community collaboration

---

Thank you Hobsons Bay City Council councillors and Cr Peter Hemphill for assisting us with our sign on Champion Road. 

And thank you Midway Commercial Industrial for your support too.

#stillfighting

#keepchampionroadopen

#MoreThanJustARoad

#keepourconnection

Food for thought regarding closing Champion Road crossing

 Level Crossing Removal Project 

Danny Pearson MP for Essendon 

Hobsons Bay City Council 

Melissa Horne MP

#keepchampionroadopen
#MoreThanJustARoad
#keepourconnection 

We have now been informed that Hobsons Bay City Council are the ones who have installed the traffic monitoring units in and around the area re Champion Road crossing, NOT Level Crossing Removal Project.

So why did Vic Govt tell us that it was LXRP that installed them?

Why are we constantly being deceived by Vic Govt?

Why are LXRP not conducting traffic data reports for the area, considering they told the community at the “consultation sessions” that traffic data had been considered yet we already knew (and were told) that only a desk top audit was conducted by LXRP?

#keepchampionroadopen
#MoreThanJustARoad
#keepourconnection

Jacinta Allan
Melissa Horne MP
Danny Pearson MP for Essendon

Over a year since the project was announced and Champion Road railway crossing finally has a yellow sign advising of the permanent removal of the crossing. 

But only on one side, and not easily readable by motorists because of its position… (unless you have your binoculars handy!)

Level Crossing Removal Project where is the common sense in the positioning of this sign? 

I guarantee the community is once again going to question the Victorian government's integrity, with regards to this community and its continual disregard for transparency.

For the record, we didn’t vandalise this or ask anyone to do it for us, but at least the sign now says what it should say….

#KeepChampionRoadOpen
#MoreThanJustARoad
#keepourconnection 

Today we met with the Level Crossing Removal Project Director, staffers from Premier Allan and Minister Pearson's Office, and LXRP comms staff. 

After the site tour with Jacinta Allan and her Chief of Staff, as organised by Melissa Horne MP the reality of the congestion that would impact businesses, schools, and the community as a whole was observed.

We had hope.

Today that was well and truly dashed as they sped us through a power point presentation, which we have been advised that we are not able to share with you, the community that is impacted.

However, we can inform you of what the told us - they stated there is no alternative option but to close Champion Road and divert all traffic via Akuna Drive to Maddox Road, and Champion Road crossing will permanently close in 2026.

We are just locals trying to explain what the government and bureaucrats are telling us, so please be kind and respectful (don't shoot the messenger).

We are sad, angry, frustrated, and puzzled as to why LXRP are still not thinking/considering the community, and that their priority is the oil pipes and fast trains.

#KeepChampionRoadOpen
#MoreThanJustARoad
#KeepOurConnection

This morning Gill was visited by Melissa Horne MP and Jacinta Allan to discuss the Champion Road crossing removal.

She drove them around the area, so Minister Allan could have a picture and feel for the roads and issues facing our community if Champion Road is closed.

They then had a frank and honest discussion where Gill did a lot of talking on behalf of the community and they listened.

We hope to hear back from them soon on next steps and will keep you informed with what the outcomes are.

We thank them both for taking the time to meet with Gill.

#KeepChampionRoadOpen
#MoreThanJustARoad
#KeepOurConnection 

 Thank you to all of those that came to be part of the photoshoot for both The Herald-Sun and Maribyrnong & Hobsons Bay Star Weekly, including Mayor Tony Briffa from Hobsons Bay City Council. Even the sun shone for us!

We know and appreciate so many of you are incredibly angry and frustrated after Jacinta Allan statement this week, and so hence why we have to keep fighting and pushing forward.

So please keep talking about this permanent closure with friends and family, as everyday we keep hearing of yet another person who has only just found out about the permanent closure of Champion Road.

Things you can do to help:

Complete the online survey: https://engage.vic.gov.au/lxrp-newport ensuring you add in as many comments as you can as the survey has been well engineered to get the answers they want from their loaded questions. Note that if you have friends and family that are not online you can grab a paper version from either Wilde Interiors on Challis Street or from Melissa Horne MP office on Douglas Parade.

At the very bottom of the https://engage.vic.gov.au/lxrp-newport is a public questions section…. This is where you can ask a question and the government has to answer publicly. Their answers are very set, so we need to keep probing away. 

Send an email to jacinta.allan@parliament.vic.gov.au (Minister for Transport and Infrastructure & Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop) josh.bull@parliament.vic.gov.au ( Parliamentary Secretary for Level Crossing Removal) and contact@levelcrossings.vic.gov.au expressing your frustration at the lack of actual community consultation even though on 19th June they announced early site investigations: https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/.../newport-area-update-june...

Also cc in: Melissa.Horne@parliament.vic.gov.au; daniel.andrews@parliament.vic.gov.au; tim.pallas@parliament.vic.gov.au

Attach a corflute sign to your front fence: email us at keepchampionrdopen@gmail.com to order one.

#KeepChampionRoadOpen
#KeepOurConnection
#MoreThanJustARoad

 Today we met with representatives from Jacinta Allan’s office (minister for transport & infrastructure and also for the suburban rail loop), Level Crossing Removal Project team members (including the project director) as well as Melissa Horne MP and her team.

They talked about the trains and the pipelines and all the physical issues. 

We talked about the people, businesses and community groups and organisations that will be impacted, as well the practical implications of the current proposal.

We listened to them, and they listened to us.

We also provided them with your emails that so many of you sent through to us this week on how the closure will impact you.

The following was confirmed by them:
-Community consultation via face to face and digital surveys (and this is where we will need you Champions so they can see how many there is of you);
-Traffic mapping, in and around the area (quite extensively);
-Meeting Hobsons Bay City Council and VicRoads (they are yet to meet with them so technically we had first dibs, which we take as a positive that we are being taken seriously and that the community objects to the current proposal).

We have requested the project timeline to be reviewed and publicised.

Oh and in case you were wondering, yes they have been following our Facebook page/group, and they are reading your comments, so please do continue to spread the message of the closure and for people to comment on how it will impact them on here. 

They can see that there is a lot of the community opposed to it, so let’s show them that there is a huge amount of community opposed to it!

#keepchampionroadopen
#keepourconnection

Our petition was tabled by Melissa Horne MP today in Parliament.

It was our opportunity to highlight to the Victorian Parliament our community’s genuine concerns about the impact the closure of Champion Rd will have on us.

Many have asked us why we only had an old fashioned hand written petition. The committee discussed a change.org petition, however these cannot be tabled in Parliament. When we were creating the petition the government was in caretaker mode, so the Parliament's online petition service was not operating. Hence the old fashioned route of a paper based signature and it has certainly got some attention.

See the link as to what was stated.