Arncliffe residents are rejoicing following last week’s opening of two long-awaited state government projects.
Four new lifts began operating at Arncliffe station on Thursday at the same time as a pedestrian tunnel beneath the railway line was opened 250 metres away.
Residents had sought lifts at the station for more than a decade because of difficulties faced by mothers with prams, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Efforts intensified in 2013 with a campaign by Rockdale Residents Unite, Sydney Alliance and the South West Community Development Organisation, backed by a Leader front page report headlined A stairway to hell.
Al Zahra College began writing to local politicians and ministers about the need for a pedestrian tunnel beneath the railway line in 1996.
The new walkway is more pleasant, convenient and safer than the Wollongong Road traffic underpass for students as well as residents walking to Wolli Creek shops and railway station.
The tunnel has good natural and installed lighting and CCTV surveillance.
Murals, based on the artwork of college students, cover the walls.
The opening of the projects was low key, with no minister attending, perhaps partly due to controversy over the $17 million cost of the tunnel, which included a You Tube video titled, The tiny tunnel that costs more than a high school.
Alison Suttie, who inspected the tunnel with daughter Lily Smith, 4, was philosophical about the price tag.
“It seems a lot, but you don’t want a train falling on your head,” she said.
“I used to walk through the road tunnel with Lily when she was in a pram, and it was a nightmare.”
Kesang Lama, who moved with her husband to Arncliffe four years ago before their son Kenyon was born, said they had been looking forward to the opening.
“We walk to Wolli Creek for the shops and railway station because the trains are faster,” she said.
Marissa Manalo said the new station lifts were a blessing from God.
Mrs Manalo lives on the Princes Highway side of the station, which meant navigating the stairs on both sides every time she went to the shops.
“I have lived here for 24 years, and had to carry my four babies up and down the stairs,” she said.
“My eldest is now 24 and the youngest is turning 20 – it has taken all this time, but I am so happy and pleased.”
Young mother Sherbin Shabeb said she used to have to wait near the stairs until someone came along whom she could ask to help with her pram.
”There were times when it would start raining, but I just had to stand there,” she said.
