Save Holland Park

What the East-West Tunnel means for our community

2011-12-01T11:11:00.003+11:00

From the Melbourne Federal Member - Adam Bandt, MP

Sunday, 11 December 2011 - 2pm - 5pm

School Hall, Kensington Primary School, McCracken St Kensington

COMMUNITY MEETING - ALL WELCOME

Find out about the tunnel proposal, the alternatives and what can be done to protect our communities.

The Baillieu government has decided to push ahead with the East-West tunnel previously proposed by the Brumby government.

The previous announcement was met with widespread community opposition. The tunnel will have a significant impact on communities in inner-Melbourne, includnig Kensington. JJ Holland Park, for example, was earmarked as a staging area for the construction of the tunnel.

A decision will be made wabout federal funding in February 2012.

A healthy community needs parks and good public transport.

Adam Bandt, MP, Federal Member for Melbourne is holding this meeting to canvass community concerns and to discuss what can be done to keep our communities liveable and healthy.

For information: 03 9642 0922 or adam.bandt.MP@aph.gov.au

Event details here - https://adambandt.greens.org.au/civicrm/event/info?id=57&reset=1
Facebook event link here - http://www.facebook.com/events/146406072129899/

Core sampling for the Metro tunnel

2011-11-29T05:33:00.000+11:00

Well, with all of the talk of the State Government putting their hand up for some Infrastructure Australia cash, it seems that they're doing some digging of their own to see what's what.

Last year, when the Brumby Government was looking at the potential of the first stage of the Metro tunnel going though (from South Kensington, to Domain) there was some cash to, yes, create a report. I'm not sure if this is part of that report, or something subsequent to that, but it's core sample time!

This is the first carpark next to South Kensington Station. If they were to follow the previous plan, they would likely be digging an open tunnel up until around this point, where it should be deep enough to continue its journey downwards into a fully-fledged tunnel, under the continuation of Childers Street and the properties thereon.

Of course, to tunnel there, it's actually best if it's some type of rock. Counterintuitively, if it's nice soft stuff, it can cause problems with it collapsing, and after construction, the tunnel could actually 'float' and push its way skyward, which would require counterweighting measures etc. etc.

Now, seeing how that prior to being a park, the JJ Holland area was largely a swamp - it'll be interesting to see what they find.

In any case - not sure if this is just that previous project, or if this is any sort of indication to the next step for some tunnel plans. Perhaps, they thought they should finish the last one before they can get the money for the next? ;)

City of Melbourne improvements continue

2011-11-22T11:05:00.002+11:00

The works on the old sports pavillion have commenced. This was part of the original plan for the redevelopment of the sporting areas, and removal of the car park. This should be quite beneficial to the sporting teams who use the park - although it is a bit of a nuisance in the meantime.

Another nuisance is the works going on in the carpark area between the Kensington Community Children's Co-op, and the soccer field. This is being re-aligned to allow for a car turn-around at the end, as well as better access to the KCCC. (Why this wasn't done previously, we'll never know, but it's good that it's getting done, all the same).

Thankyou City of Melbourne for your continued improvements of JJ Holland Park.

Libs ramp up priority for freeway - TheAge

2011-11-17T07:58:00.004+11:00

Based on the last post, I could see this coming. A bit more today, in The Age.

A CONTROVERSIAL freeway through inner Melbourne and a new underground rail line have again topped the state's wish list for funding from Canberra, with the Baillieu government saying it wants to proceed with a series of major transport projects first proposed by Labor.

The government today will unveil its submission to the federal government's advisory body Infrastructure Australia. It marks the first release of the Coalition's transport proposals since coming to office last November.

However, the submission does not say when any of the projects detailed would be built, or what they would ultimately cost. Premier Ted Baillieu said yesterday he did not want to make these predictions until more planning had been done.

The government has backed an 18-kilometre ''inner urban freeway'' that would link the Eastern Freeway in Clifton Hill to the Western Ring Road in Sunshine. The freeway would travel via CityLink and the Port of Melbourne. It is based on a plan put forward by Sir Rod Eddington in 2008 in a report for the Brumby government. Sir Rod is now chairman of Infrastructure Australia.

This freeway plan was partially adopted by Mr Brumby's government later in 2008, when it announced plans for WestLink, a $2.5 billion tunnel linking the inner west to the port.

Public transport advocates attacked the road tunnel plan, which has been in limbo since Labor's defeat last year, saying it would only add to road congestion.

Federal Greens MP Adam Bandt vowed to fight ''tooth and nail'' to stop the freeway gaining money from Canberra. State Labor MP Richard Wynne - whose electorate the freeway would slice through - also attacked the idea. ''When Eddington first looked at this freeway, it was neither economically or environmentally sustainable. It's the same today,'' he said.

But the government's submission to Canberra argues booming traffic on the West Gate Bridge and Hoddle Street means the project is now justified. It has requested $30 million to fund a two-year planning study. ''This is a once-in-a-generation project that would transform the way people move around Melbourne,'' Mr Baillieu said.

The government's submission says the private sector may help fund construction of the freeway, raising the possibility it may be a toll road.

The submission also puts a new rail tunnel under inner Melbourne back on the agenda. Labor's 2008 blueprint detailed a plan for a 17-kilometre track from Footscray to Caulfield via Parkville, with its first stage to cost $4.5 billion. Its future was put in doubt after the election but the Baillieu government is now seeking a further $130 million for pre-construction work. While the new proposal follows much the same route as Labor's plan, it will stretch only nine kilometres...

Note that there's little detail about the route, and therefore what could be at risk. The previous government had categorically said that JJ Holland Park was safe. With the prospect of the car tunnel on the agenda, I suppose it depends upon its route and how they intend to create it.

Even the more recent plans for the rail tunnel showed that the park would be safe.

For both of these, however, there's the potential disruptions to the surrounding areas during construction to think about. With the train tunnel, I'd personally view that as a short-term pain, for long-term gain. With the car tunnel, as with other roads built to 'save' the city from traffic, I believe it will fill up with traffic, just like the others, and make any arterial which its exit ramps spill onto, even worse. The 'booming traffic on the Westgate and Hoddle Street' is the product of the Monash Freeway works, and EastLink, respectively. The tunnel would certainly help through-traffic, but usage patterns show the vast majority of users would be getting on/off at some point near the city. And most of them are commuters. And many of them are driving because of the poor/non-existant public transport options.

Good mornin'

2011-11-11T07:53:00.003+11:00

It's been some time since I've seen balloons launching from JJ Holland Park. Perhaps I just haven't been waking early enough. But, it was a very pleasant way to greet the day. Well, pleasant until I saw this.

