The Maroondah community took the opportunity to quiz representatives from the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party and The Greens on their public transport credentials at a forum hosted by the Eastern Transport Coalition last night.
Maroondah Mayor Councillor Alex Makin said the event, held at the Karralyka Centre, was attended by candidates contesting the lower and upper house seats, which cover Maroondah.
“Whilst the ALP and Liberal representatives did not provide any new announcements, the Greens gave a commitment to support the full redevelopment of the Ringwood Railway Station. The Greens Candidate for Kilsyth, Justin-Paul Sammons told the forum that he saw an upgrade to Ringwood Station as a priority, which needed to be addressed in the term of the next state government,” Cr Makin said.
“Prior to the forum, Greens candidate for Warrandyte Chris Padgham also signed the petition calling on all major parties to commit to an upgrade of Ringwood Station,” Cr Makin said. “Shadow Transport Minister Terry Mulder and incumbent Warrandyte MP Ryan Smith have also signed the petition but have yet to deliver any commitment.”
“I am absolutely delighted The Greens have pledged their support to transform Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated public transport hub. I call on all political parties to match this announcement and commit to the future prosperity of Ringwood and Melbourne’s eastern region”, Cr. Makin concluded.
Other issues which were raised at the forum included the number of buses in operation and the frequency of all public transport in the eastern region.
The Eastern Transport Coalition is a council initiated advocacy group, covering Melbourne’s seven outer eastern Councils; Greater Dandenong, Knox, Manningham, Maroondah, Monash Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.
As part of its advocacy campaign, the Eastern Transport Coalition is holding a series of candidate forums, throughout each of the member councils. The evening was attended by representatives of each of the three major parties, the Australian Labor Party, the Victorian Liberal Party and the Victorian Greens.
I provided the introduction to tonight’s forum to highlight the current public transport deficiencies within Maroondah. The speech is available within this entry:
Welcome candidates and the community to the Maroondah City Council Eastern Transport Coalition Public Transport Forum.
Maroondah City Council, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledges that we are meeting on the land for which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians for many centuries, and on Land which the indigenous Australians have performed age old ceremonies.
We are fortunate tonight to have secured Mr Clay Lucas as our independent moderator. Clay may be well known to some of you as he is part of The Age’s city team having worked The Age and The Sunday Age since 2005 as a city reporter. This role sees Clay reporting on a range of topics across the transport sector, including roads, public transport, planning and development. In 2009 Clay won a Quill for transport reporting with Age investigative reporter Royce Millar.
Before I hand over to Clay to get the evening underway I just want to provide a quick overview of the public transport issues that Maroondah sees as important to the community and help set the context of public transport in the east.
Regional Perspective
The eastern region is an established area experiencing significant economic and population growth.
This growth is mainly occurring through infill and consolidation of existing residential, commercial and employment areas.
The network is struggling to keep up with demand and provide services that the community require to carry out their day to day activities as viable alternatives to the motor vehicle.
The Victorian Transport Plan – Does not deliver for the east
To keep pace with the population and economic growth the current public transport system needs to expand.
The Victorian Transport Plan does not adequately consider or respond to the needs of the East and greater investment is still required, if the eastern suburbs are to continue to be liveable and met the State’s land use and transport plans as outlined in Melbourne @ 5 million.
The high household car ownership in the City of Maroondah is evidence of the public transport systems inability to provide a service that allows our community to undertake their daily activities. The ETC and Maroondah City Council call on the government for the development of a long term regional public transport strategy for the Eastern region.
Ringwood Station Upgrade
Ringwood is identified as one of six Central Activity Districts which will offer CBD type services in suburban locations. In recent MTF public survey, Ringwood Station was voted as Melbourne’s second worse station, after Richmond.
The current Ringwood Station is difficult to access with steep ramps to station platforms that fail the State Government’s Disability Discrimination Act requirements.
The footpath access from each side of the station is not safe, particularly for people in wheel chairs and there is not direct wheel chair access to the car park which is located at the bottom of a steep stairway.
There has been no significant upgrade to the station in more than 50 years and it is desperately needing to be modernised.
For Ringwood Station to be truly accessible to all and permit convenient transferring between transport services, it is imperative that it is clean, comfortable, accessible and safe and secure.
Triplication for the Belgrave/Lilydale line
As Central Melbourne will continue to be a major location for employment, the arts, culture, sport and leisure, central Melbourne should be conveniently accessible by public transport for all Melbournians.
