Tag: public transport summit

Eastern Transport Coalition – Strengthening our aims and objectives

Posted on by alex

With the success of the Eastern Transport Coalition’s recent public transport summit and State Government announcing that it will release a new transport plan in November of this year, it was timely to review the group’s mission statement and objectives to reflect the growing need for public transport improvements.

The ETC’s mission statement has been revised to reflect the importance of accessibility, as well as the need for an integrated public transport system that will improve the liveability of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. The mission now reads as follows:

The Eastern Transport Coalition will advocate for integrated and accessible sustainable transport in the Eastern region of Melbourne to improve liveability and reduce car dependency.

This mission statement will ensure that that the ETC will remain a strong advocate for public transport improvements within its member councils.

Tonight’s meeting also included a presentation from the Bus Association of Victoria to provide some input into the impending bus service reviews for Maroondah, Knox and the Yarra Ranges. It is unsurprising that bus routes that have received improvements, such as frequent services and longer operating spans, have seen patronage increases, especially the Ringwood to Frankston SmartBus which has seen almost a 60% increase in patronage.

The success of the Ringwood to Frankston SmartBus, as well as other SmartBus routes demonstrates that people will use bus services when they are fast, frequent, direct and readily available. The State Government must therefore respond by accelerating its implementation of the SmartBus program so that the orbital network is completed by the end of 2010, rather than the original completion date of 2015. This would assist in providing transport choice for residents that live beyond the reaches of the rail network.

Likewise local routes need further improvements with the the State Government’s minimum service standard of hourly frequencies being inadequate. These routes should be provided with a half-hourly frequency, which would enable better connections with the rail network and other bus services.

The bus network across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs requires substantial improvements and the State Government must use the bus service review process to deliver bus services that provide transport choice for Melbourne’s outer east.

I have stressed to my council colleagues the importance of engaging the community over the bus service reviews. Council will be hosting its own forum to discuss bus improvements once the State Government releases its timeframe for the service reviews. This will ensure that council is providing feedback that is consistent with the views of our community.

We must continue making a difference to secure public transport improvements within Maroondah and Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Delegates' Report: Support services, musical talents, advancing reconciliation and planning for Community Safety Week

Posted on by alex

On the 20th of June I had the pleasure of attending Hope City Mission’s Charity Auction Evening. Hope City Mission, based in Croydon South provides assistance to people in need within our community. The mission does this by not only providing emergency relief in the form of food and clothing but by also focusing on the wellbeing of individuals. Through this focus on wellbeing and empowering change the Mission provides pamper days and extravaganza days, which provide haircuts and a chance to socialise and restore community connectedness. I also had the pleasure of seeing the Mission’s Pamper Day in action, last Friday on the 18th of July and I saw firsthand the benefits this service provides to some of our most vulnerable community members.

Individual wellbeing is just as important as food and clothing and Hope City achieves its Mission through broadening its focus on empowerment.

On the 4th of July the Eastern Transport Coalition held its Public Transport Summit, entitled it’s ‘Time to Move On’, that is time to move away from car dependence and the crippling cost that petrol is having on our families and towards public transport improvements. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many members of the Maroondah community who attended the summit and supported my presentation on the need for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station and the importance of the Ringwood Transit City as a regional centre.

The redevelopment of Ringwood Station is critical to ensuring the revitalisation of Ringwood. The current station fails accessibility standards and is perceived to be unsafe, with Ringwood Station consistently being perceived as one of the most unsafe locations within Maroondah. Coupled with traffic calming along Maroondah Highway, pedestrians which total approximately 10,000 per day would be able to conveniently travel between the transport interchange and the residential/commercial precincts of Ringwood.

The Eastern Transport Coalition has recognised Ringwood’s importance as a regional centre and as a council we must support our neighbouring municipalities in calling for greater investment in public transport. There is strength in Maroondah being part of a concerted regional push, whereby one million residents across the eastern suburbs, recognise the importance in redeveloping Ringwood Station. Let us hope that the State Government heeds this call and delivers this essential upgrade to the station.

