Comments on: A tree falls for Melbourne Airport Rail

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 00:25:33 +0000

In reply to jw.

What they take with one hand, they give with the other!

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/more-trees-ground-across-melbournes-west

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 00:25:04 +0000

In reply to Lachlan.

They like to pull the “we’ll plant more trees than we chop down” line – for example:

https://engage.vic.gov.au/project/lxrp-surrey-hills-and-mont-albert/survey/3438

Landscaping at the conclusion of the project will include thousands of new trees, plants and shrubs and we will replace every tree removed with at least two new trees, either within the project area or elsewhere in the local area.

But that’s really only enough to compensate for the trees that fail to thrive after being planted.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-02/dead-trees-at-moreland-station/100425132

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 00:22:11 +0000

In reply to Andrew.

The same thing has happened with ‘upgrades’ to railway stations car parks:

https://wongm.com/2016/01/level-crossings-removals-and-car-parking/

Existing car parks were built decades ago with spaces jammed in wherever they could, so when the same area gets redeveloped to current standards, the same number of spaces no longer fit.

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 00:19:16 +0000

In reply to Josh. It doesn't help that the Metro Tunnel project had also used the area for their works at West Footscray. And never remediated it.

By: Lachlan

Lachlan — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 02:33:25 +0000

Every project they do these days involves an excessive and needless removal of trees. So much so that in some circles the LXRP and others are called the ‘Tree Removal Project’

By: jw

jw — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 23:46:27 +0000

It’s depressing really, isn’t it. IMO one of the objectives in all of these projects should be to ultimately increase the amount of tree cover and greening rather than reduce it. It’s not rocket science – it should just be a feature of all urban design and development. Sure, during construction work there are going to be losses, but the end product should be a marked improvement all round. As it is we are left with these barren Stalinesque structures that make train travel an unpleasant experience.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 23:32:53 +0000

Just you wait. By the time they restart MARL, the expanded car park at Totty will be used. So they’ll increase the size at Totty yet again to compensate for the car parking removal at Sunshine.

(The other fun trick is that the new replacement car parks are larger than the old ones because obese modern cars don’t fit well in old car parks. More land gone.)

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 23:18:07 +0000

Very well spotted – I was also shocked by the needless removal of those trees. The Tottenham gravel carpark is one of the biggest wastes of space I can imagine