The demand on the Belgrave/Lilydale lines, with approximately 93,000 daily boardings, make these lines one of Melbourne’s most highly patronised rail corridors.
The patronage of both lines is reaching capacity with overcrowding a regular passenger experience. To facilitate more efficient and comfortable commuting for those passengers coming from beyond Ringwood Station, the triplication of the line between Box Hill and Ringwood is required.
Better Buses
Buses are the largest public transport option available to residents within Maroondah and the neighbouring municipalities. Bus patronage is growing, particularly on services with long operation and high frequency of service, i.e. the SmartBus Routes.
The recently conducted Metropolitan Bus Service Reviews was a step in the right direction with identifying inadequate service and generating regional specific solutions. However, very few of the recommendations have been implemented and they have only been small route extensions or minimal frequency and duration improvements.
Bus services in Maroondah remain poor with limited out of peak services and long wait times between services throughout most of the day. Improving bus services in coverage, service frequency and duration will provide real alternatives to the private vehicle and enable the community of Maroondah to have real choice in transport.
Conclusion
The provision of a more equitable, accessible public transport will reduce the detrimental effects of poor access to public transport in the eastern region, such as, social isolation, high car dependency, reduced financial freedom or the inability to access services.
A truly integrated and accessible transport network will also reduce the regions vulnerability to changes in the environment, such as climate change and peak oil.
I thank you for your attendance tonight and look forward to hearing how the candidates respond to your issues.
I’ll now hand you over to Clay to get the evening underway.
Ringwood Station fails to meet disability compliance standards and is perceived to be unsafe due to the poor station design, including narrow and steep ramps. The community has continually called for the full redevelopment of Ringwood Station into a safe, accessible and integrated interchange that will meet the needs of Ringwood as a vibrant urban centre.
While public transport is a State Government responsibility, Council must advocate on behalf of its community and it is clear that Maroondah is seeking a commitment for the redevelopment of Ringwood Station.
Council has been circulating a petition for the past month which has now attracted over 2000 signatures with approximately 1000 visitations through social media tools, including Facebook and Youtube. This evening Council officially launched the Missing Piece campaign with a direct call to action for all political parities to commit to the station upgrade.
Alex with Margaret launching Maroondah's Missing Piece campaign calling for the upgrade of Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated transport interchange
Ringwood Station is the Missing Piece in a vision for Ringwood, since a lack of commitment diminishes the residential, commercial and community investment that is taking place. Margaret Stevens, a renowned accessibility advocate who spent a week at Eastland collecting signatures for the petition, joined me in launching the campaign and calling on all political parties to commit to Ringwood’s future.
Council’s video highlighting the condition of Ringwood Station was displayed throughout the launch reinforcing the accessibility difficulties that exist.
The speech provided during the launch is available within this post:
In the spirit of Reconciliation, we acknowledge that we are meeting on land for which the Wurundjeri people have been custodians for many centuries, and on land which the Indigenous Australians have performed age old ceremonies.
We, Maroondah City Council, accept, respect and have shared with the Wurundjeri people in their customs of welcome.
The Wurundjeri people support the coming together of all people, respecting their individuality to focus on a unified and cohesive nation.
As you have gathered here this evening, you will have seen the video playing overhead showing the difficulty people in our community, and particularly those with a disability, have accessing Ringwood Station and the 50 year old ramps leading to the station platforms.
This video has been an important element of an advocacy campaign Council has been running over the past six weeks.
The campaign is seeking a funding commitment from all state political parties in the lead up to the State election for the upgrade of Ringwood Station within the next term of government.
The campaign has been running for six weeks with significant support and media coverage from Maroondah’s two local papers, editorial has appeared each week for the past 6 weeks.
Community support has been extremely strong, and to date we have over 2000 signatures to the petition, from individuals and community groups.
One of these individuals is here with us tonight, and I would like to acknowledge Margaret Stevens for her dedication to the cause in securing over 600 signatures from the Maroondah community and beyond during a week at Eastland. In addition, several members of the community, including Dawn Oliffe spent time at Ringwood Station securing signatures for the petition.
Margaret is one of many voices demanding action for Ringwood Station. I have spoken with many people during the course of this campaign and the message from the community is clear, Maroondah residents are tired of waiting, they want a safe, integrated, accessible and vibrant Ringwood Station, and they want it in the term of the next government.
Tonight, Council is launching “The Missing Piece – Ringwood Station” in the lead up to this evening’s Eastern Transport Coalition Forum.
