Urban sprawl may grow with new outer ring road

Jason Dowling and Clay Lucas
November 27, 2008

A map of the proposed ring road.

MELBOURNE might continue to sprawl to the west, with a potential shift of the city's urban growth boundary revealed in plans for a new ring road.

The outer metropolitan ring road, which will also include a rail link, will run in an arc from Avalon Airport to the Hume Highway.

The road is set to be included in the State Government's transport plan, due out within days.

The route will be decided within 18 months.

As part of the plan, VicRoads documents show that the Government will consider shifting Melbourne's urban growth boundary — set in 2002 as part of its Melbourne 2030 strategy.

Under that plan, no development was to occur to the west beyond Werribee, though the boundary has been shifted twice since 2002.

A VicRoads statement said the new road was situated beyond the current urban growth boundary and was not dependent on the boundary being altered.

"However, planning for the corridor will consider the potential for further urban expansion," it said.

G21, a group representing local councils, including the City of Greater Geelong, and more than 150 community and business organisations, has backed the new road.

The group's members have met VicRoads to discuss the project.

Planning for the outer ring road will be finalised in 2010. Simultaneously, the Government is developing a new integrated transport and planning laws.

The RACV has backed the new outer Melbourne transport corridor, and expects to see it in next month's transport plan.

"We see the transport corridor from Werribee to Craigieburn as a key part of the longer-term transport plan for Melbourne," spokesman Brian Negus said. "With an expanding population in Melbourne, outer western and outer northern transport corridors need to be part of the plan so the land can be secured."

A VicRoads spokeswoman yesterday confirmed that planning for the outer metropolitan transport corridor was under way.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said his party had given in-principle support for road reservations such as the outer ring road.

But he said including the ring road reservation in the Government's coming transport plan had "the stench of political opportunism".

"John Brumby wants to boost the number of pages and promises within his latest transport plan — the fifth since this Government was elected," Mr Mulder said.

Support for the new transport corridor comes as Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said conversations behind the scenes with the Federal Government and Infrastructure Australia had given her confidence that Canberra would provide money for the state's transport plan.

She said the plan would include the cost of the projects, but would not be drawn on the prospect that less federal money might be delivered than expected.

With MARC MONCRIEF

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au