The benefits of Victoria’s infrastructure developments will outweigh the short term pain of road and public transport disruptions, but even more public transport projects need the green light according to Transport Matters Party leader Rod Barton.
Road closures announced this week will see sections of Flinders Street close for up to three years and even more disruptions are expected to train services across the city as major projects such as Metro Tunnel, the North East Link and the Suburban Rail Loop start to impact commuters.
“This is the price of progress, and this massive infrastructure blitz is desperately needed, especially works to extend and improve our public transport infrastructure,” says Mr Barton.
“We’re playing catch up now and it’s going to hurt, but the benefits will outweigh short term pain.”
Mr Barton said he would encourage the government to “keep at it” and get started on other heavy and light rail projects that had been on the back burner for decades.
“We need more public transport infrastructure. Light rail to Rowville needs to progress and I look forward to announcements on this project in the near future as decisions on the loop station at Monash are announced.
“I will also be pushing the government to expedite works on the rapid transit busway to Doncaster as part of the North East Link project and to include the Box Hill to Doncaster Hill leg of the Suburban Rail Loop in its stage 1 works.”
Doncaster is a booming area of the city with massive residential and retail developments at Doncaster Hill, but has been continually ignored in public transport planning.
“The Suburban Rail Loop will include a link between Box Hill and Doncaster and it should be included in stage 1 developments,” he says.
ENDS
See also
- 19 July 2019 – Rowville Rail waits for Monash station site
- 10 May 2019 – Include Rapid Transit Busway in early works
Image: thanks to Yarra Campaign for Action on Transport
