I am unsure what the local Mitcham area is like, as I come from Eltham, but I am sure your area, much like mine, loves their cars and find it much more better than public buses which are often infrequent and unreliable.
By beginning to build underground car parks (only one level) when re-doing stations, it would easily double the amount of parking spaces and provide a whole new space for potential commuters to travel from. Most people would be much more comfortable driving one or two minutes to their local station, park and take the train in, rather than mingling with buses.
Mitcham in fact has 47% of its commuters travel to the station via car, and is ranked around 40th in Melbourne for car travel.

Stations like this where they have the area, will have the resources during the rebuild and will also have the users of it, I think it would be a great addition.

I am unsure what the local Mitcham area is like, as I come from Eltham, but I am sure your area, much like mine, loves their cars and find it much more better than public buses which are often infrequent and unreliable.
By beginning to build underground car parks (only one level) when re-doing stations, it would easily double the amount of parking spaces and provide a whole new space for potential commuters to travel from. Most people would be much more comfortable driving one or two minutes to their local station, park and take the train in, rather than mingling with buses.
Mitcham in fact has 47% of its commuters travel to the station via car, and is ranked around 40th in Melbourne for car travel.

Stations like this where they have the area, will have the resources during the rebuild and will also have the users of it, I think it would be a great addition.

This is an extract from Daniel Bowens blog:



Another example:




So I hope you can reconsider your position that we need more car parking spaces.

For your information Mitcham I believe has the most car parking spaces of any metropolitan station at a whopping 826 parking spots You can visit the PTV website and select each station to show this.

More car parking does get added to stations, but it just then fills up in a few years or less and you then just demand more car parking.


Wouldn't you think it's better to have more bus services that are frequent, have them fill up, then have more people demand busses because they're getting very crowded?

Millions thrown into paving and paint and lighting for cars is money better spent else where on the network.

I agree people wold prefer to just drive their cars then mingle with busses, but that doesn't mean that sort of travel behaviour is desirable or even good. Public transport policy is all about changing that type of behaviour so that people ditch their cars. Your suggestion would merely promote the need to have a car/drive it to the station which would kill off patronage for bus services.

Mitcham in fact has 47% of its commuters travel to the station via car, and is ranked around 40th in Melbourne for car travel.

Interesting. The engineer I was speaking to at the information session said 25% of all passengers travelled to the station by car, and was in fact bemoaning the difficulties in ensuring the carpark had at least the capacity of the current parking, for such a small percentage.

Rendering of the new station area on page 3

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/9F6CDA77-5610-4996-A182-F24F53C98C10/0/MitchamRooksInfoUpdateJune2013.pdf

Great to see long platforms and no shading for 90% of their length

Interesting. The engineer I was speaking to at the information session said 25% of all passengers travelled to the station by car, and was in fact bemoaning the difficulties in ensuring the carpark had at least the capacity of the current parking, for such a small percentage.

I was just referring to the relevant PTV data supplied in a subsequent thread on here!

So I hope you can reconsider your position that we need more car parking spaces.

More car parking does get added to stations, but it just then fills up in a few years or less and you then just demand more car parking.

Wouldn't you think it's better to have more bus services that are frequent, have them fill up, then have more people demand busses because they're getting very crowded?

After reading that I am consequently blown away! It amazes me that parking does cost so much!

Yes, I guess you are correct!
I am just frustrated that this will never occur! While it may be difficult, I think the amount of buses in peak periods need to increase, rather then have the same 30 minute service all day. Sure this is sufficient at 12pm on a weekday, but at 7-9am when thousands of people want to make a train, it just doesn't cut it! And once people see this timetable it scares them away from catching it again!

*back on topic*

The new station looks good, except I agree about the shade issues. I'm sure if enough complaints come through they will extend the sheltered area somewhat!

I was just referring to the relevant PTV data supplied in a subsequent thread on here!

I assume the PTV data would include those passengers who are dropped off/carpooled to the station, rather than just parking and riding.

I could not help but laugh at yet another design which is restricted to one-way rail access for passengers, and of course, the bus bays aren't even close to the main entrance because that would be too convenient. Just like getting off the 366 at Ringwood and taking the 1km (note: sarcastic) walk up to the ramp, back up the ramp, over and down to Ringwood station itself, despite the platforms being just behind the wall.

This is what I'm talking about:
"New access way at Simla St" -> A 5 carriage-length pathway to the one and only entrance and exit point at the station, despite the platform being right there in plain sight. Let me guess, it would cost another $3 million to put a single lift and myki reader there?

As for "improving" Rooks and Mitcham Rds, it will not improve traffic flow whatsoever, it just means that brain-dead car drivers won't end up stuck on the train tracks due to not watching the road; they'll just be gridlocked 100m north of there like normal, blocking buses and banking all the way back to Canterbury Rd like normal (as per Springvale Rd). I am also willing to bet that the instant-green-man pedestrian crossing at the (soon-to-be-former) Mitcham Rd LX will be replaced with one which takes 3 minutes to change just to "improve" traffic flow. All in the name of "progress" I suppose.

