Oakhill Village used to be a bustling hub for people living in Preston and Reservoir. It was a place to meet, shop, and catch the 86 tram to see family and friends.
In 2016, with the rollout of E-class trams, the outbound stop at Tyler Street was deemed unsafe and removed from the network. Locals were promised a compromise solution - and funding was allotted to relocate stops with options scoped by the Department. No progress has been made. Now, residents and businesses have been without a safe, accessible tram stop for nearly eight years.
Oakhill Village is suffering from the lack of foot traffic. And residents are forced to use an unsafe, inaccessible and inappropriate stop further down the route. It’s time a tram stop was returned to Oakhill Village.
Why is this important?
With no tram stop at Tyler Street, many residents are forced to disembark at Ethel Grove. This stop is located outside a bottle shop and licensed gambling venue. People have reported being catcalled, threatened, and even followed home from this stop.
Older residents, people with disabilities and young parents with prams are also being discriminated against. The abolition of the Tyler Street stop has left a 700 metre uphill walk between stops, when the network average is only 260 metres. People who struggle to walk this distance are effectively being shut out from using the tram line.
A new Department of Transport inquiry into the accessibility of route 86 will not consider anything north of Dundas St, Preston. This is a real slap in the face to locals who have been waiting patiently for a safe and accessible tram stop in their neighbourhood.
We call upon Premier Jacinta Allan and her government to reinstate a tram stop at or near Oakhill Village as a matter of priority. An accessible stop would allow students at Preston Primary to get to school safely, residents to access essential services, and local businesses to thrive again.