On the 11th of July I attended the Maroondah NAIDOC week celebrations which commemorated council’s permanent flying of the Aboriginal flag and I would like to congratulate the many community groups, the Indigenous networks and the Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place for attending the ceremony.

The theme for this year’s NAIDOC week is ‘Advance Australia Fair?’ It is important to note that the organisers intended this theme as a question, since it is a timely reminder of the health, education and wellbeing inequities that exist between non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australia. Council’s Reconciliation Plan, which is included on tonight’s agenda will hopefully assist in bridging this gap and ensure that we as local government are working towards reconciliation.

On the 12th of July I had an afternoon of music, firstly with Enjoying Planned Retirement’s Hidden Talents concert. Where EPR’s unveiled the diverse singing, comedy and music talents of its expansive membership. EPR states that they are ‘recycled teenagers’ although I don’t think my teenage years were ever that fun! I would like to congratulate EPR on yet another fun filled event and look forward to the next Hidden Talents concert in September.

That evening I attended the Ringwood Eisteddfod, marking its 54th year of showcasing the immense musical talent that exists within our community. I would like to commend the many people involved in organising and performing within the Eisteddfod.

While the Premier and Cabinet held a community cabinet session in Karralyka on the 15th of July, I was busy chairing the Maroondah Partners in Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee. With the year half over it is encouraging the see the continuation of the strong networking that exists within the committee with a number of agencies and organisations, such as Connex and the Department of Education, assisting council in undertaking activities for Community Safety Week in October. Do watch this space for details on the council activities for Community Safety Week.

Eastern Transport Coalition – securing public transport improvements for eastern Melbourne

Posted on by alex

Tonight’s Eastern Transport Coalition discussed the recently held public transport summit and the State Government’s new transport plan which is due in November of this year.

Following from the public transport summit, The Eastern Transport Coalition recently presented its priorities to the Premier John Brumby and the Minister for Public Transport, Lynne Kosky. This briefing reinforced the need for new rail extensions, upgraded public transport interchanges, such as the redevelopment of Ringwood Station, and vastly improved bus services.

The Government is now seeking a list of projects from the Eastern Transport Coalition which will hopefully form part of the State Government’s new transport plan. The Eastern Transport Coalition is calling on the State Government to invest heavily in public transport so as to provide relief for rising petrol prices and mitigate worsening traffic congestion. It is critical that the State Government delivers a plan that commits to the target of improving public transport patronage and delivering a level of service that meets the needs of Melbourne.

The recently released Emissions Trading Scheme green paper was also discussed, with the Eastern Transport Coalition calling on the Federal and State Governments to work together over the next five years to ensure that public transport services are improved. Federal leadership is required to reduce car dependency and to tackle the rising levels of greenhouse emissions that are caused by the transport sector.

The Eastern Transport Coalition’s public transport summit served as a call to action to State and Federal Governments. It is imperative that governments listen to this message and deliver the public transport improvements demanded by the community.

Maroondah Leader: Premier push for station

Posted on by alex

The Maroondah Leader has reported on the recently held Eastern Transport Coalition Summit and the renewed advocacy campaign for the upgrade of Ringwood Station, amid the arrival of the Premier and Cabinet for a community cabinet at Maroondah’s Karralyka Centre.

Councillor Alex Makin told an Eastern Transport Coalition summit earlier this month that a firm commitment to the station redevelopment was urgent.

The redevelopment of Ringwood Station is critical to ensure the revitalisation of Ringwood into an accessible and sustainable urban centre that is well served through public transport.

Cr Makin said a lack of State Government funding for the project threatened the revitalisation of Ringwood.

“The Government claims it is ‘committed’ to Ringwood but its words are meaningless without a financial commitment,” Cr Makin said.

The State Government cannot expect the community to believe its promises when it constantly fails to deliver funds to redevelop the station. While the State Government provided minor funding in previous budgets to undertake feasibility and design works it failed to deliver a single cent to deliver the necessary works to redevelop the station into a safe and accessible transport interchange.