INFRASTRUCTURE consultant Sir Rod Eddington yesterday urged the Baillieu Government to build an east-west toll road under the city.
Sir Rod said the tunnel, which he proposed in 2008, should be the priority for this state.
"It would be a project that the private sector would very definitely be interested in participating in," he said.
"That means, rather like the Domain and Burnley tunnels, it would be a tolled facility."
Sir Rod, chairman of federal government advisory group Infrastructure Australia, told the previous state government in a report that Melbourne needed a tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway with the Western Ring Road.
Speaking yesterday at a Committee for Melbourne event, the businessman said governments needed private sector support to deal with traffic congestion.
"We have demonstrated here that good toll roads work and we should build more of them," Sir Rod explained.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/sir-rod-pushes-for-east-west-toll-road/story-fn7x8me2-1226191845178

Number 1 priority? I think priorities numbered 1 through 26 inclusive should revolve around our rail system. Getting more cars off the roads is the single best thing you can do to aid with traffic flow. Also removing the level crossings and providing grade separation between rail and road. Fix up the existing network (switching, timetabling). Create new lines to service Melbourne's sprawl, instead of expecting the overloaded road system to be able to handle it.

None of that is easy. It would take a lot of time, and a lot of disruption. But in the end, it is an investment in our city, instead of another band-aid stop-gap measure of yet another freeway (sorry, tolled road link) which would become a car park and/or further choke any areas serviced by its off-ramps.

But now, I think I'm going to go and enjoy the sunshine.

Tunnel(s) back on the agenda? - TheAge

2011-06-27T14:06:00.002+10:00

What goes around, comes around, eh?

A TUNNEL from the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway will be considered by the Baillieu government as part of an infrastructure plan ordered by Treasurer Kim Wells, following widespread criticism that Victoria is not planning major projects.
Mr Wells has ordered his department to urgently get to work on an infrastructure plan for Victoria after being warned the state is at risk of losing billions of dollars of investment and thousands of skilled workers to New South Wales and Queensland.
The Age believes the government will reconsider a range of transport projects flagged by the previous government, including an east-west road tunnel from the Eastern Freeway to the Tullamarine Freeway, a metro rail tunnel from Footscray to St Kilda Road, and a ''missing link'' connection between the Metropolitan Ring Road and the Eastern Freeway.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/wells-plans-to-fix-projects-dilemma-20110626-1gltm.html#ixzz1QRiNcm8w

JJ Holland Bike track

2011-03-17T10:39:00.001+11:00

JJ Holland Bike track a photo by baudman  on Flickr.

This is an almost-final plan for the changes to the bike track. The second 'pump track' to the north is unlikely, according to the consultant.

So, that means for the removal of the current track, and a few trees, there is a pump track (the larger, southerly one) and two sets of jumps, one beginner, and one a bit bigger.

Personal Training

2011-03-09T14:42:00.001+11:00

Personal Training a photo by baudman  on Flickr.

Usual early-morning sights

Funding for road tunnel(s) unlikely

2011-01-21T16:19:00.002+11:00

Of course, it's never completely off the agenda, as the prospect of a tunnel has been kicking around for decades, but just in case you missed this...

MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR plans for a freeway road tunnel in Melbourne's west and a 17-kilometre rail tunnel under the city centre - proposed by the Brumby government but never funded - are now unlikely to get money from Canberra, the state's new Transport Minister says.
In his first wide-ranging interview about the challenges facing Victoria's beleaguered transport system, Terry Mulder said federal money for major infrastructure projects promised by the previous government was fast drying up.
''When you have a look at the billions of dollars from around Australia - and have a look at what has just happened in Queensland - the feeling that I am getting is that over the next few years it is most likely smaller projects that are going to get federal government funding.''
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He said the proposed $5 billion WestLink freeway under Footscray had already been turned down for funding by Canberra. And his government had no plan to build the second stage of the road, from the Eastern Freeway in Clifton Hill to CityLink in Flemington.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/funds-doubt-on-brumbys-tunnels-says-mulder-20110120-19xz7.html

The rest of the planning for metro rail tunnel will still go ahead, but beyond that... ?

Dog leashed/unleased and prohibited areas

2010-12-08T18:02:00.001+11:00

Dog leashed/unleased and prohibited areas
Originally uploaded by baudman 

City of Melbourne provided a brochure with better colouring than the signage displayed within the park.

Changes to dog off-leash areas

2010-12-07T11:10:00.001+11:00

Changes to dog off-leash areas
Originally uploaded by baudman 

Temporary signage has been put up about the park.

Essentially, the new artificial turfed soccer field is a dog free zone. Most other areas are now off lead, with a few exceptions, including (obviously) the kid's playground and surrounds.

Here we go again?

2010-11-30T10:49:00.003+11:00

Of course, there's no mention of use of the park, but it appears the East-West link road tunnel could be back on the agenda, if the new state government listens to Sir Rod Eddington (Infrastructure Australia), and VECCI.

...The east-west road tunnel is also seen as crucial to give Melbourne another river crossing and another east-west route. The tunnel would connect the Eastern Freeway with the Tullamarine Freeway and Western Ring Road.
Mr James said the North-East Interconnector was also important. This freeway would join the Western Ring Road to EastLink, creating the ''missing link'' in a total metropolitan ring road.
He nominated channel deepening and EastLink as two of Labor's proudest achievements. ''EastLink has been a fantastic boon for the east … property prices have risen dramatically,'' he said...

http://www.theage.com.au/business/industry-wants-fast-moves-from-baillieu-20101129-18dw3.html

Initial plan for BMX track redesign

2010-11-09T16:19:00.001+11:00

BMX track1
Originally uploaded by baudman 

After meeting with users of the track, this is a preliminary sketch for a redesign of the bicycle tracks encircling the skate park at JJ Holland Park.

You can see a large ramp, leading to some tabletops, (one track larger than the other) as well as a smaller, snakey pump track.

There is also a proposed area for kids and/or scooter, on the right of the skate park.

If you have any comments, please forward them to sarah.doubleday@melbourne.vic.gov.au

Spring has arrived, in abundance

2010-11-06T09:58:00.001+11:00

Women's jogging group, personal training, and two junior cricket teams warming up
Originally uploaded by baudman 

Fake grass

2010-09-28T11:19:00.001+10:00

Fake grass
Originally uploaded by baudman 

The last stages of the new sports field are in full swing. Green stuff going down.

Arden-Macaulay Structure Plan consultation

2010-09-06T10:35:00.002+10:00

While attending a presentation by GAMUT on the new Melbourne Metro1 Rail project, a representative from the City of Melbourne was mentioning how it fit in with their long-term plans for the Arden area.

