What’s growing on in Preston?

The level crossings at Oakover Road, Bell Street, Cramer Street and Murray Road in Preston have been removed by elevating the Mernda Line over the 4 roads and opening new stations at Preston and Bell.

The Preston Level Crossing Removal Project delivered 3 MCG's worth of public open space with over 700 new trees and around 148,000 plants, shrubs and grasses. New community facilities, including playgrounds, BBQ areas, exercise equipment and shared use paths are now open for everyone to use. Landscape architects carefully selected a variety of trees and plants to bring colour to the revitalised corridor and enhance biodiversity.

Did you know?

• Selecting the right plants improves safety around the station precincts.
• Low garden beds and tall trees allow direct sightlines from the street to the station. This maximises passive surveillance, security and wayfinding.

Trees

Fourteen varieties of trees have been planted from bird-attracting weeping bottlebrushes to river red gums. These trees will grow to provide shade and shelter for the community while offering local nesting opportunities and food for local wildlife.

Establishing new vegetation is a lengthy process that goes beyond just planting. New vegetation takes multiple seasons to establish, and it is common for around 10 per cent of transplanted vegetation not to thrive in their new environment. The project has partnered with qualified arborists to undertake a detailed program of monitoring and maintenance. Regular assessments of every tree and shrub will continue to determine its health and viability.

Trees which have not successfully transitioned have already been identified and removed, while others are being allowed more time to establish. The project will continue to monitor the area for 2 years. We want to ensure that all vegetation is properly maintained and replaced wherever required to ensure the community can enjoy green open space for many years to come. Once the warranty period is complete, care of the maturing green space will be transferred to the appropriate authority such as local council or Metro Trains Melbourne.

Varieties of trees include:

• Weeping bottlebrush
• Lemon-scented gum
• Weeping lilly pilly
• Coast banksia

Groundcovers

Groundcovers are plants, shrubs or grasses that help to prevent soil erosion and weeds.

We have planted more than 19 different varieties in Preston. Along the rail corridor, we have planted small groups of native fuchsia, coast tussock grass and mat rush to enhance local biodiversity and invigorate the area.

We focused on providing a resilient, sustainable landscape by selecting drought-tolerant plants with low water usage and high growth performance.

Varieties of groundcovers include:

• Coast tussock grass
• Cut-leaf daisy
• Smooth flax lily
• Kangaroo Grass
• Coastal rosemary
• Gold-dust wattle
• River bottlebrush
• Rosemary grevillea
• Crimson bottlebrush
• Prickly tea tree