Sunbury resident Mary Nehmy is continuing in her advocacy for a lift system to be installed at Sunbury Railway Station.
Ms Nehmy has acrophobia – a fear of heights – and said that the gaps in the staircase and height of the ramp and overpass create challenges for her during her commute.
She said that the lack of a lift creates challenges for older people, people with disability, and people with acrophobia.
“Can you imagine yesterday, with the wind and the rain … [if] someone came walking down the stairs with the gaps … you’re exposed to the elements. The steps are worse for me,” Ms Nehmy said when she spoke to Star Weekly last week.
Ms Nehmy said that she plans to leave early for her train trips to account for the stresses of using the station’s ramp, and while she often receives assistance from staff, she worries about holding up other commuters.
“If I do hang onto somebody, I get to go up the ramp. Although … the ramp takes longer, and I don’t want these perfect strangers … to be disadvantaged.
“This has always been the problem from day one since I’ve lived here, that overpass. I had no idea. Honestly, if I knew that, I wouldn’t have moved here!”
Ms Nehmy said that she has written letters to the department of transport in the past suggesting alterations to the ramp and overpass to enclose it, which she said would create a protection from weather and help ease her phobia.
She said that she has also advocated for a lift to be installed with Sunbury MP Josh Bull.
Hume council also wrote to the state government and Sunbury MP Josh Bull asking for details of when a lift system will be installed, after a notice of motion raised by councillor Trevor Dance.
In a reply to Star Weekly, Mr Bull said that he is aware of residents’ calls for a lift to be installed at the station and has “advocated strongly on this matter and will continue to do so.“
He said that he recently raised an adjournment in the chamber requesting a meeting with the minister for public and active transport to discuss the future for accessibility in transport in Sunbury, submitted a petition on the issue to the minister on behalf of residents, and pledged to continue raising the issue.
The minister for public and active transport was contacted for comment.
