Station plans spark controversy

WITH plans for a more accessible Ballarat Station recently revealed, members of community groups have offered their opinions on the project.

The State Government works are set to see a new pedestrian overpass constructed with lifts and stair and ramp access at the station’s northern entrance.

Everyone got their first look at the design plans last week, including Save Our Station secretary John Barnes. He said the group isn’t happy with what they’ve seen.

“We’re very disappointed,” he said. “The plans don’t meet the fundamental purpose of the spend which is to make the station [Disability Discrimination Act 1992] compliant.

“All the stations on the Ballarat line except Ballarat Station are DDA-compliant with those massive ramps they’ve all got with overhead passes.

“In the failure of the lifts, people with mobility issues have the

long ramps as backup. Ballarat Station can’t accommodate those ramps as it would destroy the heritage look.

“When [project deliverers] were talking to us a number of years ago, they recognised the need for dual lifts on each platform that would need to be separately powered so if one broke, people could still use the other one.

“They’ve come up with a plan

for single lifts and if one of those breaks down, people who need that access will have to go out to Lydiard Street to use the gates. They’ll continue to be disadvantaged.

“The ramp access to the north platform, we think is a bit of a fetish. The current bus interchange is built at the same platform. That money could be used for DDA-compliant toilets.”

Mr Barnes said an alternative option for a pedestrian pass could make use of pre-existing station infrastructure.

“We understand that under the old dining room, disused since the 1970s, there’s a cellar ,” he said.

“It’s obviously something with stairway access and it’s a void underneath the buildings that we would have thought might be looked at as a way of facilitating an underground option without undermining the existing heritage buildings.”

The upgrades are set to be funded with $50 million as part of the Victoria’s Big Build program and delivered through the Level Crossing Removal Project with the Department of Transport and Planning.

Ballarat Heritage Watch president Stuart Kelly said the planned overpass isn’t in keeping with the site’s 19th century character.

“The overpass seems to be a slight modification of the crossovers put into a number of other stations without taking too much respect for the fact it’s on a Victorian-era heritage station,” he said.

“One suggestion I’ve seen is for a more architecturally designed version of the overpass with more style about it rather than the criss-cross lattice work of engineered design.

“In my personal opinion, a well-designed modern structure could be okay. It doesn’t have to be pseudo-heritage to fit in.”

The upgrades are set to be delivered by 2026.