In addition to using that area for residential development, they are also wanting to develop it as a CBD-edge area, with small business and white-collar jobs, as well as the beautification of Moonee Ponds Creek, and the potential to increase that with reclaiming some of the surrounds as parkland.

That REALLY pricked my ears up.

If you want to get involved, take a look at http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/getinvolved/StructurePlans/ArdenMacaulay/Pages/Information.aspx and get along to the briefing they're holding next Wednesday.

Soccer Pitch getting closer

2010-09-02T11:34:00.002+10:00

I'd imagine the rains have been hampering their efforts, however the levels of layered pebbles/grit/sand/etc are now getting to the point where they are only just below the concrete surround/guttering.

To the casual observer, I think the fake turf will be going down quite soon.

A little homework

2010-08-24T11:53:00.002+10:00

They're claiming they're listening - so make the most of the opportunity.

Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel

The State Government, as a part of the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel project, are seeking feedback regarding, mainly, the placement of the 'Arden' Station. There are three proposed positions detailed here, none of which is likely to have an impact upon JJ Holland Park, although depending upon the placement chosen, during construction there's likely to be an impact upon Childers Street, and some of the carparks there.

A number of individuals from the community, including members of the Kensington Association Committee, met with the Project Manager and two other key project team members (interestingly, all from the Kensington/Flemington area).

Depending upon the Arden Street Station positioning, and the placement of the tunnel entrance, at this point they could neither confirm nor deny if some houses would need to be acquired. The Kensington Association has asked for more information regarding the possible impact to local residents.

At this point, they have not received a response - however it has been promised. So keep an eye out on the Kensington Association website, and I'll also be sure to post it here. The link above prompts you to make a response with your preferred placement, however we would urge you to wait until the answers regarding impacts on the South Kensington area have been ascertained. We have until Friday, Sept 17th.

City of Melbourne - Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS)

The City of Melbourne is asking for submissions regarding the use and development of land, with respect to growth, as well as accessibility and complementing public spaces, land use and developing an 'eco-city'.

If you would like to have your say - check out the MCC section of the City of Melbourne's website and submit a response. Submissions end Friday, Sept 3rd.

An email from Kensington Association

2010-07-15T15:59:00.006+10:00

Association phones and emails ran hot over the last few days as the recently released metro rail proposal appeared to carve off a part of Holland Park (and maybe a few houses) for a new rail tunnel!!!

The document “Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel: Preferred Station Locations July 2010” includes this map which appears to show a relocated South Kensington Station and a tunnel entrance either in Holland Park or in the southern end of Ormond Street. (It’s the green triangle just above Dynon Road)

“Not again” seemed to be the collective feeling.

Then a quick stocktake of campaign materials from our last fight…. “Where did we leave those banners?”….”I am sure there is a box of stickers somewhere”.

A call to our local member Bronwyn Pike was the next step.

15 minutes later we received a call from a senior adviser in Minister for Transport, Martin Pakula’s office!

There followed a fairly animated discussion as the advisor sought to explain that this was only an artist impression and should not be seen to indicate that Holland Park is going to be a tunnel entrance or that South Kensington Station will be moved to allow that to happen.

Hmmmmm

Later yesterday we received a letter from Bronwyn Pike, a full copy of which will be available from our website, www.kensingtonassociation.org.au in a couple of days (or on request by return email).

Key points in Bronwyn’s letter include:

The intention is that the Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel project will not affect JJ Holland Park;
It is not anticipated that the project will require the acquisition of any residential property in the South Kensington area;
The major construction entry point will occur in the North Melbourne area at the site of the proposed Arden Metro Station. Whilst some construction work may be required in the South Kensington area I can confirm that the majority of works will be undertaken in an area currently used for industrial purposes; and
South Kensington station will not be moved - the map as printed in online documents is merely an artist's impression and is not to scale.

The Association will be meeting with Department of Transport officials over the next few weeks to seek further clarification.

The metro-rail link is a potentially great initiative and the State Government should be commended for investing in rail rather than just more freeways. That said, there should be no doubt that we will fight to protect Holland Park and the houses of local residents, particularly given that there acres and acres of industrial land just south of the railway line.

In the meantime:

Thank you Bronwyn for your speedy response, it really is appreciated.
Friends and Neighbours - keep your powder dry.

Regards

David Ettershank

Chairperson

The Kensington Association

It's very comforting to hear that proposal is that most of the tunnel construction will be coming from the Arden Street Station site in North Melbourne, which makes sense, if you think of it. They'll need to construct a LOT more than just a tunnel at that site.

The image from the report, in the email above, is really just an indicator of rough city layout and lines connecting stations. I think the video animation (which is, again, just an artist's impression) is probably more representational.

This still (my arrow), taken from the video, seems to indicate that the tunnel entry point would be around half-way along the southern side of the park - around the point where that pavillion is now.

Even so, it would be good to hear just what timelines, and disruption, would be likely in the construction of the tunnel entrance, and how long this (and any other) construction would take.

Melbourne rail revamp revealed

2010-07-12T16:34:00.002+10:00

It seems I was a little hasty in saying no information about the rail yet (see post below). However, there's precious-little in here, that wasn't released a few years back in the transport report.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-rail-revamp-revealed-20100712-107ak.html?autostart=1

It does mention that the country rail may take 26 houses in Footscray, but again, no word about where the metro rail tunnel actually goes underground, nor about the mechanics of digging it etc etc. We all just hope that their promise to not touch Holland Park remains.

State Government releases more info on the WestLink road tunnel

2010-07-12T08:10:00.006+10:00

3 proposals. Another study. More here.

The Age - Houses to go in plan to divert trucks

Herald Sun - Residents triumphant in first WestLink stoush

In 2008, Sir Rod Eddington's report into Melbourne's transport problems called for an east-west road tunnel linking the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road. And, while the controversial Eddington proposal is still on the agenda, the Government has no plan to build it.

Herald Sun - Tunnel to ease the squeeze

Herald Sun - John the builder of poll strategy

Pic from the Herald Sun

No further specifics on the rail tunnel, and where it is likely to head down (at some point after Footscray station and before South Kensington is all we know).

Winter Sunshine in the Park

2010-07-11T08:15:00.000+10:00

Works on the soccer pitch continue

2010-07-10T08:19:00.001+10:00

Traffic diversion

2010-06-27T04:34:00.003+10:00

Almost all of Saturday, the traffic that normally goes down Dynon Road, came through the industrial park and down Childers Street. It was like this, pretty much all day.

Out with the old...

