Missing link

By Bridget Brady
THEY are so close, yet so far away.
Two neighbouring towns are merely a stone’s throw from each other, but an incomplete Aylmer Road means it takes Lyndhurst residents up to half an hour in peak hour traffic to drive to Lynbrook.
And the campaign to connect the two towns has heated up, with a petition with 853 signatures presented to Casey Council on Tuesday night.
Lynbrook resident Karolina Brandon and her partner, Mason Shadwell, gathered the signatures, and would love to see Aylmer Road connected when the development of Lynbrook Railway Station occurs.
The pair is due to move to Lyndhurst next year.
“It’s killing the local shops at Lynbrook. There are so many now that are empty because people just aren’t getting there,” Mr Shadwell said.
While doorknocking and talking to people about their frustrations, Ms Brandon discovered an elderly woman used the pedestrian underpass to cross Aylmer Road from Lyndhurst to Lynbrook to get a taxi to pick her up to avoid the longer trip.
Lynbrook Residents’ Association president Jason Wood said there were mixed opinions about the connection of Aylmer Road, with some worried about the safety of a level crossing.
Lyndhurst MP Tim Holding said he agreed the two towns needed to be connected by road, but said “the solution must be safe and affordable”.
Ms Brandon said there were dangers every day when someone got in their car to drive, and said the safety concerns about a level crossing should not be used as an excuse.
Casey councillor Amanda Stapledon presented the petition to council on Tuesday and has thrown her support behind the project.
“Council is committed to delivering an at-grade crossing should approval be obtained from the relevant government agencies, and has offered to contribute the equivalent amount-estimated at $1.6 million- toward a grade separated solution if the State Government was to build a road underpass,” she said.
“Instead of taking half an hour it could take two minutes,” Ms Brandon said.