Tag: transit orientated design

Maroondah Leader: Council wants fast-track for station upgrade

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The Maroondah Leader has reported on the need for the full redevelopment of Ringwood Station to be included within the upcoming 2009-2010 Budget.

Cr Alex Makin said the station upgrade would be a “catalyst for the transformation of Ringwood. We need the State Government to back up the commitment it made late last year.”

While the State Government committed $39 million for the redevelopment of the Ringwood station forecourt and bus interchange, this funding will not alter the station itself or improve accessibility for train users.

“It will stimulate local economic activity, create jobs within the region and encourage inclusion since the project would create a station that is accessible.”

The redevelopment of Ringwood Station would stimulate economic activity not just to Maroondah but throughout the outer eastern suburbs.

Furthermore, a commitment towards the station would demonstrate that the State Government has confidence in its policies for Ringwood and would therefore encourage further development to transform Ringwood into a vibrant ubran centre.

“Now is the ideal time for the Government to commit to the project in its entirety.”

A commitment towards infrastructure projects such as creating an accessible, inclusive and easy to use Ringwood Station and interchange would demonstrate a commitment to Maroondah and the regional economy.

The State Budget is due in early May.

PTUA Southeast Branch sets the agenda for 2007

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The first Tuesday of February marked the first meeting of the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) South East for 2007.

The South East Branch is now a recognised branch of the PTUA with June Whitton appointed as a convenor. Being recognised as a formal branch the PTUA South East will be able to forge its own identity and clearly represents the needs and priorities of Melbourne’s south eastern residents.

Prominent among these priorities will be a campaign to restore staff to Noble Park and Hallam Stations and to improve rail and bus services within Melbourne’s fast growing south east. Public transport services are inadequate for current needs let alone to meet the projected growth that is to occur within this region of Melbourne.

The PTUA South East Branch will ensure that Melbourne’s south has a local and vocal presence in ensuring that much needed public transport services are delivered to this fast growing region.

Herald-Sun: Delays are off the rails

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During January, as people return to work and international events such as the Australian Open are hosted in Melbourne, rail passengers have had to endure some of the worst levels of rail services across the metropolitan rail network, with one in 25 services being cancelled and a number of severe delays.

The Sunday Herald-Sun has reported on the ongoing litany of excuses provided by Connex as it continually fails to lift its languishing performance standards:

Connex blames weather, brake problems, vandalism and drivers being required on trains beyond the Middleborough Rd rail underpass project at Box Hill.

Unfortunately there appears to be little relief in sight, as passengers and tourists reliant on Melbourne’s public transport system, need to contend with both summer timetable cutbacks and a poor level of service.

Public Transport Users’ Association spokesman Alex Makin said Connex and the State Government were short-changing commuters.

“It has been an ongoing saga on reliability,” he said. “Connex seems to pick one excuse after the other.”

Ultimately the State Government must take responsibility for the failings of Connex and for failing to ensure that adequate backup systems (such as backup trains and backup communication systems) are available during times of disruption.

The State Government neglect is demonstrated by the fact that the backup system for Metrol, the central control centre for Melbourne’s rail network, was salvaged for spare parts due to the archaic nature of the existing system.

Meeting the new Minister for Public Transport

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Today, as part of delegation through the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), I met the new Minister for Public Transport, Lynne Kosky. While the meeting was largely introductory in nature it was encouraging to see the Minister take on board a number of concerns shared by the PTUA.

Unlike her predecessor, Minister Kosky has a history in local government, being a former Councillor and later Mayor of Footscray City Council. This community orientated background should hopefully mean that the new Minister will be more responsive to community needs.

While the organisational structure of the Department of Infrastructure is still unnecessarily burdensome, it is hoped that Minister Kosky will be able to succeed in delivering the much needed public transport improvements required for Melbourne’s future economic, social and environmental success.

