Here’s a reminder from Keith Fitzgerald about how residents were similarly put through the wringer in the 1970s, extract from his East West Link CIS Public Hearing submission:

“In the chaotic period in the mid seventies, 99 residential properties were demolished, 36 acres of Yarra Bend Park lost and the Alexandra Parade green median strip was decimated. This green strip ran the whole length of the Collingwood North boundary and had been for many decades a play area for the local children, including me.”

The Age: East West Link leaves a legacy of ‘ghost streets’ and trail of broken dreams Aisha Dow and Tammy Mills (15 April 2015)

Parkville residents have breathed a sigh of relief after Premier Daniel Andrews announced a deal had been reached to not build the East West Link.

The freeway may be dead for now, but the damage has already been done. In neighbourhoods with homes acquired for the East West Link there are rows of empty houses, dubbed ghost streets.

“The West Parkville community have been decimated by this,” said Manningham Street resident James Milne. “It was a community where everyone knew each other. That’s all going.”

About 70 people whose homes and business were acquired for the toll road are now fighting for compensation from the Linking Melbourne Authority, including for emotional distress.

In October last year 102 properties were compulsorily acquired and another 46 were purchased on a voluntarily basis. Continue Reading…