“Ringwood Station is consistently rated as one of the most unsafe locations within Maroondah it fails Commonwealth accessibility standards.”

The Eastern Transport Coalition stands united in its call for the upgrade of Ringwood Station. It is imperative that Maroondah City Council holds the State Government to account so that the station redevelopment is delivered as part of the overall revitalisation of Ringwood.

Maroondah Journal: Boost trains, users urge

Posted on by alex

Amid the recently held Eastern Transport Coalition Public Transport Summit, the Maroondah Journal has continued to explore public transport issues, particularly, in regard to the need for service improvements along Melbourne’s rail network.

Eastern Transport Coalition spokesman Cr Alex Makin said evening services would be an easy fix. “There’s nothing stopping the Government from saying tomorrow it will provide additional inter peak services. It would be instant relief for families struggling with increasing fuel prices.”

Inter peak services (services that are between the morning and evening peaks) beyond Ringwood currently operate at a half hourly frequency, severely limiting the opportunity to use public transport outside of peak hours to travel to and from the Ringwood Transit City.

Likewise evening services after 8pm operate at a half-hourly frequency limiting choices available for people that work late.

He said more frequent evening and inter peak services were critical for people to get to and from activity centres, such as the Ringwood Transit City.

The fact that weekend services operate at a 20 minute interval demonstrates that more frequent inter peak weekdays services are possible. For example, it is absurd that people wishing to travel between Croydon and Ringwood at 10am on a weekday are required to wait up to half an hour for train, when on a Saturday or Sunday they would be waiting for 20 minutes.

The government has stated that it will be revising the train timetable next year, hopefully they rectify these anomalies within our train timetables and help reinforce the importance of public transport within the Ringwood Transit City and the outer east.

Eastern Transport Coalition Public Transport Summit

Posted on by alex

The Eastern Transport Coalition represents one million residents across the seven eastern metropolitan councils within Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Today’s summit highlighted the need for public transport improvements within the eastern suburbs to become sustainable and accessible through providing transport choice for residents facing worsening traffic congestion and rising petrol prices. The theme includes the infrastructure needs of the region and included presentations on the need for new rail lines serving Rowville and Doncaster, as well as required improvements to the Belgrave and Lilydale rail lines.

The keynote speakers, Professors Peter Newman and Graham Currie, spoke about the importance of public transport in reducing greenhouse emissions and mitigating the effects of rising petrol prices. Both speakers reiterated the trend of rising petrol prices and demonstrated quite clearly that such increases were only going to continue.

While the Premier was unable to attend, Rob Hudson, the Parliamentary Secretary for Public Transport, stated that the Government would release a new transport plan by the end of the year. While the State Government released Meeting Our Transport Challenges in 2006, the plan was widely condemned as being inadequate and failed to plan for any infrastructure improvements in the eastern suburbs. It is hoped that the government’s next plan will rectify these shortcomings.

The Opposition Leader, Ted Baillieu, spoke about the government’s litany of public transport plans and the increasing cost of inaction. While the opposition leader did not make any commitments, he did highlight the need for rail lines to Doncaster and Rowville.

The summit was extremely well attended by community members, as well as local councillors, State MPs and members of local environment and transport groups. Time was provided to allow attendees to discuss the needs of the eastern region and during this time the need for accessibility improvements on public transport was mentioned.

Alex speaking at the ETC Public Transport Summit

I spoke on the needs of the Belgrave/Lilydale lines and Ringwood with Cr. Samantha Dunn from the Shire of Yarra Ranges, who spoke about the need for rail duplications to improve the reliability of the line.

My presentation focused on the need for rail improvements between Box Hill and Ringwood and the importance of Ringwood as a regional centre within the eastern region. The expectations of eastern Melbourne and its 1 million residents were conveyed at this summit. The State Government must act and deliver the much needed public transport infrastructure, including the redevelopment of Ringwood Station, that is urgently required for the region

Please continue reading to view a copy of the speech I delivered at the summit.