Also, where will the siding and crossover end up? West towards Nunawading, east towards Heatherdale or gone forever? If it's the latter, it will spell the end of the Mitcham to Mooroolbark steam shuttle.

Lastly, well done to the government with that document, showing off a poorly presented, graffiti-stained X'Trapolis, a poorly-edited TAB logo between the carriages, and is that a Connex Comeng and regional V/Line coaches in the artist's impression? I knew Mitcham was well out of the City Saver area where most pollies hang out when they need to be seen around public transport, but, it isn't exactly that far out of town.

I could not help but laugh at yet another design which is restricted to one-way rail access for passengers, and of course, the bus bays aren't even close to the main entrance because that would be too convenient. Just like getting off the 366 at Ringwood and taking the 1km (note: sarcastic) walk up to the ramp, back up the ramp, over and down to Ringwood station itself, despite the platforms being just behind the wall.

This is what I'm talking about:
"New access way at Simla St" -> A 5 carriage-length pathway to the one and only entrance and exit point at the station, despite the platform being right there in plain sight. Let me guess, it would cost another $3 million to put a single lift and myki reader there?

As for "improving" Rooks and Mitcham Rds, it will not improve traffic flow whatsoever, it just means that brain-dead car drivers won't end up stuck on the train tracks due to not watching the road; they'll just be gridlocked 100m north of there like normal, blocking buses and banking all the way back to Canterbury Rd like normal (as per Springvale Rd). I am also willing to bet that the instant-green-man pedestrian crossing at the (soon-to-be-former) Mitcham Rd LX will be replaced with one which takes 3 minutes to change just to "improve" traffic flow. All in the name of "progress" I suppose.

Also, where will the siding and crossover end up? West towards Nunawading, east towards Heatherdale or gone forever? If it's the latter, it will spell the end of the Mitcham to Mooroolbark steam shuttle.

Lastly, well done to the government with that document, showing off a poorly presented, graffiti-stained X'Trapolis, a poorly-edited TAB logo between the carriages, and is that a Connex Comeng and regional V/Line coaches in the artist's impression? I knew Mitcham was well out of the City Saver area where most pollies hang out when they need to be seen around public transport, but, it isn't exactly that far out of town.

Good point. Why can't they put 2 exits?

While the PDF only shows an artists impression of the new Mitcham, there doesn't appear to be any mention of a provision for track amplification in the text or from the impression.

At least with Nunawading, there was some provision for a third track on the southern bank of the station.

Having two separate exits on a station would mean that it would be more convenient for public transport passengers (e.g. those who actually make use of trains and buses instead of driving to and from everywhere) to travel on trains. The VicRoadian Government however would prefer you to keep driving to the station or car-pooling, so the main entrance is near the main road or car park rather than either side of the bus bays or any other area which may have been accessible by foot, while bus services remain minimal enough so they are never considered feasible to Average Joe (hence, peoples' 'fear' of buses).

That's why I didn't point people at that rendering. I struggled to get a grasp of the new arrangement until I saw the plans at the information session. Those plans were much more useful.  The station concourse is located off the concourse, which is an extension of Station Street, and is located about half way down the platform. The platforms are covered according to DOT (Metro, Government?) requirements, which something like 50% covered on the up side. Much less on the down, but most passengers on the down platform are disembarking.  There are steps for pedestrian access, as well as long ramps, but only provision for lifts.

I have no real issues with the locations of the bus bays - they couldn't be very much closer to the concourse unless they split the north side stops so that some were east and others west of the Station Street. I think having three sets of bus stops would be confusing.

The "New access way at Simla Street" is access to the carpark. Given that the bulk of existing parking is accessed from Calcutta Street, on the south side of the line, there needed to be some way to get those cars across the railway line into the carpark.  There will be pedestrian access off Calcutta Street directly onto the concourse (on the Station Street alignment).

Having been stuck in traffic at Mitcham Road while three trains pass through - sometimes stuck in Mitcham Road on the northern side without getting a red traffic light for three cycles on Whitehorse Road, I am looking forward to the removal of this level crossing. The gates regularly stay down for much longer that the traffic light cycle at Whitehorse Road, particularly for down trains as they come down well before the train has arrived.

There will little impact at Rooks Road, I admit, but that is only being done to keep the gradients on the railway sensible.

I popped down to the station to have a quick look at about 3pm this afternoon. The carpark is in the process of being fenced, most of the trees have been cut down, the lights taken off the light posts, and a solid fence is being erected alongside the pedestrian access to the station, which will be off Mitcham Road at the crossing. This path ramps up to the platform and then runs behind another new fence, separating platform itself and the walkway, which uses the previous bike rack space.

I have a recollection of reading that there will be a new shelter built for the myki machines (and the staff?) presumably where this path meets the existing building. This will then allow the station building to be knocked down (or the back-half of it anyway) and the trench can then be dug basically right up to the back of up platform.

A new bus stop is being installed in Mitcham Road at the intersection of Calcutta Street, where passengers on buses from the south can disembark and walk to the station, rather than sitting in the bus while it crosses the railway, turns left into Whitehorse Road, and then left again into Station Street to the north-side station bus stops.