2010-06-27T04:24:00.002+10:00

... and in with the new

Funding plea puts east-west tunnel back on agenda - Melbourne Leader

2010-06-01T12:19:00.004+10:00

A BRUMBY Government submission to Canberra shows Spring St is actively pursuing a road tunnel from Kensington to Clifton Hill, residents claim.

The project was first mooted in the 2008 Eddington report, but community backlash forced the government to back away from any immediate plans when it released its $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan later that year.

However, a Spring St submission to the Federal Department of the Environment indicates the tunnel would follow the completion of the $3.5 billion Westlink project, which is expected to begin in 2013.

The submission was seeking the department’s permission to proceed with the project linking Western Ring Rd with Kensington via Sunshine Rd and a new tunnel under Footscray.

The document refers to Westlink as the “immediate priority” in a “three-stage” proposal to build an 18km link between Melbourne’s western suburbs and the Eastern Freeway in accordance with the Eddington Report.

The east-west tunnel was a cornerstone of Sir Rod Eddington’s report, titled Investing in Transport...

Read the rest here - http://melbourne-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/funding-plea-puts-east-west-tunnel-back-on-agenda/

The stream of angry residents converging on the suspected site
of where the tunnel would come out.

Work on the soccer pitch commences

2010-05-27T11:02:00.002+10:00

Signs and fencing erected, for the works to commence.

What soccer pitch? Check out here.

Stage One of the BMX track refurbishment complete

2010-05-22T11:07:00.002+10:00

Previously, we informed you of the City of Melbourne's intentions to raise the standard, and therefore the use of, the BMX track within JJ Holland Park.

This was to be done in two stages - first, reduce any safety issues the track currently has. Secondly, look at the viability of a redesign/repurpose.

It is pleasing to see that they've incorporated a number of the suggestions from the public meeting into their first stage - they've made the track safer, and incorporated feedback regarding the shape of jumps, and the diameter of berms.

Notice the compacted top, and the lip. (Unfortunately, this kid didn't see this as a feature. Thankfully, after I chastised him a few times, his dad came across from watching the footy and did the same).
Tighter radius turns - makes a speedy approach to jumps
Instead of mounds, there are now kickers.

Freeway not worth cost

2010-05-21T10:52:00.001+10:00

More proof of how well the State Government does its sums with respect to their transport plan.

THE economic case for the Brumby government's top transport project is in tatters, with its own figures revealing benefits barely a third of its multibillion-dollar price tag.

The WestLink freeway, a six-lane road under Footscray and through Sunshine West, was estimated to cost $3.5 billion when the state asked Canberra to fund it in October 2008.

But a confidential submission to the Rudd government reveals estimated economic benefits that would flow from building the freeway of just $1.14 billion. This included travel-time savings of $700 million and a reduction in crash costs of $11 million.

Canberra knocked back funding despite Victoria declaring last year the freeway was its ''number one priority project'' for federal funding. The Age understands a core reason was the poor economic return on building the road.

The cost of the project has since blown out to $5 billion, although Roads Minister Tim Pallas is pressing ahead with the freeway despite not having the money to build it.

Read the whole article here - http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/freeway-not-worth-cost-20100520-vovs.html

Déjà vu

2010-05-13T09:59:00.003+10:00

Almost two years ago, a fight began in earnest to Save Holland park from destruction (certainly temporarily, but potentially for all time) by its use as a staging area for the development of the East-West tunnel, a recommendation from the oft-called 'Eddington Report'.

The idea was that the park could be used as the major construction point to create the tunnel. Through overwhelming community support, in addition to support from our representatives at all three levels of government, (and a little help from the Global Finanical Crisis probably didn't hurt), the proposal was defeated.

In its Victorian Transport Plan, the East-West Link tunnel was not an option, and it was specifically stated that JJ Holland Park would be left as is.

However, there have been some stirrings of another spectre.

The Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel Stage 1 - (link to official site) - plans to provide a new rail link from Footscray, underground to the Hospital/University district north of the CBD, linking with the City Loop at Flinders St, and potentially Melbourne Central, and eventually going to Domain and Caulfield as part of Stage 2.

The Kensington Association, in their newsletter reports :

Agenda Item 6 – Victorian Government Transport Plan

Matt Hammond reported on a recent meeting where several matters relevant to Kensington were raised. The plan includes a new set of rail lines from North Melbourne to Footscray to increase the capacity of the route for country trains. The tracks would be sited on the Dynon Road side of the existing lines, therefore there should be little impact on Kensington. However, the route of the proposed new Footscray-Parkville-Domain underground metro railway is potentially of concern. It appears that the route may be overground from Footscray to South Kensington, then branching into an underground tunnel portal at South Kensington, posing a similar threat to the aborted East-West road tunnel project. Depending on track alignment, it is possible that a proposal requiring the use of Holland Park as a tunnel entrance, or compulsory acquisition of some housing in South Kensington for the rail tunnel entrance could be reasonably envisaged. It was agreed that the Association would maintain a watching brief on the transport plan.

(My bold)

We will be watching this too. And we suggest you do likewise. The official site does not mention anything yet. The State Government, through Bronwyn Pike's direct influence, categorically stated that JJ Holland Park would remain untouched. However, we do all know how governments change their minds. And the current state government do not have a good track record with listing to the wishes of the public.

(NOTE: The recent tree removal within JJ Holland Park is for the expansion of the Soccer pitch, and has nothing to do with the above).

Dogs in JJ Holland Park

2010-04-07T11:02:00.004+10:00

The City of Melbourne are changing the on/off leash areas of Holland Park. In essence, they're restricting the amount of off leash areas, and swapping the soccer field for the other oval. There are a number of signs (below) at the main entry points to the park showing the way the areas were* and what is proposed.

If you have any comments, contact City of Melbourne on 9658 9658.

*Although, I always understood there was a 50m threshold around any children's playground that was a no-go zone

BMX Track - Community Meeting March 16th 5pm

2010-03-08T16:15:00.000+11:00

From a flyer taped about the park

The City of Melbourne is investigating improving the BMX track design of at JJ Holland Park. Residents and community groups are invited to give their suggestions about improvements.

Consultation meetings will be held on:

Tuesday 16th march
Kensington Community Recreation Centre (the pool)
Cnr Kensington Rd and Altona St

5pm - MTB/BMX riders
6pm - General Community info session

Riders can send their design suggestions for consideration prior to the meeting to:
hollandpark.bmx@melbourne.vic.gov.au

The big wet

2010-03-07T15:40:00.001+11:00

The Venny

2010-01-06T13:47:00.000+11:00

Work continues on The Venny

At it again...?