Melbourne requires a comprehensive public transport system that provides real transport choice. This will only be achieved through expanding the rail and tram network and ensuring that bus services are fast, frequent, readily available and direct. Such improvements would ensure progress towards the goal of increasing public transport modal share to 20% by the year 2020.
The initial meeting with Minister Kosky was both positive and productive and I trust that she will take this opportunity to rectify Melbourne’s public transport deficiencies. If so, then I wish Lynne Kosky the best of success.

Maroondah Journal: Transport portfolio split a 'backward step'

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The Maroondah Journal has reported on the Government’s retrograde step to split the Transport Portfolio into separate Public Transport and Roads components:

While Peter Batchelor was unable to handle the Transport Portfolio, as evidenced by delivering little more than broken promises and empty rhetoric, the separation of the portfolio could further hamper the Government’s ability to deliver the public transport projects that are required to mitigate rising traffic congestion and provide an alternative to rising petrol prices.

The Public Transport Users Association, which last year called for Mr Batchelor to be sacked, said the portfolio split could simply make the imbalance between road and public transport planning even worse.

“The move to split the portfolio seems to be a backward step,” PTUA vice-president Alex Makin said. “One of the key criticisms was the lack of integration between road and public transport planning, and this could worsen under the change.”

While it is encouraging that Peter Batchelor has been replaced by Lynne Kosky, Melbourne cannot afford continued inaction and delays to much needed public transport projects.

Lynne Kosky, as the new Minister for Public Transport, must commit to delivering the broken promises, such as the Knox tram extension, the Rowville rail line, the South Morang and Merna rail extensions and other projects such as the Doncaster tram extension and much upgrades to Ringwood Station, which were all left unfunded and forgotten by her predecessor.

MAV Transport and Infrastructure Advisory Group

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The MAV Transport and Infrastructure Group is focusing on three areas for 2007:

  • Federal funding for Transport;
  • Freight and rail infrastructure;
  • Infrastructure issues related to growth.

Working groups have been established to focus on each of the specific issues and I am within the Federal funding for transport group.

The MAV Transport and Infrastructure Advisory Group and each of the separate working groups will continue to meet throughout 2007 to ensure progress on the issues discussed.

Precinct Plans – Ringwood Town Centre

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The precinct plans for the Ringwood Town Centre were passed at this evening’s council meeting. The passing of these plans will establish a clear framework for the future development of the Ringwood Town Centre and as such will facilitate investment and employment growth within Ringwood.

The plans, which broadly cover the area bound by Ringwood Street, Warrandyte Road, Maroondah Highway and Plaza Centre Way (also known as the Bond Street extension), will attract a variety of land uses (including retail, civic commercial and residential) and will assist in creating a sense of community and pride for Ringwood.

In particular the plans will include a new Town Square for Ringwood and allow for easier pedestrian access between Ringwood Station and the retail precinct of Ringwood and improve the overall amenity and walkability of Ringwood.

Given the significance of the precinct plans, there was a widespread effort to encourage community involvement and submissions. I am encouraged by the fact that 14 submissions were received, all of which were generally supportive of the concepts identified within the precinct plans.

The relatively high volume of submissions demonstrates wider community involvement within the Ringwood Transit City project and the overall supportive tone highlights a shared vision for the future of Ringwood and the Ringwood Transit City project.

I encourage the community to continue its involvement in the Ringwood Transit City project; the success in creating a vibrant town centre will depend largely on ongoing community engagement.

Tonight’s council meeting also marked the last meeting for 2006. I look forward to further representing as we enter the new year and beyond.

Final PTUA committee meeting for 2006

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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has achieved a number of successes in 2006 such as ensuring that public transport was seen as a key state election issue. The final committee meeting for the year provided the opportunity to reflect on these accomplishments while ensuring that a sold foundation is established for 2007.

In particular residents of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs made their voices heard in the November State Election with the government losing six outer eastern seats. The tight contests in a number of seats, such as Kilsyth and Ferntree Gully, clearly demonstrated the importance of public transport as an election issue.