Rendering of the new station area on page 3

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/9F6CDA77-5610-4996-A182-F24F53C98C10/0/MitchamRooksInfoUpdateJune2013.pdf

Another modern architectural monstrosity.

The old station has only been there since the mid to late 1980s; it didn't look much chop, but it's still better than that ghastly thing.

That's a real eyesore, I hope what they are planning to build at Springy is better than that.

It's basically Boronia with a side platform layout. Which is a bit ironic, because Boronia station used to look a bit like Mitcham before it went underground, it even had the same covered footpath on each side with a long, corrugated round roof, which I remember walking under as a kid. I can't exactly remember the station itself, but it wasn't the Bayswater/Ferntree Gully/Glen Iris type, it was a brick building like Mitcham too.

Anyway, the down end of the southern car park/bus bay seemed to be blanked off from what I saw on the train last night, with a temporary mesh fence replacing the picket fence. The north side which was previously blocked off to cars and pedestrans alike (which forced everyone to walk across the tracks or go up the side street) has been resurfaced and is now accessible, but there were no cars when I walked across there at 9 last night.

Walked up Mitcham Road this morning. Concrete has been poured for the upper section of the ramp down to the up platform already, which seems a bit counterintuitive to me, but I'm no engineer. Pile driving is under way on the northern side of the trench (alongside the barrier separating passengers from worksite).  The Senior Citizens Centre on the down side of Mitcham Road has been demolished. The section of the carpark (northern side of line, eastern end) mentioned above has been filled up with site offices. Also noticed a closed furniture store on Whitehorse Road is being used as offices for the project. Some of the boards which were on display at the information sessions are visible in the reception area.

Took another squiz at Mitcham this afternoon. There was a team working on the temporary relocation of the power lines along Mitcham Road, which currently go under the level crossing. That is to be extended underground along Mitcham Road to a pole in Calcultta street temporarily to allow the bridge to be built. Once built the power will be relocated so it runs attached to the bridge. There are three water mains and a gas main running along Mitcham Road over the site of the new bridge which will also need relocating.

The car park is now host to what I assume to be the upper section of both ramps, plus some pile-driving close to Mitcham Road:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/IMAG0172_zpsa20d9128.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/IMAG0174_zps1741c96e.jpg[/img]

After being away for month I was keen to take a look at progress at Mitcham. The trench is certainly well-and-truly taking shape:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130909-125731_zps7342b957.jpg[/img]

Between September 20 and 28 Mitcham Road will be closed, I assume this will be the first steps towards the actual bridge. I believe that trains will continue to run, and passengers approaching from the south will have a very convoluted route to the station:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130909-130103_zpse8d93179.jpg[/img]

There will always be a very convoluted route to and from the station, it's by design that railway stations in Melbourne have to be as awkward as possible to access to make people move north. By the way, cross off all those things you want done to improve public transport now that the Libs have control.

By the way, cross off all those things you want done to improve public transport now that the Libs have control.

Just heard that peanut Napthine using the EastWest link as the reason why the Libs picked up votes in Vic and then going on to state we should continue the tunnel around to the docks! I kid you not.

The supporting structure for the new station building and concourse were erected late in the week - possibly Friday or Saturday. I certainly only noticed them for the first time while walking along Mitcham Road late on Saturday afternoon:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130914-171043_zpsef59586c.jpg[/img]

Today I took a look from Calcutta Street, which shows the extent of the work. Station Street is pretty much directly opposite me in this photo, so the beam straight ahead will be supporting the pedestrian and cycle concourse:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130915-105917_zps669b703a.jpg[/img]

Further along towards Mitcham Road we can see a second structure - no idea why there should be two but that's what's there:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130915-105951_zpsf4511f8f.jpg[/img]

On the other side of Mitcham Road work is progressing with abutments, etc, ready for the road closure from Sep 20-28 when the road bridge itself will be constructed. The concrete "slabs" are itneresting, as they have been poured and each of them has had a rectangle cut in. Whether the outside bits will be removed, or the nice clean-cut rectangle moved elsewhere I don't know:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130915-120823_zps5a133506.jpg[/img]

Thanks for all your pics, please keep posting them, I regularly go through Mitcham on the train but never get a chance to see what is happening on the other side of the black fence.

Mitcham Road was closed from 7:30pm last night (Friday Sep 20) and today I wandered a little before 4pm today to take a look.

The bridge deck seems to coming along nicely:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130921-152759_zpsba2c46d7.jpg[/img]

assisted by a monster crane:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130921-152826_zps7fa0c830.jpg[/img]

Viewed from close to the existing railway crossing:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130921-153621_zps1e0aa685.jpg[/img]

You can see here the decking for the station area in the background:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130921-153758_zpsd3bdd2b3.jpg[/img]

In common with all major construction sites, there are always lots of people in hard hats standing around:

[img]http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u23/duttonbay/Mitcham%20Road%20Level%20Crossing%20Removal/20130921-154403_zpsbf8027f6.jpg[/img]

As well as the bridge workers, there is a team of people involved in pipeline works, replacing water mains (both sides of the road) as part of the process to run it across the bridge, as opposed to under the existing railway line.