2009-09-18T12:46:00.003+10:00

Hmm... and here I'd hoped that I wouldn't have to post these sorts of things on this blog again

...IT IS NOT just the motoring lobby group that is concerned. Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Wayne Kayler-Thomson says Melbourne needs a second cross-town link, a point also made by Daly. ''The delay would have cost Victorian businesses lost time and productivity, particularly in the just-in-time manufacturing, transport and warehousing sectors,'' he says.
''The vulnerability caused by relying on one major east-west link, in Melbourne's case the Monash-CityLink-Westgate corridor, was highlighted by an accident in the Burnley Tunnel in 2007.''

Kayler-Thomson and Daly believe an east-west road tunnel link from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink should again be considered by the Government, which, while not ruling the proposal out, has placed it firmly on its priority backburner....

From Road to Nowhere - TheAge.com.au

and from today,

...None of these decisions were election commitments. The only time the public became aware was when the new policy was announced.

The Government is also pushing new laws through the Victorian Parliament euphemistically titled the "Major Transport Projects Facilitation Bill 2009" — that will likely mean less community consultation for big new road and rail projects running through communities....

From Brumby so busy he has stopped listening - The Age

Anyone else got that worrying feeling in the pit of their stomach?

Soccer, or trees? Your call

2009-08-18T13:04:00.001+10:00

In the City of Melbourne's development strategy for the park, one thing earmarked has been the further development of the area currently used as a soccer pitch (alongside the YMCA/pool and the childcare).

In order for this area to conform with the sport's regulations, a number of long-standing elms will need to be removed, to allow for the require dimensions around the pitch.

This will also fit in with the greater plan of removing the carpark, and replanting with a greater number of more drought-tolerant plants.

Have your say, by contacting the Kensington Association, or City of Melbourne direct.

Winter sports at a premium

2009-07-18T12:57:00.001+10:00

More new speed humps

2009-06-09T11:49:00.002+10:00

To limit the speed of traffic on Childers St (largely comprised of 'rat runners' taking a shortcut through the Lloyd St industrial park) the City of Melbourne has again replaced the speed humps. Originally there were seven bitumen ones. These were then replaced with smaller yellow plastic squares. They've now reverted to bitumen ones, although with a different profile.

These end before Altona Street and so the experience appears to be that cars will rapidly accelerate towards the dog-leg past the train station. If you are a frequent train user, be careful. No word from City of Melbourne regarding any more speed humps further up Childers Street - although they did have a traffic counter there a few months ago.

Autumnal sports

2009-04-03T09:25:00.001+11:00

The varied sporting use of JJ Holland Park is in full swing now, with football (Junior, Female and Senior), soccer and, of course, personal training, jogging and dog walking in abundance.

Fri Mar 13th - Movie and Fundraiser

2009-03-01T23:25:00.002+11:00

“Every year we run an Annual Open Doors Appeal however this year in light of recent tragic events we have decided that in this unique and one-off situation, it is appropriate for monies raised during the upcoming YMCA Open Doors branch appeal be directed to bushfire affected communities for medium to long term rehabilitation. This rehabilitation will not be in the form of bricks and mortar, but rather attempting to rebuild the emotional and physical strength of the individuals, families and communities involved.

Our Appeal has now become The YMCA Open Doors Bushfire Recovery Appeal.

The Kensington Community Recreation is showing its support in the YMCA Open Doors Bushfire Recovery Appeal, by running a Twilight Movie Family Fun Night on Friday March 13th from 6:00pm, where all proceeds go directly to YMCA Open Doors Bushfire Appeal.

Activities Include:

- Twilight Movie (starting at Dusk approx 8:30-9:00pm)

- Jumping Castle

- Pool Inflateable

- Face Painting

- BBQ

- And Much Much more

Cost:

$5* Per Person

$15* Per Family of Four.

*Price includes all activities, food not included.

http://www.kensington.ymca.org.au/index.asp?menuid=100

Summer in the Park

2009-01-31T15:37:00.004+11:00

Construction continues

2009-01-30T16:00:00.000+11:00

It's great to see the improvements in the park continuing. We're still awaiting more work to be done on the KensingTAN running track, and the sports pavillion. However, for the kids, construction continues unabated.

The Venny is getting a brand new building, which should be great for when the weather isn't great. Their current digs aren't huge, nor terribly well appointed. This is looking enormous!

The Kensington Community Childcare Cooperative is half-way through the throws of their refurbishment which, amongst other things, will give them another 40 places, which should provide places for over 70 extra kids (many are part-time).

This is the main entrance currently.

This is the completed new babies room, with playground out the front.

It's great to see the City of Melbourne chipping in, in a big way.

Sprawling transport not up to par

2009-01-12T09:35:00.000+11:00

A REPORT comparing the public transport systems of 52 cities internationally, commissioned by the State Government, has found that only North American cities have worse access to services than Melbourne.

And the Public Transport Standards Review, completed by respected transport analysts Booz and Co, has found Melbourne's public transport system performs worse than some Australian capitals in principal areas as well.

The report was completed as part of a government transport statement, released last month, and found eastern European cities invested 137 per cent more in public transport per head of population than Melbourne.

Western European cities invested 57 per cent more.

Only North American cities spent less on public transport per person than Melbourne, according to the report.

Melbourne is one of the developed world's most car-dependent cities, and the study sheds light on why: relatively poor access to public transport because the city is so spread out, and travel times 26 per cent slower than the car.

In cities with excellent public transport systems and worse road congestion — including London, Moscow, Rome and Munich — cars are as much as 50 per cent slower than trains or buses.

Western European cities such as Paris, Bern and Rotterdam had up to 13 times more services per urban hectare than Melbourne, which compared badly because of its vast urban sprawl.

Premier John Brumby last month guaranteed that the sprawl would continue, announcing a planned expansion of the city's growth boundaries on the north-west and south-east fringes...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

Roads plan raises new truck route fears

2008-12-30T09:06:00.001+11:00

NEW laws that would see some Melbourne roads prioritised for tram, bus, bicycle, pedestrian or freight use have alarmed local councils, who see them as an attempt to ram through new heavy truck routes.

- Truck highways fears
- Trams, buses, bikes to get priority
- Move to unblock public transport routes

The changes would give the State Government power to prioritise transport types on all public roads across the state.

A new VicRoads register would be established, listing how roads had been prioritised and the laws could mean new bus or bike lanes on a local road or the sudden appearance of massive freight trucks.

The local government sector is concerned about a lack of detail in the new laws and the potential for new truck highways through suburbs.

The proposed laws before the State Parliament would give Roads Minister Tim Pallas the power to prioritise bicycle, pedestrian and freight roads. The Roads Minister and Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky would have the power to prioritise roads for trams and buses.

The only check would be that if the public road were a municipal road there must be consultation with the Local Government Minister. There is no mention of the local council.

