklands. Wyndham City Council is completing major upgrade works to Wyndham Park which sits next to the train line. Planning and technical work has identified two feasible designs for removing this level crossing with a rail over road the preferred design.

Rail and road designs that pass under Werribee Street were ruled out because of the impact to the critical pipeline.

Preferred design: a rail bridge over Werribee StreetIn the preferred design, we would elevate the three train tracks in a

structure that would begin rising after the Werribee River. The rail bridge structure would be around one kilometre long and have a height of about six metres when it crosses

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Construction will begin in 2020 and the project will be completed in 2022.

LX Werribee Street level crossing consultation report 2019 | 21 | LX Werribee Street level crossing consultation report 2019

INTRODUCTION

Levels of feedbackThere was a high level of community interest in this consultation phase.

• 315 community members attended the two drop-in sessions and 43 people attended the trader information hub. These events covered three crossing removal projects – Cherry Street, Werribee Street and Old Geelong Road in Hoppers Crossing.

• Community members completed a total of 120 surveys – 89 online surveys and 31 hard-copy surveys

• Website visits to the Werribee Street page on our Online Engagement Hub totalled 813, with 140 documents downloaded and 57 new registrations.

The aim of the consultation was to advise the community of the preferred design and another feasible design for the Werribee Street level crossing removal in Werribee, while allowing for feedback on the design look and feel and use of public space.

The consultation period ran from the day that the designs were announced, on Thursday 27 June to Friday 26 July 2019.

Feedback during this phase of consultation came via three main channels:

• Feedback surveys – online and hard-copy

• two community drop-in sessions held at Encore Events centre in Hoppers Crossing on 13 and 16 July.

• two full-day trader information hub events in Werribee on 1 and 2 July.

Top three outcomesDuring the consultation the Werribee community made their key concerns, needs and preferences of the Werribee Street project clear. The below table outlines the top three areas of focus for the project team. These three key areas ranked highest in responses/comments on the surveys and comments on the maps at the drop-in sessions.

Key area Description Figures

Design Ensuring that the design keeps with the look and feel of the local area.

Community members ranked ‘trees, plants and planter boxes’ as the most important to see in the area.

Many community members said they wanted trees, plants and greenery as part of the design comments provided on the survey.

71 out of 119 survey responses

2.59 average rank (highest rank of all features)

Survey participants wanted new public space to include grass, trees and mulched garden beds (136 out of 147 responses)

Traffic Concerns including traffic congestion, increasing traffic on local roads and requesting signalised road intersections.

17 out of 45 comments on maps at the drop-in sessions

Feedback via the survey and the contact centre

Safe walking, cycling paths and crossings

Community members asked for more safe, well-lit accessible cycling and pedestrian connections and paths.

8 out of 45 comments on maps at the drop-in sessions

Feedback via the survey and the contact centre

attended drop-in sessions

people completed surveys

315120

visits to our online hub813


FEEDBACK - WHAT WE’VE HEARDThe consultation aimed to gather information and feedback from the community on the designs’ look and feel, landscaping and potential new community space.

Driving was the main mode of transport around the area.

Suburbs

Werribee Surrounding suburbs

69%

31%

Are you a:

Resident

Local Trader

Visitor

96%

2%2%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

10 8

104

512

4

Main mode of transport

Bus Walking Vehicle Cycle Train Other

Most people who completed the online survey lived in Werribee.

Community surveys The community survey asked for feedback about the designs’ look and feel, landscaping, and potential new community space.

Most of the online and hard-copy survey participants were residents. Two full-day trader information hub events were held in early July and were well-attended by local traders.

Most survey participants said that they wanted a design that “Keeps with the look and feel of the area”.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

8071

21

27

Do you want a design that...

