Jul 7, 2023 2 min read

Council Seeks Ivanhoe Station Accessibility Upgrade

Old steps, old dog & Anu.

Banyule Council is advocating for improved infrastructure at Ivanhoe Station to allow commuters to avoid the cumbersome ancient wooden steps.

These timber steps prevent many commuters crossing the lines at the station.

Prams, wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walking frames?

Head up to Marshall Street level crossing and take your chances.

Billions of dollars have been spent on the level crossing removal projects which do improve crossing safety - but motorists convenience has been the key.

Traffic improvements measured as a couple of minutes a day are used to justify the whole project.

Meanwhile at inner suburban stations 100 year old pedestrian infrastructure remains stubbornly in place.

A 370 metre walk to cross the tracks if you cannot manage the old splintery steps.

Not a recent problem

The footbridge was built probably some time around 1913- in this photo you can see the main station building on the "up" platform and the 1888 tin shed on the "down" platform.

Heidelberg Historical Society holds many photos of our railway heritage.

The Argus,

01.05.1913, Page 10

"On the Heidelberg line an overhead footbridge will be erected at Ivanhoe and at the Westgarth station while similar bridges will be provided at the Surrey Hills station and over Devonshire road Sunshine."

The footbridge itself is known to have caused at least one fatality -

The Argus,

20.11.1928, Page 16

"After he had run across the footbridge at the Ivanhoe railway station yesterday morning, William Frederick Baker aged 60 years, of Green street, Ivanhoe, who was employed by the Railways department at the Spotswood store depot, exclaimed to a porter, "I am done,“ and collapsed on the platform. A doctor examined him a few minutes later and found that he was dead."

(Thank you Nilss for the snippets)