Municipal Association of Victoria chief executive Rob Spence has written to Mr Pallas requesting more details on the laws.

"We are talking about heavy vehicles, that is the real tension point in our sector," he said. "There has been no discussion with us on the detail of this at all."...

Read the whole article at TheAge.com.au

The road to perdition - TheAge

2008-12-28T12:40:00.002+11:00

John Whitelegg
MELBOURNE — a world-class city with a rich cultural diversity, fantastic architecture and a dynamic mosaic of communities — is drowning in traffic because of its love affair with the car. It is a love affair fuelled by over-generous budgets and the space provided for roads and illustrates a nervousness Melbourne has about getting to grips with its public transport system and making sure it is as good as Vienna's, Frankfurt's or Basle's.

This combination of boldness in catering for cars and shyness with public transport, walking and cycling could propel Melbourne down the list of the world's most liveable cities and cancel out its multiple advantages. It will also add to the burdens of poor health, especially through low levels of physical activity, obesity and early onset diabetes. The time is right to make sure that Melbourne's budgets and policy priorities contain a clear map of how the city can celebrate the virtues of walking, cycling and public transport, reduce car trips and reward its residents with cleaner air, less noise, lower greenhouse gas emissions, fewer deaths and injuries and a calmer, more child-friendly and more economically successful city...

Read the entire article at TheAge.com.au. No, no... seriously... read it! I've been to Basle... I've also been to Bangkok. I know which city I'd prefer to get around in!

Fed Govt to review priority infrastructure projects

2008-12-22T11:46:00.000+11:00

The Federal Government has released a preliminary audit of its infrastructure project priorities.

Infrastructure Australia has listed 94 projects which will be further examined ahead of a final list to be handed to the Government next year.

The audit recommends that investment be directed towards seven key areas including broadband and the national energy grid.

Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese says while the list is a positive start, more work needs to be done to develop projects for the long term.

"We are determined to get it right and with this advice and the process that we have from Infrastructure Australia, we are making sure that we invest taxpayers' money wisely and in the national interest," he said.

The projects listed include the $4 billion northern Sydney rail freight corridor, the $3.5 billion east-west rail tunnel in Melbourne and the $14 billion Brisbane inner-city rail upgrade.

Other key New South Wales projects on the shortlist include $4.8 billion for Sydney's CBD metro, $8 billion for the city's western metro under Parramatta Road and nearly $12 billion for the expansions of the M4 and M5 motorways.

Also shortlisted are $6.7 billion dollars for updrages to the Pacific Highway and $1 billion for the Princes Highway.

But the list will have to be narrowed down considerably to fit into the Government's Budget.

Mr Albanese says the list contains projects needed to improve the nation's productivity.

"Much more work needs to be done to determine the relative merits of these projects and whether they should be included on the final priority list which will be given to the Government as determined in the first quarter of 2009," he said.

Read the original article at abc.net.au/news

Tim Pallas Underestimates the West, Pays the Price

2008-12-22T10:59:00.001+11:00

An obviously under-prepared Minister for Transport, Tim Pallas, drew the ire of residents from Footscray, Kingsville, Tottenham, Yarraville and Sunshine on Wednesday 17th December when addressing a Public Meeting organised by No Freeway for West Footscray and Brimbank Transport Action Group.

Pallas clearly failed to understand the concerns of residents, particularly in relation to the proposed “Westgate Alternative” which will see Road freight spilling out in West Footscray and causing a truck-onslaught for Tottenham and Sunshine Residents.

While some Footscray residents clearly welcome a truck diversion, there is general consensus that a tunnel opening into Sunshine Rd in West Footscray is bad policy. We suggest that Minister Pallas do some homework and real consultation before he puts his head up in the Western Suburbs again. We also suggest that he not use the term “market value” in relation to compulsory acquisition, given that his Government’s Transport Plan has caused property values in affected areas to nose-dive.

Lastly, we register our disgust that promises of information and consultation that were made by the Department of Transport in the weeks leading up to the launch of the Transport Plan, have not been honoured.

If sitting MPs don’t start to listen, they will find themselves voted out - “safe” seat or not.

Read the original at respectthewest.wordpress.com

Tunnel mooted to fix Hoddle traffic - TheAge

2008-12-22T10:52:00.002+11:00

What IS it with this State Government and car tunnels... hey?

Clay Lucas

A traffic jam on Hoddle Street.

A FOUR-kilometre road tunnel from the MCG to the Eastern Freeway is among key recommendations in a report into fixing traffic jams on Hoddle Street, commissioned by the Brumby Government.

- $1.5b Hoddle Street tunnel plan
- Would remove 17 sets of lights
- Average journey cut by 12%

The $1.5 billion tunnel concept is in a report by engineers GHD, which was commissioned by the Department of Premier and Cabinet as it developed its recent transport statement.

The report will feed into a $5 million study to be completed by VicRoads next year into how to improve traffic conditions on Hoddle Street.

The proposed road tunnel would start at the Punt Road Oval in Richmond and end at the entrance to the Eastern Freeway in Collingwood, running 18 metres beneath Hoddle Street. It would remove 17 sets of traffic lights, and cut the average journey on Hoddle Street by 12 per cent, the report says.

The project would shut part of the MCG's car park for at least two years, for use as a construction site.

The Government, in its transport plan, said it would investigate "the feasibility of grade separating key junctions on Hoddle Street".

Tunnelling under Hoddle Street is backed by key groups, including the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which want a more dramatic solution to Hoddle Street's traffic problems.

The RACV has long backed a series of underpasses and overpasses for Hoddle Street. It repeated its call to improve conditions last week, saying there were few north-south routes in Melbourne.

The GHD report details other options for smaller tunnels on Hoddle Street, including:

A $600 million underpass at Victoria Parade, which would require some property acquisition.
A $530 million tunnel at Bridge Road.
A $70 million "park and ride" facility at Victoria Park train station.

Hoddle Street has some of Melbourne's worst congestion points, with 47,000 cars a day battling to get through the intersection at Swan Street in Richmond. At the corner of Hoddle and Victoria streets, another 40,000 cars a day cause some of the city's worst traffic snarls.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Doubt cast on need for new rail tunnel - TheAge

2008-12-19T09:11:00.001+11:00

Clay Lucas
A $4.5 BILLION "metro" rail tunnel that is the centrepiece of Victoria's transport plan has not been adequately justified, and other options to increase train services in Melbourne should have been investigated, a Government-commissioned report has found.

- Options should be investigated: expert
- Methodology's 'critical flaw'
- Passenger numbers set to soar

Senior rail consultant and transport planner Edward Dotson was hired by the State Government to help assess rail projects including a tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield, which was recommended in this year's report by transport expert Sir Rod Eddington.

