THE East Thornleigh Safety Group have been in touch with representatives from Transport NSW, who are now expanding the scope of the Thornleigh station upgrades to include pedestrian and safety improvements.
The plans for the station are still being finalised, and we do not yet know what form these safety improvements will take.
The East Thornleigh safety group have been advocating for an extension of the Thornleigh pedestrian footbridge so that it meets the existing platform footbridge, keeping pedestrians off Railway Parade.
However, Transport NSW previously stated that an infrastructure project of this scale, which extends well away from the immediate area around the station fall under the responsibility of Hornsby Council.
The East Thornleigh Safety group is also planning to take legal action regarding the steps from the existing Thornleigh footbridge to Railway Parade, which they claim is “dangerously steep” and does not comply with Australian Safety Standards.
Another issue the group wants to draw attention to is how Hornsby Council allocates its development contributions. According to East Thornleigh Safety Group Co-ordinator Paul Keighery, council is not allocating sufficient funding to road and infrastructure improvements such as their proposed pedestrian bridge, instead channelling funds into major projects like the Hornsby Quarry upgrades.
This is an issue as there is meant to be a clear connection between the development in question and the infrastructure that the development is funding.
It is the hope of Keighery that the funding from new developments such as the 10-story site recently made available next to Thornleigh station can be put towards making the area safer for pedestrians.
