Leederville train station: Two local mayors push State Govt to redevelop into ‘universally accessible’ station

Two local mayors’ hopes to revamp Leederville train station have been derailed after the State Government confirmed it had “no current plans” to redevelop the “outdated” station.

Vincent and Cambridge mayors Alison Xamon and Gary Mack wrote to several ministers in December requesting their support for disability access and a “high density transit-oriented development” around the inner-city station.

The letter was sent to Premier Roger Cook, Transport Minister Rita Saffioti and Planning Minister John Carey.

The ministers are yet to respond.

Ms Xamon and Mr Mack have asked for the station’s overpass be transformed into a bicycle-only bridge and the construction of a new pedestrian bridge connecting Leederville’s Oxford Street to West Leederville’s Cambridge Street.

“We request the State Government to restart a working group to work on a business case for this land bridge and invite representatives from METRONET, the Public Transport Authority, DevelopmentWA and Main Roads to join this working group,” Ms Xamon said.

Both mayors have also requested the station be upgraded to provide “best practice access” for people with disabilities.

According to Ms Xamon, the 32-year-old station “lacks” disability access and the city had received multiple complaints from wheelchair users about difficulty accessing the station due to the steep spiral ramps.

“An upgraded, universally accessible train station will complement the redevelopment of the Leederville carparks, private and local investments into improving the town centre,” she said.

“Some of the feedback from residents include concerns over tripping hazards, graffiti, anti-social behaviour, a lack of bike racks and shelters, feeling unsafe due to lack of lighting and poor accessibility.

“The poor state of the bridge and station is restricting our ability to encourage a well-designed and accessible transit-oriented development in this precinct.”

But a State Government spokesperson said it had “no current plans” to overhaul the train station.

“The Government has received correspondence from Mayor Alison Xamon and Mayor Gary Mack, advocating for the construction of a land bridge/duplication of the pedestrian crossing over Leederville station,” the spokesperson told PerthNow.

“The Government has no current plans to redevelop Leederville train station.”

Curtin University sustainability professor Peter Newman said locals had been lobbying for a redevelopment of Leederville train station for almost 15 years.

“When councils like Cambridge and Vincent get together and start talking about redeveloping around a railway station, I just think ‘hallelujah’, this is what we’ve been asking for,” he said.

“We need some decent leadership that says, ‘yes, it’s a little bit messy to redevelop around stations but that’s the right thing to do’.”

Professor Newman said there was still a “major emphasis” on parking, thus limiting accessibility to public transport and major transport hubs.

“Less than 10 per cent of people of Perth can actually easily get to a railway station because they have to get a bus or drive there,” he said.

“You should be having apartments within a short walking distance (to train stations) and enabling lots of vibrant urban activity to develop around a station.

“Every city in the world lives and works like that and we need more of that ... and the Government has not been as constructive and creative on this agenda as I would have hoped.”

Mr Mack told PerthNow the Town of Cambridge was committed to exploring opportunities in “revitalising and upgrading” Leederville train station.

“We are committed to working with our neighbouring councils and the State Government to investigate the options to ensure the best investment decisions are made in key public infrastructure that will allow us to provide sustainable, liveable developments in our inner city areas, which allow increased populations to easily move around our neighbourhoods via public and other modes of transport,” he said.

Leederville train station — located on the Mitchell Freeway — is on the Joondalup train line.