The Government's plan proposes building a first stage of the tunnel, from Footscray to the Domain, within a decade.

But Mr Dotson found that while planning work for the rail tunnel should continue, some key assumptions behind it have not been proved.

He is particularly troubled by Transport Department passenger projections, which show a continued soaring in numbers over the next 13 years.

It was not possible to reliably make such projections beyond five years, Mr Dotson wrote.

And little work had been done to look at other options for running more trains on the network besides building the tunnel, he wrote. "This is a critical flaw in the methodology."

He said forecasts for passenger growth on Melbourne's trains, and alternatives to the tunnel, needed to be examined further.

The Department of Transport says a maximum of 20 trains an hour can run on each of Melbourne's train lines. But international rail experts argue this is, at best, unambitious.

Mr Dotson agrees, saying Melbourne's rail system should have a target of 24 trains running each hour on each line.

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

You can say that again, and again, as spin cycle blows a fuse

2008-12-18T09:41:00.001+11:00

Paul Austin
CABINET solidarity is generally a good thing, but this is ridiculous. The final big announcement for 2008 from the Brumby cabinet was last week's $38 billion transport plan. So big was it that it was accompanied by 23 media releases. Yes, 23.

Reading them, a certain similarity becomes apparent. "The Brumby Government is taking action on transport so that Victorians can have the best transport network in Australia," Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky says in the first release under her name. And in the second. And again in the third, and fourth, and so on until her seventh, on extra transit safety police.

That one has been tweaked subtly: "The Brumby Government is taking action on transport, so that Victorians can have the best and safest transport network in Australia." Kosky's releases Nos. 8, 9 and 10 revert to the original wording.

Then we get to Roads Minister Tim Pallas' releases. It seems he agrees with Kosky, not just in general terms but word for word, because the first of his media statements includes the line: "The Brumby Government is taking action on transport so that Victorians can have the best transport network in Australia." So do the next six, and the ninth.

But Pallas release No. 8, on upgrading bike paths, has a subtle addition: "The Brumby Government is taking action on transport, so that Victorians can have the best transport network in Australia — and the most sustainable." You can see why this Government retains a phalanx of media advisers.

All 10 Kosky releases (except the one about the transit police) go on to say: "Delivering the best transport system in Australia will mean Victorians can spend less time commuting and more time with family and friends."

So do Pallas' nine releases, except the one about removing trucks from residential streets around Yarraville, and the one about the bike paths, which contains a mistake: "Delivering the best transport system in Australia will mean Victorians have more can spend less time commuting and more time with family and friends."

Each Kosky release includes this boast: "Our $38 billion action plan also will generate up to 10,000 jobs a year during construction, resulting in more than 100,000 jobs over the life of the plan."

Pallas says exactly the same thing in each of his releases, except the one about the bike paths, the one about getting trucks off the streets of the inner west (which inserts the word "transport" before "action plan"), and the one about the Frankston bypass (which drops the word "also").

Most of Pallas' releases then say: "In tougher global times, the Brumby Government is taking action to deliver thousands of jobs now and to build for our next era of prosperity." So do half of Kosky's. That line also appears in one of their two joint media releases, under Kosky's name. Perhaps she got to say it because she's the more senior minister, at least for now.

(Incidentally, it's not just Labor that plays this game. Ted Baillieu, or at least someone in or around his office, came up with a good line last Thursday about the Government's record on public transport: "A public transport system ought to run like a Swiss watch. But we've got a cuckoo clock. John Brumby's transport system runs like a cuckoo clock." Baillieu's loyal upper house leader, David Davis, was so impressed that he said it again the next day: "Our transport system should work like a Swiss watch. Instead of that, it's working like a cuckoo clock.")

Underneath the tedious rhetoric, many of those 23 media releases on the Brumby transport plan announce welcome projects.

For example, one of the joint Kosky/Pallas releases is about a promise to spend $440 million over the next 12 years to eliminate some level crossings. This is a program that will save not only time but lives.

"With even more train services to be added across the network over coming years and more vehicles expected on key arterial roads, the Government must separate rail and road in key locations," Labor explains. But how many level crossings will be eliminated under this plan? Well, "a number". Which ones? There is not a clue, beyond the first: Springvale Road, Nunawading. How much will that one cost? We are not told, beyond the fact that "the Commonwealth Government has committed $80 million towards the project".

There's one other aspect of the transport plan where detail has evaded the Premier. Asked the cost of the advertising campaign that is on your TV screen right now spruiking the benefits of his blueprint, Brumby replied: "Look, I don't have the exact figure. I think it's somewhere between 1 and 2 million dollars."

Somewhere between 1 and 2 million? This from the Premier who can tell us that over the next 12 years the metro rail tunnel will cost $4.5 billion, the so-called regional rail link $4 billion, the Dingley bypass $80 million, the restoration of passenger rail services to Maryborough $50 million, planning for an outer ring road $10 million, and a study of what to do about Hoddle Street $5 million.

No doubt if Lynne Kosky or Tim Pallas were asked how much the advertising campaign for their transport plan was costing us taxpayers, they'd say the same thing as the Premier. Cabinet solidarity, you see.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Mark Knight Cartoon - Herald Sun

2008-12-16T11:18:00.002+11:00

See the original here

Transport plan? The joke's on us

2008-12-15T21:44:00.001+11:00

Kenneth Davidson, as usual, pulls no punches...

THE Brumby Government is having us on. Are we expected to take seriously a $38 billion transport plan that needs $8 billion from a total Federal Government national infrastructure pot that has $10 billion in it and is leaking badly as a result of the deepening recession?

Surely Brumby doesn't seriously believe that he will get the lion's share of these infrastructure funds for multibillion-dollar projects that haven't been subject to a credible environmental impact study or cost-benefit analysis?

The Victorian Transport Plan is just a continuation of Melbourne's real long-term transport plan drawn up in 1969 by Wilbur Smith and Associates. This American consultancy envisaged Melbourne as a replica of car-reliant Los Angeles with freeways, ring roads and a residual bus service for the poor. (An excellent tram service was sold to a trust comprised of the leading car and tyre manufacturers, which then closed the network.)

The trustee in charge of Wilbur Smith's vision is VicRoads, the most powerful quango in the Victorian bureaucracy. Part of the long-term plan is to complete the ring road — a diabolical attack on Melbourne's radial public transport network separated by green wedges. This plan was created by the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works, which was Melbourne's de facto planning agency as development was forced to follow the most expensive infrastructure — sewerage and water.

