June 19, 2024

# Construction impact around Croydon’s new train station

Utilising our hotspot and visitation tools to examine the changes to Croydon across the 6 month construction phase

**We know that - when done well - major infrastructure projects will catalyse economic activity and create longitudinal neighbourhood benefits. But just how much does the construction 'impact' affect the local life of these projects?**

Melbourne's Croydon train station reopens this week after spending 6+ months closed for a level crossing removal project. This is hugely exciting for residents (partially because many kids attend the childcare adjacent and partially because the bifurcated centre of Croydon will no longer have a train line cutting it in half)!

And so - of course - we couldn't help but to look at what the data shows about how this LXRP has already changed Croydon across the last 6 months of construction:

Our CEO Jessica Christiansen-Franks shared this analysis in her thought leadership series on [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-christiansen-franks/)

**1\. Night time activity changed**

Before the project started, Croydon's main dining precinct was one of the busiest locations in the suburb in the evenings and the station area was relatively quiet. However, by May 2024, when the project had been underway 4 months, the dining precinct was notably quieter, while the workers around the station increased activity levels.

- Not really surprising, but it will be very interesting to watch how quickly the evening activity recovers

**2\. Visitors came from further away**

Across the last 6 months, the average travel distance of visitors to Croydon **jumped** to 10.6km, from 9.5km the same time last year. This increased visitor catchment is often a happy side effect of major infrastructure projects, as large numbers of workers travel to the location.

- An increase in average travel distance **may** also be a signal that there was a **decrease** in shorter local visits... so let's take a look

**3\. Visitation from nearby suburbs was changed**

When looking at the top locations visited from surrounding suburbs, Croydon's share remained steady. With residents of Mooroolbark, Ringwood, and other neighbouring towns **still** favouring Croydon as the top place to go, despite the physical disruption.

- The steady local visitation patterns are one of the most important indicators of the longer term local vibrancy

**View the Croydon Lifestyle Report here:** [**https://bit.ly/3YxI3xx**](https://bit.ly/3YxI3xx)

**If you want to check out this data for any location Australia-wide, create a** [**free account**](/content/sign-up/index.html) **and have a play around today.**

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