Continue reading “Eastern Transport Coalition Public Transport Summit”

Eastern councils united in the call for public transport improvements

Posted on by alex

As the Deputy Chair of the Eastern Transport Coalition I accompanied the Mayors of the eastern region in the signing of a letter calling on the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition to attend the upcoming public transport summit on the 4th of July and to commit to improving public transport services and infrastructure within the region.

Alex at the letter signing campaign for the Eastern Transport Coalition

The fact that the seven Mayors have signed this letter demonstrates that the eastern region is united in its call for public transport improvements. Melbourne’s eastern suburbs is home to almost one million people and includes regional centres such as Box Hill, Ringwood and Dandenong. It is critical that Melbourne’s eastern suburbs be provided with a standard of public transport that provides an alternative to spiralling petrol prices and car dependence.

Doncaster and Rowville need rail lines to provide the infrastructure that should have been installed decades ago and centres like Box Hill, Ringwood and Dandenong need stations that are safe and accessible. Bus services should be frequent, readily available and coordinate with trains and other bus services.

Much needs to be done to improve public transport in the eastern suburbs and the joint letter demonstrates the region’s commitment to the advocacy of public transport improvements.

The ETC’s public transport summit will be held on Friday the 4th of July. For details please visit www.etc.org.au.

Eastern Transport Coalition: Planning for the public transport summit

Posted on by alex

This evening’s Eastern Transport Coalition meeting focused on the public transport summit planned for the 4th of July. This public transport summit will focus on the infrastructure needs of Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs and will include presentations on Doncaster rail, Rowville rail as well as Ringwood Station and the Belgrave/Lilydale lines.

While rising petrol prices have led to a reduction in vehicle usage within inner Melbourne, families in Melbourne’s outer suburbs are left struggling under the strain of rising prices due to the lack of readily available public transport.

The State Government must realise that it is time to move on from transport neglect and towards an era of major public transport expansion to provide transport choice for Melbourne’s outer suburbs. Only a significant boost to public transport will provide an alternative to rising petrol prices and reduce greenhouse emissions that are continuing to spiral out of control.

The summit includes a number of prominent transport and planning experts, including Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University and Professor Graham Currie, Monash University Chair of Public Transport.

Ringwood Station and the importance of Ringwood as a regional centre will feature as one of the topics to be discussed at the summit. I will presenting information on the Ringwood Transit City and the importance of public transport in providing a safe, accessible and vibrant environment at 10:45 am.

The summit entitled ‘It’s Time to Move On’ will be held on Friday the 4th of July from 8:30 am at the Maninngham Function Centre, 699 Doncaster Road in Doncaster.

For further details please visit www.etc.org.au.

Delegates' Report: Reconciliation Week, engaging our youth, supporting people with disabilities and calling for an investment in public transport

Posted on by alex

While held slightly before Reconciliation Week I attended the screening of a film Liyarn Ngarn by Eastern Access Community Health on the 23rd of May. The screening was held as part of EACH’s Stage Club program at Lifeworks in Ringwood. Stage Club hosts film or life performances every third Friday and provides an opportunity for people with mental illnesses to learn skills relevant to the hospitality industry.

Liyarn Ngarn means ‘Coming Together of the Spirit’ in the Yawuru language of the West Kimberley region. The film is a documentary which explores the treatment of Indigenous Australians from the perspective of English actor Peter Postlethwaite. The film focuses on the journey undertaken by Peter, singer/songwriter Archie Roach and Patrick Dodson as they travel from Perth through to Archie Roach’s home country in south west Victoria. Throughout the journey they hear from personal accounts and discuss major turning points in the relationship with Indigenous Australians such as the Bringing them Home Report and the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Inquiry.

The film, which features a soundtrack by Archie Roach is a very moving and thought provoking documentary. The theme for this year’s Reconciliation Week was it’s all our story, representing that to progress reconciliation it will involve all of Australia coming together and I certainly encourage people to view the film and consider how reconciliation can become part of our story.