In fact the government may have been able to such these seats had promises, such as the Knox tram, the Rowville rail line and service improvements along the Belgrave and Lilydale lines, been honoured by the and not simply forgotten by the now former MPs.

The PTUA was pleased with the discussions held with a number of candidates and newly elected MPs and we will continue this dialogue to ensure that these new MPs honour their commitment to public transport issues.

Melbourne’s southeast is also finding its voice on public transport issues with regular meeting at Springvale for what is currently a south-eastern sub-branch. In 2007 steps must be taken to formalise a southeastern branch and ensure that these residents in these areas have the same opportunity as Melbourne’s east in demanding public transport improvements.

The work of branches must be commended as they directly contributed to the PTUA’s successful lobbying efforts in the lead up to the State Election. This momentum however must not stop as it needs to continue throughout the four years to ensure that more than just rhetoric is delivered.

Delegates' Report: Community Partnerships in Removing Zone Three

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Tonight I will be reporting on the Eastern Transport Coalition meeting held on the 19th of October and the outcome of our ‘fair fares’ campaign.

The Eastern Transport Coalition’s campaign in seeking the abolition of zone three was obviously a success with both major parties; first the Victorian Liberal Party and then copied by the ALP to commit to the remove the inequitable existence of zone three fares.

This campaign and this wonderful outcome was only possible due to the support of the wider community. I am pleased to say that the survey results at Heatherdale undertaken by Maroondah City Council, received one of the highest level of responses.

I’ll table the analysis from the Eastern Transport Coalition but over 60% of people chose Heatherdale Station simple due to the cheaper zone two fare.

ETC survey results for Heatherdale Station
Securing the commitment from the State political parties to abolish zone three demonstrates the success that can occur when council’s work both together with other like-minded councils and with the community.

The successful outcome of this campaign was due to each and every person that responded to the Eastern Transport Coalition’s survey, the advocacy of Maroondah City Council and the strong partnership that has been established with the eastern council’s through the Eastern Transport Coalition.

This outcome demonstrates the strength and power of advocacy when councils work together with the community to ensure positive outcomes. I would like to thank everyone that completed the survey and did their bit to remove zone three.

To any sceptics out there, it is worth remembering that there was a time when people said zone three would never be removed. Proactive partnerships with the community, councils and the region ensured that zone three will soon be history.

Maroondah Journal: No funding pledged for Ringwood Station

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As part of its public transport election coverage the Maroondah Journal has focused on the lack of political commitment from the State political parties towards the redevelopment of Ringwood Station:

Maroondah councillor and Public Transport Users Association spokesman Alex Makin said he saw the station as a “cornerstone commitment” needed for Maroondah.

The redevelopment of Ringwood Station is a crucial project to encourage a vision of public transport usage and urban amenity as envisaged as part of the part of the Ringwood Transit City concept.

“Neither party has committed to funding the project,” he said. “Labor just seems to be dragging its feet in Ringwood in preference to Dandenong. In Ringwood it seems as if every year it is just us standing there with our cap in hand waiting.”

Unfortunately, with the exception of Dandenong, the Government has failed to provide a long-term funding stream for the designated Transit Cities (such as Box Hill, Ringwood or Footscray) meaning that there is little, other than rhetoric, to the State Government’s Transit City program.

“It is difficult to utilise for people with a disability,” Cr Makin said. “We aren’t asking for a redevelopment for the sake of a redevelopment; we need it just to meet essential public transport requirements.”

Ringwood Station currently fails to met federal accessibility requirements as prescribed in the Federal government’s Disability Discrimination Act of 1992 meaning that Ringwood Station is largely inaccessible for people with a disability.

In addition Ringwood Station is also perceived to be largely unsafe and its dilapidated appearance hampers the potential of the surrounding area.

It is time that the Bracks Government showed respect for the Ringwood Transit City program and pledged to deliver both the redevelopment of Ringwood Station and a multiyear investment program for Ringwood. Plans for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station have existed since 1999 and it is now time for the Government to commit to the project rather than deliver nothing but rhetoric.