Blackburn level crossing removal – design flaws must be resolved
It was good to see some work under way at last on the Blackburn level crossing removal this weekend.
However, crucial aspects of the design still remain unresolved, including the Blackburn Station pedestrian underpass, the bike path route and the traffic light configuration at Blackburn Road/South Parade/Central Road.
This project was fully funded in the 2014 State budget under the Napthine government, but its start has been delayed under the Andrews government and these key design details still need to be sorted out, due to the government’s inadequate community consultation on the original design.
As I’ve said before, the government needs to look at ways to make the pedestrian underpass wider, and to open up and re-align the subway entrances to provide better visibility and “see through”.
I’ve also asked the government to examine whether it would be better for the Box Hill to Ringwood bike path to run along the north side of the railway line between Middleborough Road and Springvale Road. This may be able to avoid problems where the path would otherwise run along Laburnum Street, Elmore Walk, South Parade and behind Morton Park and Glen Ebor Avenue.