FOI Released with evidence of boom gate accidents

Dear editor,

WITH Growth, we need to plan and protect our past, to ‘Build a Better Ballarat.’

I’ve been a strong advocate for the protection of our north and south railway precinct including safety, gates, master plan and infrastructure maintenance, over my four council terms.

It was with enormous satisfaction that our council ‘unanimously’ endorsed the letter to Heritage Victoria that supports the operational re-instatement of the heritage railway gates. With the current pressures of population growth, it’s seeming difficult for this current State Government to balance the expectations of our communities and care for the protection of our authentic heritage, as our city grows.

Our local needs should be met with a regional lens, as our community does not have the same look, feel nor challenges as metro communities. Metro’s solutions for relieving their population pressures might be reliant on the regions, but we need to accept this growth with the perspective that reflects our regional charm. We need to protect our authenticity as we grow.

Ballarat is built of heritage and for the State Government to say that we can’t safely reinstate the operating railway gates, makes no sense. I was recently sent a copy of the FOI (Freedom of Information) released papers, regarding evidence of accidents associated with the boom gates, formalising people’s concerns around their safety.

With the digging of significant underground metro tunnels, instillation of metro rail loops, and ongoing road infrastructure at astronomical costs, it seems absurd that to have replaced the heritage gates with a temporary half boom barrier crossing at a cost $10.5M* as the safest and most respectful way forward.

This FOI release confirms our concerns with the safety of booms and the need for reconsideration to include the old gates back in operation. Government’s solution for providing accessibility from one side of the rail tracks to the other, needs also to be reconsidered. The cookie cutter-style response, like Ballan and Melton should not be the easy fix for Ballarat’s spectacular destination station. Options including underground, or a more respectful accessible lift response have continued to be discussed by our community.

It seems that there is a lack of care and understanding for Ballarat and the regions differences to metro, with only around 3.8 per cent of taxes coming back to be spent in the regions compared to examples like the $14 billion for the metro tunnel.

Our economy, jobs growth and tourism industry will endure and thrive if we continue to protect the charm that other municipalities have not kept.

After 4 long years of waiting, we’re still questioning Vic Track and State Government’s response to the faulty train that hit our loved heritage railway gates. The trains, now travelling into Ballarat at 90km make it more difficult to achieve the 59-minute rail service that so many have championed for the last decade.

The unanimous decision of councillors to save the gates in working order makes our statement ‘loud and clear’ as to the importance of this 1862 heritage railway precinct, including the signal boxes, buildings, the gantry, and of course the gates.

Being a councillor is an honourable role that requires collaborative representation of community views to better deliver our future goals. Along with a ‘back to the basics’ approach focused on roads, rates and rubbish, there’s also the need to be visionary. With a visionary and protective hat on, the projects determined by our council can have transformational impacts to benefit Ballarat and Western Victoria.

I’d like to also take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge and congratulate Mayor Hudson for his positive representation of Ballarat when recently responding to the sad deaths of three local women.

The many national media events he held during some terrible and dark days for the Ballarat and surrounding communities highlighted our community’s strength, resilience, and that together, we can build a better and safer Ballarat for our children.

Samantha McIntosh

*reference at abc.net.au/news/2021-05-10/funding-to-reopen-ballarat-lydiard-crossing/100128446