Keeps with the look and feel of the area

OtherStands out as a feature in the area with bright and

vibrant colours


The visual appearance of the project after construction was very important/somewhat important/important to 112 out of 120 respondents.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

8

13

34

65

Visual appearance of the project

Not important

Important

Somewhatimportant

Very Important

In the ‘other’ comments about what is most important in terms of the design of the project, most comments related to:

• Ensuring the new public space and infrastructure is not a target for graffiti

• Minimising disruption to traffic during construction

• Improving traffic flow

• Upgrading Werribee Station

• Increase number of road lanes across rail line

• Elevating the rail will not ease traffic congestion

• Need another crossing to the west at Bulban and Ballan Road

• Ease of cycling and pedestrian access/paths

• Safety of area at night time including lighting

• Minimising noise from elevated trains

• Ease of access to Princes Fwy

• Natural and green design colours, not too bright, use natural resources

• Plant lots of native trees to obscure elevated bridge

• Minimising impact on Werribee River and parklands, tree protection

• Elevated rail design for all three crossings.

How would you like to feel in the public space?

Relaxed

In touch with nature

Energetic

Social

Creative

2%

41%

41%

6%

10%

Survey respondents were also asked how they would like to feel in the public space. “Relaxed” and “In touch with nature” were equally popular responses.

The survey asked participants how they were likely to use the public space linking to pedestrian and cycling paths in the preferred rail over road option. Most respondents (91 out of 120) said they would use it as a connection to and from the town centre.

0 20 40 60 80 100

25

4

91

How do you see yourself using new public space?

As a place tosit and relax

As a meeting place

As a connectionto and from

the town centre


The vast majority of survey participants (85 out of 147 responses) wanted any new public space to include a “mix of the above:” grass, paving, concrete, trees and planting.

Priorities for public space

Grass

Concrete

Ground-level planting

Paving

Trees

Mix of the above

3

14

85

610

29

We also asked survey respondents what else they would like us to consider as part of the project. Comments centred on the following topics:

• Well-lit paths/safe and secure walking and cycling areas

• Pedestrian access to the river

• More trees for shade and greenery

• Avenue of gum trees

• Natural landscaping with Indigenous plants

• Disability access paths

• Reducing traffic congestion

• Design to minimise graffiti and anti-social behaviour

• Good design with mix of active and passive spaces that links to parks along the river

• Build elevated rail

• Improved traffic flow

• Recycling and energy saving features including solar energy harvesting

• Tie into Wyndham Park upgrade

• Ongoing maintenance and rubbish bins

• The overpass should be at Ison Road.

*Please see above, one was the highest ranking in this graph.

0 2 4 6 8 10

Ranked most important to you

Additional carparks

Fenced dog off-leash area

Exercise equipment

Bicycle hoops, racks or repair stations

Public artwork

Playground

Shelter

Seating

Lighting features

Trees, plants and planter boxes

The survey asked people to rank the responses from 1-10 in order of importance, with 1 being the most important. In the graph below, the lower numbers indicate the items of higher importance to the community.

Trees, plants and planter boxes were seen as the most important for respondents to see in the area, followed by lighting features, seating, shelter and playgrounds. Exercise equipment, a fenced dog off-leash area and additional carparks were seen as the least important.


Contact centre enquiriesAs part of the community consultation, 39 contacts were made with our call centre related to the Werribee Street level crossing removal project. These included phone calls, emails and written submissions. Many of these enquiries covered several topics.

The main topics raised were: • Concerns about local traffic congestion and questions

regarding traffic conditions under the preferred design

• Suggestions for non-feasible design options e.g. new nine km rail tunnel with underground stations or road tunnel or elevated rail across all three projects

• Concerns about visual amenity

• Requests for detailed design information

• Suggestions for additional scope items such as cycling paths

Community drop-in sessionsThere was a high level of community interest in this consultation phase.

Two community drop-in sessions held on Saturday 13 July from 10am to 12.30pm and on Tuesday 16 July from 5pm to 7.30pm at Encore Events centre, 80 Derrimut Road in Hoppers Crossing.

A total of 315 community members attended the two drop-in sessions.

