‘Link’ plan call

By Jim Mynard
BERWICK Village Chamber of Commerce has foreshadowed a major land capture proposal to link Berwick’s shopping activity centre with Casey Hospital, Chisholm Institute, Monash University, and the proposed technology sector.
Chamber president Michael Hall has called for a Berwick plan similar to the City of Casey proposal to redevelop the large civic area at Fountain Gate.
The Casey civic plan involves development of a large retail and community activity centre on councilowned land that will provide a new civic centre, arts centre and library at no cost to the municipality.
The property will be returned to the council after 50 years.
Mr Hall said there was a need to think outside the square to come up with an innovative plan to solve growing traffic problems in the Berwick precinct.
He said this could be achieved by inviting private enterprise to redevelop the area around the railway station and along the railway line.
“There would be a need to take the station and railway line underground, but this can be done,” Mr Hall said.
“We have to consider that the government estimation of a grade separation at the Clyde Road railway crossing is as high as $40 million.”
Mr Hall said, after seeing the South East Water sewerage tunnelling team in action, that trains could be put underground.
He said it the project could be paid for by the sale of land at ground level.
Mr Hall has persisted with the idea that a partnership between the chamber, council, government, VicRail and private enterprise could achieve his dream.
“The future of Berwick and the education and health precinct of Monash University, Chisholm Institute and Casey Hospital are directly linked to our ability to solve the current traffic chaos and plan for our future growth,” he said.
“The area of land we have is larger than the CBD in Melbourne, and if we don’t plan for it now gridlock will be the result.
“One solution worth consideration is to put the Berwick Railway Station and adjacent rail line underground.”
Mr Hall said the advantages of putting the rail system underground were numerous.
“This would remove the big physical barrier between Berwick, the colleges and the hospital,” he said.
“It allows us to very easily create a proper transport interchange with bus terminals, railway station and parking all colocated and with easy pedestrian underground links to the university, TAFE and hospital.
“The requirement for an expensive underpass at Clyde Road would disappear,” he said.
Mr Hall said the plan could easily link the Manuka Road Bryn Mawr extension to the station allowing significant traffic to bypass High Street and Clyde Road.
“People will ask how can this be funded, but with the station and railway underground the resultant ‘land capture’ would be approximately 123,000 square metres of prime commercial and residential land,” he said.
“The floor space could be sold off to developers for retail, commercial and student accommodation uses.
“We could investigate the same principle of revenue raising as the latest proposal that the City of Casey has done with major banks and developers for building new council facilities and extensions to the Fountain Gate Shopping area.
“South East Water has nearly completed a major tunnelling project from Dandenong to Pakenham at a cost of $38 million.
“It would cost us about the same amount of money to put an underpass under Clyde Road and we would still not solve all the problems,” Mr Hall said.
He has called on planners and financiers to think outside the square in order to develop a plan that would integrate health, education and community facilities, rather than isolate them.