Alex with Margaret launching Maroondah's Missing Piece campaign calling for the upgrade of Ringwood Station into an accessible, safe and integrated transport interchange.
Significant investment and development continues in Ringwood, with support from the State Government and private enterprise, however the commitment to fund the redevelopment of Ringwood Station remains the missing piece of the vision for the Ringwood Central Activities District.
As you can see within the Ringwood Central Activities District jigsaw, we have EastLink providing an important road transport corridor from Mitcham to Frankston, an area responsible for 40 percent of Victoria’s manufacturing output and over 1.3 million people living in the area and providing more than 350,000 jobs.
The sporting, recreational and leisure facilities that either currently exist (Maroondah Federation Estate/Maroondah Art Gallery, tennis, croquet, football and cricket), are under construction (Soccer), or awaiting funding (proposed Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure) in the Jubilee Park precinct are within walking distance from Ringwood Station and the Central Activities District.
New businesses and services are moving to Ringwood, bringing increased employment and spending, as evidenced by the Connect East building perched over EastLink.
Ringwood Lake Park is an icon of Ringwood, providing enormous leisure and recreational pleasure all year round for people of all ages and abilities.
The $39million bus interchange is poised to change the face of Maroondah Highway, however, it does not provide an interface with the existing Ringwood Station.
Residential housing development is showing consistent growth within the Central Activities District with private building developers showing their support for the vision of Ringwood. The new 10 story co-operative housing development will soon be home to over 100 people early next year.
Eastland and the Ringwood Market site are expected to see construction and expansion of retail, community and business floorspace, changing the face of Ringwood significantly.
The Lake to Creek project will see pedestrian and cycling links between the Mullum Mullum Creek and Ringwood Lake, adding another vital layer to the accessibility of our city.
It is time to add the missing piece to the Ringwood Central Activities District jigsaw, a new Ringwood Station.
It is time for each state political party to not only acknowledge the need for an upgrade to Ringwood Station, but to actually stand up and commit to fund this important piece of public transport infrastructure that remains the missing piece of the vision for the State Government’s own Ringwood Central Activities District.
Ringwood is one of six urban centres identified as a Central Activities District through State and Local Government planning policies. Throughout this year I have worked with my Mayoral counterparts in Greater Dandenong, Frankston, Hume, Maribyrnong and Whitehorse to highlight the need for an ongoing funding and implementation commitment for our respective Central Activities Districts.
Box Hill, Broadmeadows, Dandenong, Footscray, Frankston and Ringwood have all been identified as Central Activities Districts, but yet only Dandenong has received an implementation plan and ongoing investment from the State Government.
The State Government’s ten year funding commitment for Dandenong, which will see $550 million invested into the revitalisation of the urban centre, demonstrates what can be achieved when there is joint commitment between State and Local Governments.
All of Melbourne’s Central Activity Districts deserve a similar commitment and the Maroondah Leader has reported on this regional cooperation, which stretches across Metropolitan Melbourne:
“With the exception of Dandenong, there’s been no long-term funding or planning commitment to the CADs,” Cr Makin said, noting that Greater Dandenong Council was backing the other CAD councils’ call for funding.
Ongoing investment and commitment to Melbourne’s Central Activities Districts will provide amenity improvements and deliver a range of educational, employment and community opportunities throughout Metropolitan Melbourne.
This will provide mini-cities within Melbourne and complement the the role of CBD throughout these urban centres. The City of Melbourne has also been working with the Mayors of the Councils containing Central Activities Districts and it has been fantastic to see an ongoing commitment to this unique alliance.
Unlike Dandenong, where there is a 10-year implementation plan for the investment of about $550 million, just one major project in the Ringwood Central Activities Districts has been allocated money – the $39 million bus interchange.
Cr Makin said plans for other parcels of government-owned land in the area, including the railway station and surrounds remains unclear.
While the Central Activities Districts are dispersed throughout Metropolitan Melbourne there are common issues that unite each of the urban centres, including the need for an ongoing commitment and implementation plan from the State Government.
Cr Makin said government departments have done a lot of work but there hadn’t been the necessary “political buy-in” and leadership was necessary to send a stronger signal to investors.
Each of the Central Activities Districts Councils have identified key projects that would deliver improved facilities and services, with transport interchanges being common across each of the urban centres.
It is clear that public transport improvements, both in regard to interchanges and service frequencies, are critical for the success of each Central Activities District. There is a need for greater level of community facilities with Ringwood Station and the proposed Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure Centre forming Council’s two key priorities.
