Friends of the Avenue Inc. have organised a community rally in Kingston on Sunday 2 August to protest the use of the avenue as a construction route by Ausnet.
The Avenue of Honour in Kingston is thriving as a place of remembrance and healing, just as intended by those who planted the elm trees nearly 110 years ago. Unfortunately, the Avenue is now under serious threat. AusNet proposes to use the Avenue on Kingston Road as part of their construction route for the Western Renewables Link project.
Kingston, Friends of the Avenue and the local community have worked to raise the alarm over the last 6 years, but AusNet have dismissed their concerns.
The Friends are concerned that construction traffic driving through the Avenue would destroy the experience. Road upgrading and widening for construction traffic would damage the fragile root system that spreads across to the roadway. Vehicles parking on the grass would compact the soil, damaging the feeder roots. It would be necessary to protect the trees with fencing and bollards for years.
The President of the Victorian RSL has expressed support. Dr Mark Schroffel has said: “The number of trucks proposed by AusNet would drastically change the Avenue and the experience. Noting that the Avenue is a formal, dignified corridor, a change to an industrial roadway is not compatible with the respect the community has for this Avenue of Honour.”
The Friends have written to MPs and Heritage Victoria. They also appeared before the Inquiry into the environmental impacts of the proposed WRL project. There’s been no meaningful response. After being repeatedly ignored, the Friends of the Avenue have taken the unusual step of gathering the community together for a rally to protest.
AusNet’s proposal is to access multiple construction sites to the north of Kingston, including numerous transmission tower sites, new access roads and laydown sites. The vehicle numbers for the WRL project are massive and the construction period is years long. For example, AusNet says that there would be over 7,000 return trips by concrete trucks for the project.
The Friends are fighting to prevent AusNet from being granted permission to use the Avenue as their construction route. The Friends also want a guarantee that Kingston Road won’t be widened to accommodate AusNet’s construction vehicles.
The community rally will be held at the Midland Highway end of the Avenue of Honour in Kingston (3364) at 11am on Sunday, 2 August.
Penny & Julie on behalf of Kingston, Friends of the Avenue Inc