On the 30th of May I had the pleasure of officiating the Young Leaders Presentation Evening held at EV’s Youth Centre. The presentation provided an opportunity to acknowledge the twenty Year 10 students who participated in council’s young leaders program.

Young Leaders is a week long program that helps develop a wide variety of leadership skills, such as public speaking, communication and conflict resolution. The program is held during the school week and while some students may look forward a week off school, in reality it means that they will need to catch up on the work they have missed. Participating in the program is a huge responsibility and one which each student passed with superb results.

The presentation evening provides an opportunity to see firsthand the skills these students have learnt and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Youth Services Team for facilitating the program and also to the schools and parents for their cooperation. I hope that these students will remember the skills they have learnt and use them not only in school and employment but also within the community. Many community groups would welcome the involvement of younger people and I hope they will use these skills to assist in strengthening our community.

On the 10th of June I attended the launch of Youth Voices at Ringwood Secondary College. Youth Voices will develop a magazine to provide a voice for our youth and to demonstrate the positive contribution that young people make within society. The launch began with an online interactive forum which covered a range of topics, including the future of Ringwood. Council’s Youth Services Team and Economic Development Team, as well as Eastland, need to be congratulated for using this opportunity to consult our youth to understand their vision for Ringwood. This an exciting project and it was great to see the embracing of technology through interactive online forums to encourage people to offer their thoughts. I hope that as a council we will continue to explore innovative methods of community engagement.

On the 15th of June I attended a game of the Ringwood Spiders and their Sponsors Gala function. The Ringwood Spiders is part of the 14 team league organised through the Football Integration Development Association (FIDA). The Ringwood Spiders have a strong focus on the community and they encourage community engagement through their sponsorship program where businesses and community members can sponsor a player for $150 to provide funds for uniforms and other expenses. While the Spiders narrowly lost to Parkside they played some great football and it was great to see the player I sponsored, half back Tom Raisebeck, out on the field. The Spiders have just two remaining home games on the 29th of June and 27th of July and I wish them all the best for the remaining rounds in the season.

On the 15th of June I attended the EastLink open day like many other people and while it certainly is true that Eastlink is an engineering feat we need to remind ourselves that it is not the end of our transport needs in the eastern region. In fact with evidence suggesting $2 per litre petrol prices being common in the not too distant future we need the public transport equivalent of Eastlink.

For those among us that are sceptical about petrol ever reaching $2 a litre we only need to look back a few years and remember how many people claimed that a $1 litre was unforeseeable.

Fortunately Maroondah and the eastern region is focused on the needs of public transport and I am pleased to announce that the Eastern Transport Coalition, the consortium of the seven eastern councils, will be hosting a public transport summit aptly titled ‘It’s Time to Move On’. This summit will explore the public transport needs for eastern Melbourne including a session on Ringwood and its importance as a regional centre.

The summit will be held on Friday the 4th of July from 8.30 am through to 11 am at the Manningham Function Centre in Doncaster. To RSVP please visit www.etc.org.au or let me know as Maroondah’s delegated representative to the ETC.

We have had the investment in our road network – it now is time to move on to ensure that we also receive the necessary investment in our public transport network.

Public Transport Summit – It's Time to Move On

Posted on by alex

You are invited to attend a Public Transport Summit on Friday 4 July at Manningham City Council Offices, Doncaster.

Hosted by the Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC), the Summit will draw together local residents, leaders and transport advocates to discuss improving public transport in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Keynote speaker will be Professor Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University. Professor Newman is a renowned West Australian academic and planner who is credited with coining the term ‘automobile dependence’ — an expression describing the creation of cities reliant on cars.

The Summit will also hear from Professor Graham Currie, Monash University Chair of Public Transport and Peter Daly, Chief Engineer from the RACV.

In addition I will be speaking about the role of Ringwood and its importance as an accessible regional centre which requires a comprehensive public transport system complete with the redevelopment of Ringwood Station and duplications along the Belgrave and Lilydale rail lines.

For further details and to RSVP please visit the ETC public transport summit web site.