Monique Gray, Len Glamuzina and John Cunai went out for a celebratory pizza after winning a two-year battle to get this safety barrier.

SPEARWOOD residents are celebrating after their two-year battle to get a dangerous railway crossing upgraded bore fruit.

The crossing on Rockingham Road had been the site of two fatalities – sadly from the same family but in separate incidents – and was one of the last in Perth’s built-up areas to get fencing separating the tracks from the footpath.

But Cooloongup resident Monique Gray has doggedly pushed railway operator Arc Infrastructure and the state government to take responsibility for the site after stepping in to help an elderly friend whose fence adjoining the track fell over.

She took a look at the railway corridor and decided it was a pretty poor entry point for the suburb generally, co-opting Spearwood Residents Association members Len Glamuzina and John Cunai to rustle up a petition to parliament.

Seeing the gates go up and other works to clean the area up recently was a “bittersweet” moment for Ms Gray.

“Obviously everything got done, but at the same time I spent so much time on it, so at the moment I’m like ‘oh, it’s over’,” Ms Gray said.

She said there was “a lot of tears, a lot of tantrums” along the way, but praised the association members for their patience and support. The three went out together to share a celebratory pizza after letting their online supporters know of the success.

Mr Cunai said without Ms Gray’s passion to see the project through, it was unlikely the crossing would have been upgraded.

“It’s something the association has kept its eye on for a decade at least, but it’s her drive and passion that helped to get us motivated,” Mr Cunai said.

But he said there was a “sore point” to the upgrade.

“I wish some of our local elected representatives did more for the community and did more for the associations.

“I think that some of our elected representatives are lacking in showing any drive or passion, especially for projects like this.”