Tag: transport hub

Media Release: Ringwood Station funding pledge

Posted on by alex

“On behalf of the Maroondah community I would like to congratulate the Liberal Party for listening to the community’s concerns and pledging $60million to upgrade Ringwood Station,” Maroondah City Council Mayor Councillor Alex Makin said.

“I thank our local members of parliament Ryan Smith and Heidi Victoria for advocating strongly on behalf of the Maroondah community and securing not only the funding, but a commitment to start the project within the next term of Parliament,” Cr Makin said.

“The Liberal Party’s commitment follows last week’s announcement by the Greens who pledged their support to transform Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated public transport hub,” Cr Makin said.

“We have now secured a promise from two of the major political parties to upgrade Ringwood Station. I now call on the Labor Party to join with their colleagues and commit to an upgrade of Ringwood Station to improve the future prosperity of Ringwood and Melbourne’s eastern region”, Cr Makin said.

“A safe, vibrant and integrated Ringwood Station is the missing piece of the State Government’s own Ringwood Activities District and to date Council has collected more than 2000 signatures on a petition calling on all major parties to commit to funding an upgrade to Ringwood Station within the term of the next government,” Cr Makin said.

“During the course of Council’s campaign calling for the Ringwood Station upgrade we have received support from many members of the community including several disability advocates. A video was produced and uploaded to YouTube which highlighted the concerns people with a disability have about accessing Ringwood Station,” Cr Makin said.

“This video was an important part of the campaign and I thank those people who were willing to share their personal stories as a way of highlighting the inadequacies of the current station layout,” Cr Makin said.

“The community support has been critical in demonstrating the need for improvements to Ringwood Station. I congratulate people for standing up for what they believe in and making the political parties realise that they can no longer ignore the needs of the Maroondah community,” Cr Makin said.

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Media Release: Ringwood Station petition well supported

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Maroondah City Council’s petition calling on all state political parties to commit to a redevelopment of Ringwood Station in the next term of government has received generous support from the community.

Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin said to date more than 150 people had signed the petition, some choosing to leave comments on Council’s website.

“It has been great to hear how strongly the community feel about the need for an upgrade to the station. Last week Council released a video on our website which highlights the difficulties people who rely on a mobility device have in accessing the station,” Cr Makin said.

“The amount of community support our campaign has received to date speaks for itself. People are fed up with the current state of the station and are willing to speak out to campaign for change,” Cr Makin said.

“I urge those who haven’t already signed the petition to visit one of Council’s service centres or website and support our campaign. The more community support we can generate the greater the impact it will have when we present the petition to the political parties,” Cr Makin said.

Some of the comments posted on Council’s online petition:

“Every time I walk up or down this station I wonder how people with disabilities, pregnant women or mums with prams get up and down the walkway to go over the tracks. It’s a big worry, and I feel unsafe walking there and nothing is even wrong with me.” Georgia, Mount Evelyn

“Ringwood Station needs to be more user friendly for all Maroondah residents. More and more residents are relying on Ringwood Station than ever before. It is time to invest.” Emily, Ringwood.

“This is discrimination, clear and simple.” Aidan, Bayswater North

“I use Ringwood Station daily for commuting to work in the city and the Ringwood Station is a joke….. The ramps are quite steep and falling over on icy conditions is not uncommon, I have done it a couple of times. We need action fast.” Sandy, Ringwood.

“The sooner the better, waited too long,” Ringwood East couple

“I have a 19-year-old intellectually and physically disabled daughter. It is IMPOSSIBLE for us to use Ringwood Station due to the appalling lack of disabled facilities. Is it not part of the State Disability Plan to ensure ALL Government sites have disabled access? Surely the Department of Transport is remiss in its responsibility to ensure that Ringwood Station (as a major transport hub) is accessible for all people, not just the able bodied. Karen, Ringwood East.

“It is appalling that people who use public transport should be subjected to an unsafe and intimidating environment at their local station. Ringwood Station is an anachronism that the Government should be ashamed of, and improve if it has any sense of social conscious.” Nick

Go online to watch the video, to complete an online submission or to download a copy of the petition:
Maroondah Council website – www.maroondah.vic.gov.au
Maroondah Youth Services website www.maroondahyouthservices.com.au

To sign the petition or find out more about the campaign:
Visit one of Council’s service centres:
City Offices Service Centre
Braeside Avenue, Ringwood

Eastland Service Centre
Level 2, Eastland Shopping Centre, Ringwood
Croydon Service Centre
Civic Square, Croydon

Visit one of Council’s facilities:
Arrabri Community Centre
Allambanan Drive, Bayswater North.

Croydon Library
Civic Square, Mount Dandenong Road, Croydon.

Karralyka Centre
Mines Road, Ringwood.

Maroondah Federation Estate
Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood.

Ringwood Library
4 Ringwood Street Mall, Ringwood
(Adjacent to Eastland Shopping Centre).

Wyreena Community Arts Centre
13-23 Hull Road, Croydon.

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Maroondah Journal: Have card, will travel: mayor

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One of the first acts I undertook as Mayor was to give up the mayoral car and instead promote sustainable forms of transport, including public transport and walking.

My metcard expired in July and as a result I purchased a myki to undertake my travels as Mayor for the remainder of the year. The Maroondah Journal has reported on the use of myki in my capacity as Mayor of Maroondah:

Following his election as mayor last December, Cr Makin decided to take up a more environmentally friendly travel option.

He now relies on public transport or good walking weather to attend most of his council appointments.

Cr Makin said the validation of the myki card for trams and buses reinforced the public transport vision the council had for Ringwood’s central activities district (CAD).

“While there is room for improvement, we are very fortunate in Maroondah to have good access to rail and bus transport, making it a viable form of travel within the municipality.”

The provision of public transport is critical to providing an alternative to car dependence and thus mitigate traffic congestion and greenhouse emissions. Further improvements are required within Maroondah, including more frequent off-peak rail services and bus improvements.

Cr Makin said the state government had identified Ringwood as a vital public transport hub.

“While the imminent upgrade of the bus interchange at Ringwood will see improved public transport infrastructure, we still require a commitment to the upgrading of Ringwood station to deliver a safe, accessible and integrated transport interchange.

“It is critical that the state government works in partnership with Maroondah Council to achieve the vision of the Ringwood CAD – a commitment to the redevelopment of Ringwood station is essential in achieving this vision.”

Maroondah City Council will be undertaking a campaign later this year calling on the State Government to deliver a safe, integrated and accessible transport interchange for Ringwood. The vision for Ringwood as Ringwood as a Central Activities District (CAD) will only be achieved if public transport services are improved.