The formation of regional partnerships has been one of the highlights of my year as Mayor, each of Melbourne’s Central Activities Districts has its own strengths and it is imperative that the State Government support these centres through an ongoing implementation plan and funding certainty.
Eastern Volunteers is a community based not-for-profit organisation that provides volunteer assisted transport and volunteer recruitment across the Cities of Maroondah and Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.
Alex with Terry Macdonald, Chairman of Eastern Volunteers and Cr. Natalie Thomas, at the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival.
Throughout today Eastern Volunteers held a Multicultural Spring Festival at Ringwood Lake, bringing together the diverse communities within Maroondah. The festival included food, arts, rides, crafts and performers providing a range of activities throughout the day.
Alex opening the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival as the Mayor of Maroondah.
As the Mayor of Maroondah I had the pleasure of opening the festival and congratulating Eastern Volunteers on organising Maroondah’s first large-scale multicultural festival. After opening the event I served as the Master of Ceremonies, introducing each performance and discussing the aims and role of Eastern Volunteers.
These sessions included discussions with volunteers on their involvement with Eastern Volunteers and the benefits they receive from volunteering. While volunteering provides benefits to the wider community, it can also deliver new skills, enhance employment prospects and expand networks for the volunteer. The Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival is an example of an event that utilised a wide variety of skills and teamwork to deliver Maroondah’s largest multicultural event.
Alex with volunteers and staff of Eastern Volunteers at the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival
The Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival featured a wide variety of entertainment, including a roving performer, as well as a Chinese Lion Dance, Bollywood Dancers, the Police Rock Band, African Drumming from Rhythm of Life, the Karen Young Dancers, Reggae from Uprising Rebels, Scottish Highland Dancers and Japanese Drummers. In addition, Ultimate Martial Arts from Heathmont and Abandon Sane, local rock band also performed on the main stage. Vasili, from Vasili’s Garden on Channel 31 and 3AW, was also in attendance and provided a demonstration on making garden pots from recycled newspapers.
Alex with Vasili, from Vasili's Garden on Channel 31 and 3AW, at the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival
Approximately 5000 people attended the festival and it was great to see the community embrace the festival and actively participate in the activities that were present throughout the day. Many volunteers and staff at Eastern Volunteers worked extensively on the Festival through organising the group’s largest event in its history. The Festival was only possible due to this work and the commitment of sponsors who saw the benefits of partnering with Eastern Volunteers.
Alex with sponsors (Power Balance, Ringwood Honda and Bendigo Bank) who contributed to the Eastern Volunteers Multicultural Spring Festival.
The Maroondah community has overwhelmingly supported Maroondah City Council’s campaign to secure funding for an upgrade to Ringwood Station.
Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin said to date Council had 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.
He said Council had been overwhelmed with the support it had received throughout the campaign.
“Maroondah residents Dawn Oliffe and Margaret Stevens have both volunteered their time to collect signatures at Ringwood Station and Eastland,” Cr Makin said.
“Dawn spent one day at Ringwood Station collecting more than 100 signatures from commuters and Margaret organised to set up a stall at Eastland for an entire week which resulted in her collecting more than 400 signatures,” Cr Makin said.
“This is a phenomenal effort from two of our community members, and their dedication to the campaign shows how strongly they feel about the need for an upgrade to Ringwood Station,” Cr Makin said.
“Margaret also volunteered her time with a number of other disability advocates to be involved with a video filmed by Council highlighting the difficulty people with a disability, parents with prams, and people using wheelchairs and scooters have using the station ramps,” Cr Makin said.
“The video has been a successful aspect of Council’s campaign with more than 780 people having watched it via Council’s website or YouTube. A Facebook page has also generated a lot of debate and to date has 110 followers,” Cr Makin said.
Cr Makin said Council will enter the next phase of the campaign with the launch of ‘’The Missing Piece”. This will be immediately prior to the Eastern Transport Coalition Forum.
“Significant investment and development continues in Ringwood, with support from the State Government and private enterprise, and the commitment to fund the redevelopment of Ringwood Station remains the missing piece of the vision for the Ringwood Central Activities District,” Cr Makin said.
“I hope the community will join us at The Missing Piece launch and show their support for Council’s campaign to secure an upgrade to Ringwood Station,” Cr Makin said.
The Missing Piece launch is on at 6pm, Wednesday October 13 at Karralyka Centre, Mines Road, Ringwood.