Two full-day trader information hubs were also held at the Old Shire Office at 49 Watton Street in Werribee on Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 July. Over the two days, a total of 43 people attended the trader information hub.

These events covered three crossing removal projects – Cherry Street, Werribee Street and Old Geelong Road in Hoppers Crossing.

The survey provided space for additional comments and detailed feedback on the project.


ENGAGEMENT OUTCOMESKey outcomesCommunity members of Werribee and the surrounding suburbs were given a variety of opportunities to contribute through face-to-face, online and written methods. Their feedback, concerns and suggestions will be used to inform the next phase of design development to ensure the project reflects the needs and desires of the local community.

This phase of consultation has enabled the project team to gain useful information about the community’s preferred look and feel for the design.

• The results showed that the community thinks that the visual appearance of the project is very important. The visual appearance of the project after construction was very important/somewhat important/important to 112 out of 120 respondents.

• Most survey participants said that they wanted a design that “keeps with the look and feel of the area” rather than standing out as a feature (71 out of 119 comments).

• Regarding any new public space, most survey participants wanted any new public space to include a mix of grass, paving, concrete, trees and

planting (85 out of 147 responses).

• Trees, plants and planter boxes were seen as the most important for respondents to see in the area, followed by lighting features, seating, shelter and playgrounds. Exercise equipment, a fenced dog off-leash area and additional carparks were seen as the least important.

• The survey asked participants how they were likely to use the public space linking to pedestrian and cycling paths in the preferred rail over road option. Most respondents (91 out of 120) said they would use it as a connection to and from the town centre.

• Survey respondents were also asked how they would like to feel in the public space. “Relaxed” and “In touch with nature” were equally popular responses (41 per cent of comments).

• Vehicle travel was by far the most common mode of transport, comprising 104 out of 143 responses.

Feedback collectionThe July drop-in sessions were aimed at gathering community information via hard-copy surveys and providing feedback onto maps of the area and the preferred and feasible designs. Members of the public were able to speak to engineers, designers, traffic modellers and communications team members to voice their concerns, ask questions and provide feedback.

The chart below shows the main comments and feedback provided onto maps of the area and the preferred and feasible designs during both sessions. The team recorded 52 comments from community members. Of these, 18 related to the feasible design - a new road bridge at Bulban Road, and 34 related to the preferred design of a rail bridge over Werribee Street.

Comments on maps at drop-in sessions

Need extra connection to Ballan Rd (feasible design)

Increased traffic fromnew estates

Feasablie designdangerous for bikes

Want more trees

Want roundabout Cottrell and Werribee Sts

Connected cycling and pedestrian paths/signalised intersections

Concerned about use ofspace under bridge

Want passive surveiliance

Traffic congestion concerns

Concerned about graffiti

Moise mitigation from elevated freight trains

0 5 10 15 20

The most regularly raised comments were about: • Easing traffic congestion and improving traffic flow

• Safe, well-lit pedestrian and cycling paths and connections

• Incorporate native plants, greenery and trees into design and new open public space

• Concerns about graffiti and anti-social behaviour in new open space

• Need another crossing to the west at Bulban and Ballan Road

• Safety of area at night time including lighting

• Minimising noise from elevated trains

• Natural and green design colours, not too bright, use natural resources

• Minimising impact on Werribee River and parklands, tree protection.

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CONTACT [email protected] 105 105 Level Crossing Removal Project GPO Box 4509, Melbourne VIC 3001

Translation service – For languages other than English, please call 9280 0780.

Please contact us if you would like this information in an accessible format.

If you need assistance because of a hearing or speech impairment, please visit relayservice.gov.au W

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Follow us on social media @levelcrossings

CONTACT [email protected] 105 105 Level Crossing Removal Project GPO Box 4509, Melbourne VIC 3001

Translation service – For languages other than English, please call 9280 0780.

Please contact us if you would like this information in an accessible format.

If you need assistance because of a hearing or speech impairment, please visit relayservice.gov.au