Shape Monash
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The Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) is a Victorian Government project that will be a new 90 km railway line that will link all the major metropolitan rail lines (including the Glen Waverley Line) to improve public transport options for getting around Melbourne. With a station to be built at Glen Waverley, it will be possible to catch the train from Glen Waverley to Monash University, Deakin University, Southland, Box Hill and Melbourne Airport (as well as many other options).
The Victorian Government is progressing works on the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL), with works on SRL stations at Clayton, Glen Waverley and Monash University expected to ramp up this year.
While this is a Victorian Government project, Council regularly meets with the Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) to ensure their works are well-planned and communicated. As part of their commitments, the SRLA will provide the community with advanced notification of works around the station precincts in the coming months.
If you live, work or own property near one of the planned stations, the SRLA may write to you or even visit you to keep you informed. Construction works currently underway or planned are outlined on the Victorian Government's Big Build website.
In late 2023, the Victorian Government’s Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) released Draft Precinct Visions. These draft visions outline plans for neighbourhoods around Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) stations, including at Burwood, Clayton, Glen Waverley, and Monash University.
The Victorian Government is inviting community feedback on the Draft Precinct Visions for Burwood, Clayton, Glen Waverley, and Monash on SRL’s engagement website before 3 March.
Read Council's submission to the Suburban Rail Loop Authority on the precinct visions.
Overwhelmingly our community has told us that you agree the Suburban Rail Loop is a game changer for transport in Victoria and for shaping Glen Waverley’s future.
However, you also told us that you share our key concerns of the project’s design:
You can read more about Council's concerns below, we also encouraged our community to voice their concerns in the leadup to the 2022 Victorian state election.
The Glen Waverley SRL station precinct sits within the Glen Waverley Activity Centre. Development is guided by the Glen Waverley Activity Centre Structure Plan (2014). Amendment C120 was gazetted in 2018 which incorporated the GWAC Structure Plan into the Planning Scheme.
Planning and building activity over many years, has anticipated future lowering of Glen Waverley station below ground to enable better flow, activation of land over the station and pedestrian improvements to Kingsway.
The SRL Project triggers changes, particularly potential loss or relocation of parking and poorer traffic flow. Council believes lowering the Glen Waverley Metro station would improve these issues.
This formed part of Council’s EES submission. The SRLA has advised it will not be progressing this option.
Council is now seeking a connected underground pedestrian platform between the new SRL station and the existing Glen Waverley station. The SRLA instead wants to close a section of Coleman Parade to provide a pedestrian crossing above ground, connecting the two stations.
Council believes this is a missed opportunity to have a more integrated and connected station, similar to Box Hill Station which is below a shopping centre. This would also allow for a long overdue enhancement of the existing Glen Waverley Station.
SRLA have advised this is out of scope for its project.
No connection between the new SRL station and the existing GW station. The SRLA want to close Coleman Parade to create a pedestrian area, the only link between the two stations. An underground pedestrian connection between the two stations is a better option, resolving the need to close this road.
The proposed closure of part of Coleman Parade for the above ground station interchange will increase traffic on Kingsway. Opportunities for significant improvements in the activity centre such as increasing pedestrianisation and diverting traffic to the perimeter of the activity centre with a ring road, have been disregarded.
The SRL project intends to acquire Council land that is currently used for car parking south of the rail line.
Proposed replacement parking is largely north of the rail line, too distant to serve the restaurant and entertainment precincts of the activity centre.
The Minister for Planning required the preparation of an Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the SRL East project. Submissions were invited on this in late 2021 and the Inquiry and Advisory Committee (IAC) held a 10-week hearing, which concluded on 5 May 2022.
Council's submission outlined its concerns with the lack of regard given to Council's long term land use planning for the Glen Waverley Activity Centre. The structure plan is dependent upon the staged upgrade and intensification of 4 inter-related land uses:
The Suburban Rail Loop East project has the potential to realise the vision of our structure plan, but falls short on several key aspects:
Council's proposal meets all the planned elements of the structure plan.
All documents tabled at the hearing can be found on the Suburban Rail Loop East Inquiry and Advisory Committee Engage Victoria Web Page.
Next steps
The IAC will generate a report for the Minister for Planning by 23 June 2022. The Minister’s assessment is expected in August 2022.
Council had previously identified a suitable parcel of its land for redevelopment as a mixed-use multi-level car park at 31–39 Montclair Avenue. It had progressed feasibility and design work for this car park so that construction could have started.
The SRLA informed Council of its intention to acquire this site (amongst a number of other Council-owned land parcels) as the preferred location for the Suburban Rail Loop’s Glen Waverley station. This meant that it was no longer feasible to continue with the Montclair project. The acquisition also means that approximately 300 additional car spaces, which are currently on the site where the car park was to be built, also need to be provided for somewhere else in the Activity Centre.
As a result of the SRLA’s notification that they intend to acquire the land, Council undertook alternative site investigations and identified an existing Council-owned multi-level car park at 1–5 Bogong Avenue. Council identified this as a site that could accommodate some of the additional and replacement car parking to meet the needs of the GWAC.
Council expects the Bogong Avenue design to accommodate approximately 370-518 additional car spaces depending on the design development and approval process. It also expects a further 336 car spaces to be provided elsewhere in the GWAC and will continue to work with the SRLA towards achieving this outcome. It is imperative that an acceptable and appropriate solution for providing these car spaces is found. In particular, the car spaces need to be close to and easily accessible to the Kingsway spine, the heart of the Activity Centre.
Please visit the SRLA FAQs page here
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