Throughout this year I have been focused on working cooperatively as a region to provide a regional perspective on issues and challenges facing Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
As Mayor, I have been working with the Mayors of Knox, Manningham, Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges to deliver a cohesive approach to advocacy and priorities. An agreement for regional cooperation, has been signed between these councils and the Maroondah Leader has reported on this pledge:
Maroondah Mayor said the pact put the council in a better position to tackle issues affecting the region, such as transport and housing.
“Our aim is ensure that all levels of government are well aware of the issues we face in the eastern suburbs,” Cr Makin said.
The agreement, which is a first for Victoria, will deliver a collective voice for regional issues, through working together on activities that have common interest throughout the region.
Safety has become a key factor in Maroondah City Council’s push to secure a commitment to upgrade Ringwood Station within the next term of government.
Maroondah Councillor and Community Safety Reference Group representative Rob Steane said everyone deserved access to safe, accessible public transport.
“Media reports earlier this year highlighted Ringwood as having one of the highest levels of crimes across the metropolitan railway network. Regardless of whether or not these reports are a true reflection of Ringwood Station, they have resulted in a public perception that Ringwood Station is unsafe,” Cr Steane said.
“People have a right to feel safe when they are using public transport, and at the moment many people are scared to use Ringwood Station,” Cr Steane said.
“An upgrade to Ringwood Station would not only improve the amenities of the Station but it would also go a long way to improving public perceptions of safety,” Cr Steane said.
“The current layout of the station means there are many areas that are not visible from Maroondah Highway and Station Street, especially the ramps linking the platforms,” Cr Steane said.
Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin said he had spoken to many people in the course of the campaign with most commenting on safety concerns.
“Most people have commented on their insecurity when using the station at night. Many choosing to continue onto another station rather than have the worry of being at the station alone,” Cr Makin said.
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“The proposed upgrade to the station would open the whole area up to scrutiny and therefore act as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour,” Cr Makin said.
“It will also provide a better link to the central retail and business district making the area a safer, more visually attractive and user-friendly public place,” Cr Makin said.
“Securing this funding for an upgrade is an important start to improving Ringwood’s transport interchange and town centre. We will continue to lobby the state political parties on behalf of the Maroondah community for a funding commitment,” Cr Makin concluded.
Eastern Volunteers is a community based not-for-profit organisation that provides volunteer assisted transport and volunteer recruitment across the Cities of Maroondah and Whitehorse and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.
I had been a board member of Eastern Volunteers since July 2008 providing oversight and direction for the activities undertaken by the organisation. Eastern Volunteers has grown considerably over the past few years and now has 14 part-time staff supported with approximately 100 volunteers.
This morning I accepted the position of Manager of Marketing Services for Eastern Volunteers, which means I will not be seeking re-nomination to the board at the annual general meeting. This new role will focus on expanding the marketing activities of Eastern Volunteers, ensuring that the organisation is able to continue to expand and deliver its services.
The role is part-time enabling me to undertake my Council commitments, as well as my employment with Eastern Volunteers.
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is a community based organisation that promotes improvements to public transport.
I served as the founder and Convenor of the Outer East Branch until 2008, forming the branch to provide local advocacy on public transport issues affecting Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Since 2008 Jeremy Lunn has served as the branch convenor and has performed tremendously in continuing to raise public transport issues effecting the the eastern region.
The Maroondah Leader has reported on ongoing concerns regarding the lack of frequent rail services along the Belgrave and Lilydale lines beyond Ringwood. I joined Jeremy in calling for more frequent services:
Public Transport Users Association outer east convenor Jeremy Lunn said passengers travelling on the Belgrave/Lilydale line beyond Ringwood were receiving services below urban standards.
Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin said consistent 10 minute services were essential, given Ringwood’s status as a Central Activities District.
The use of sustainable forms of transport is critical to the success of Ringwood’s transformation into a Central Activities District and the current half services beyond Ringwood do not encourage public transport usage.
“For example, people are waiting up to 30 minutes for an eight minute train ride to and from Croydon,” Cr Makin said. “It is completely unacceptable to have long gaps in frequency, particularly when we want more people to use public transport in Ringwood.”
The Frankston line was recently provided with a consistent 10 minute off-peak service, providing a frequent service linking the Frankston Central Activities District. This a welcomed step and provides public transport services that minimise waiting times.
Ringwood and Box Hill are both Central Activities Districts and served by the Belgrave/Lilydale lines, it is clear that these services require similar frequency improvements. Outer eastern residents should not need to wait up to half an hour to connect them to Ringwood or Box Hill.
