Oakleigh's station precinct plans open for public consultation

The City of Monash wants to give Oakleigh Station and its immediate surrounds an upgrade through its Oakleigh Activity Centre Transport Interchange proposal. The council is now seeking public comment on the proposal.

The stated themes of the proposal are to enhance Oakleigh’s village character by making pedestrian infrastructure improvements in and around the station, and to encourage ‘higher value use’ of the land around the station.

One aspect of the proposal is to draw pedestrians to use the spaces to both the north and the south of the station. A large car park dominates the southern side at present which as part of the proposal for the station precinct, the City of Monash report shows could be redeveloped into an 8 level building.

Other pockets of land to the north of the station, the side of the station which sees the greatest amount of pedestrian activity, would also be developed albeit at a smaller scale, according to the report.

The report is compiled by Global South with participants BKK Architects, project management and quantity surveyor outfit Rider Levett Bucknall and advisory firm Charter Keck Cramer listed in the introductory section.

Oakleigh Station has seen rail infrastructure changes as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project between Caulfield and Dandenong – the southern-most face of the island platform which use to carry all city-bound trains – will no longer be used with city-bound trains shifting to the northern face of the island and Dandenong-bound trains are using the third separate platform.

The report notes the Level Crossing Removal Authority will be implementing other changes at Oakleigh Station including upgrading the pedestrian underpass including adding lifts, new stairs and upgraded ramps; new station canopies above underpass access ramps; and a new entrance from Haughton Road (the southern station entrance).

The key changes north of the station include creating a new forecourt infront of the station which will "match the pavement of Eaton Mall, and will extend across into Portman Street and the intersection with Station Street, creating continuous, seamless and direct pedestrian movements routes to/from the station”.

No major changes to how buses interact with the precinct are proposed, except buses will no longer be using the existing roundabout.

Surface car park consolidation – in order to better re-use the land for other uses - is another theme of the proposal and the Global South report mentions that the development on the southern car park could be integrated to include public car parking with other live/work uses located above the public car park.  The southern side is part-owned by Council and VicTrack.

Estimates provided by Rider Levett Bucknall and published in one of the appendices of the report put the total cost of the proposal at $14.1 million.  

To view the report and to have your say, see monash.vic.gov.au