The Forestway: a priceless remnant

The Hillcrest Forestway is a gem nestled in the outer eastern suburb of Donvale. The Mullum Mullum valley is relatively narrow with steep slopes and has comparatively little flood plain development. It is flanked by the Mullum Mullum Creek to the east and a tributary to the north. The creeks banks consist of riparian vegetation.

The dominant vegetation class in Hillcrest and Chaim Court is an endangered ecological vegetation class called “Valley Heathy Forest”. There is a total of 24 hectares of this medium or high-quality vegetation remaining, of which only 8.4 % is left in the whole of Victoria.

The Mullum Mullum Valley is a critical wildlife corridor linked to the Warrandyte State Forest. Koalas, wallabies and the powerful owl can feed and breed on a much larger scale because of this link. The valley supports at least 144 bird species and over 20 species of mammal.

Hillcrest Association, with the cooperation of the City of Manningham and VicRoads, has worked to protect the Forestway in accordance with its management plan:

 1. Preservation of the rare ecological vegetation class Valley Heathy Forest, by implementing a weed eradication program and allowing natural regeneration with the minimum of replanting.

 2. Management of the medium quality Valley Heathy Forest by intensive weed management and planting as well as encouraging natural regeneration.

 3. Management and containment of the weedy areas of the Forestway, generally abutting dwellings, tracks and heavily used pedestrian areas. These areas have the exotic weeds removed by hand or by spraying and they are replanted with indigenous vegetation collected from local provenance.

What will be left if a surface freeway is constructed

33 % (3 hectares) of high quality Valley Heathy Forest will be cleared during construction;

Another 51 % (4.5 hectares) is expected to be damaged or suffer serious degrading influences and may end up as medium or low-quality vegetation;

Areas up to 70 metres away from the edge of the construction activities will be adversely affected.

In other words very little.
 

A forestway cannot be “restored”

At the very best, native plants are planted along the edges of new freeways, however these are rarely maintained (look at the existing Eastern Freeway from Bulleen Road to Hoddle Street). The precious lower storey is lost—the fungi, orchids, wildflowers and grasses which in turn provide food and habitat for insects, birds and small mammals.

“High quality native vegetation cannot be replaced in the short to medium term.” “There is no existing precedent of satisfactory broad-scale restoration following such construction works in Victoria.” These statements in a recent report by Ecology Australia clearly indicate the huge cost involved and the little likelihood of success.

Look at any map of Melbourne and you will see how little untouched natural bushland is left. Our forefathers left the valleys for a purpose: we need clean water, clean air and the retention of areas largely untouched by human intervention.

Why all four Tunnel Options must be rejected

The Hillcrest Forestway and Chaim Court Bushland form a fragile but fully integrated and functional ecosystem. It is inevitable that construction of the freeway even with tunnelled sections will see increased human activity in the valley, including vehicles. No matter how many safeguards are drawn up, history shows that these are never followed to the letter because they cannot be monitored 24 hours a day. Any plan is only as strong as its weakest link, and the weak link will be human: non-compliance by contractors in the field who will look for the easiest way to complete a task—and the shortcut will always be to the cost of the environment. Soil will be compacted, vegetation trampled and wildlife disturbed.

The Hillcrest Association charges the Government to rescind all freeway construction until a nwe EES is set in place and a full and well-researched investigation is carried out into Integrated Public Transport and Preservation of Public Open Space. The 1987 EES cannot be used as the blueprint for a completely different road.

In summary, Hillcrest Association submits that there should be NO FREEWAY.

Please consider

Scientists are warning of the environmental catastrophe that could result from our ongoing destruction of the planet’s delicately interconnected ecosystems, on which our own survival depends. Before we further fragment Melbourne’s most important wildlife corridor, destroy its last intact waterway and worsen air pollution problems in the eastern suburbs, let us ask:

Why aren’t we pursuing public transport options?

Why aren’t we questioning the current thinking of freeway construction at a time when other developed countries are turning away from them? Don Chen from the Surface Transportation Policy Project in Washington spoke in Ringwood last month on the changes now occuring in United States transport policy. With community education and political will, our Government could be pursuing the exciting transport policies now underway in the US.

Are we always doomed to copy other countries’ mistakes?

Let us also recognise that:

What is done cannot be undone.

Our population is ageing and we haven’t produced safe regular public transport for those who are no longer safe to drive.

Our culture continues to accept that the young need a car at 18 instead of being able to get around on public transport.

Driving a car is an elitist pursuit, and as car owners we have an obligation to our environment to mix it with the masses by walking, biking, training, tramming and bussing.

The most recent scientific conference in Hungary (July 99) stated that with all the pollution that exists in cities children are breathing in the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes a day.
 

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