But after the break-up of the MMBW, VicRoads, under a series of weak and incompetent state governments, has been allowed to run riot while planning has fallen into the hands of the developers and water is well on the way to being privatised.

VicRoad's strategy is salami tactics: one slice at a time. The Eastern Freeway becomes a traffic jam at Hoddle Street backing up towards Burke Road in peak periods. Solution? Bulldoze an east-west extension through the inner suburbs to get more cars into Melbourne, even though trains are the only way to get masses of people into the CBD without environmental and economic catastrophe as half the city building will need to be replaced by car parks.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Eastern Freeway-EastLink is the promise of a $6 billion extension from Bulleen to Greensborough to link up with the ring road from the western suburbs.

Why would the Commonwealth finance this when there are cheaper and more environmentally sound alternatives? For example, spending a few hundred million dollars to upgrade the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane rail link to get freight traffic off the Hume Highway and create a standard gauge link from Dandenong to Dynon Road freight terminal to move freight by rail to all the mainland capitals.

Bulldozing a freeway across the Yarra flats and through historic Heidelberg has never been off the agenda. I addressed 500 people at the Heidelberg Town Hall in November 2002 and pointed out that EastLink was a highway from nowhere to nowhere. It only made sense if it connected to the ring road. Then transport minister Peter Batchelor promised the meeting that the link would not be made in his tenure. Local member Craig Langdon said he would resign from Parliament if the road was built. It was a lesson in political management.

Batchelor also told Parliament that "I put it on record the Government has no such proposal (to link the Eastern Freeway with the ring road) … It is not on our radar … There is no truth in the suggestion."

But urban planner and public transport advocate Paul Mees discovered a document under freedom of information, a recording of a ministerial briefing by a senior planning official dated October 2001 that clearly stated the connection was recommended by the department.

It is impossible not to conclude that the Government hates the idea of extending or improving the rail network. Its technique for avoiding sensible options is to refuse to examine them. This is why it can't afford to undertake serious cost-benefit analysis. For instance, Mees says there is no reason for an expensive duplication and extension of the rail network because there is a bottleneck in the city underground loop, which can be resolved by a better timetable.

This should be subject to expert inquiry as Mees' proposal has the ability to save at least $8 billion in unnecessary investment and extend the network where it is needed.

The Government, under the thrall of VicRoads and an incompetent public transport bureaucracy with a vested interest in the maintenance of the franchise system, refuses to hold the inquiry. Why?

Kenneth Davidson is a senior columnist.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Melburnians fare badly when paying for public transport - TheAge

2008-12-15T14:29:00.000+11:00

MELBOURNE'S public transport is again the country's most expensive, after the Brumby Government announced the biggest price increase in fares in five years.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky confirmed on Friday that train, tram and bus fares will jump by 5 per cent from January 1.

With tickets up by as much as $2.20 (for a zone one and two weekly ticket), the Public Transport Users Association has compared Melbourne's fares with other Australian cities.

Melbourne fared badly, with the price of a ticket far higher in all but two cases.

Melbourne is the most expensive city for all journeys, except short trips in Adelaide, and for trips longer than 40 kilometres, since the Government abolished zone three for the outer suburbs last year.

"In extreme cases, Melbourne costs 50 per cent more than some cities," said Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen.

For a 20-kilometre single trip in Melbourne — for example, from Clayton to Flinders Street — passengers will from next year pay $5.80 (a rise of 30 cents). For a trip of the same length in Brisbane, passengers pay $3.80.

Ms Kosky, defending last week's price rise, said it was not true that Melbourne had the country's most expensive tickets.

But the PTUA said the figures spoke for themselves.

"The bulk of commuters are paying more per kilometre than passengers anywhere in Australia," Mr Bowen said.

The 5 per cent fare increase that will hit passengers next year is separate from another two increases with which they will be slugged in 2012 and 2013.

Those rises will help to finance the state's $38 billion Victorian transport statement...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

On a road to nowhere? - TheAge

2008-12-15T14:22:00.001+11:00

The Brumby Government's transport blueprint has been labelled a PR exercise - filled with empty promises - to soothe frustrated commuters. Clay Lucas reports.

"IT'S part of the plan," says a 30-second, Department of Transport ad that made its debut on Melbourne television in July. The ad, which featured a series of traffic jams and busy construction images, shows viewers that, despite the many delays on our roads and rail tracks, the State Government has a plan.

"With many initiatives already under way, the signs of an improving transport system can now be seen," it says.

Try telling that to the thousands of motorists stuck on Melbourne's freeways last week, in some of the worst traffic gridlock in recent memory; drivers on some freeways waited for up to an hour for roads to clear.

Or the thousands of train passengers, stranded by scores of morning rush-hour cancellations.

All part of what plan? The $1 million ad campaign attracted some attention at the time, attacked by the Opposition as excessive spending. But, as the lavish launch of the Vic-torian Transport Plan last Monday now makes clear, that modest transport ad was just the start of the campaign.

The transport projects outlined in the plan will cost $38 billion between now and 2021. Given this Government's past performance on delivering transport plans, however, completion isn't assured.

Their 2006 plan Meeting Our Transport Challenges has had just 2 per cent of its projects completed, according to an analysis in October by the Property Council.

The latest plan's key promises - all of them dependent on federal funding - include a $4 billion-plus rail line to connect Werribee to Southern Cross Station, a new $3 billion inner-west road to link Geelong Road to Dynon Road, and the Footscray to Domain rail tunnel.

A controversial road tunnel, proposed by Sir Rod Eddington, from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink was left out, but the $750 million Frankston bypass road and the controversial north-east "missing link" - a $6 billion freeway joining Greensborough to Bulleen - was included.

But the new plan will hit travellers with a "transport tax" of 5 per cent on fares from 2012 and again in 2013, raising $500 million to help finance key projects.

To promote the plan, the Brumby Government will spend $2 million more on ads.

Documents obtained by The Age under Freedom of Information, show the background to the "It's part of the plan" ads. Briefing notes reveal just how concerned, last December, the Government was about swelling anger in the community about transport gridlock.

A research briefing paper to Howard Ronaldson, then head of the department of infrastructure (now the Department of Transport), warned that the masses were growing furious about delays.

But there was a way to calm them, the briefing note said: tell them there was a plan.

Research paid for by the Government found that people did not link delays from construction with being part of a strategy. "People stated they would be more likely to accept delays if they had clear information about why the disruptions were occurring," the briefing note says.

And so $1 million of taxpayers money would be spent to convince angry commuters that something was being done.

And, viewed in this light, political analysts and critics of the Victorian Transport Plan say it makes it all the more easy to understand what is going on.

Monash University's senior politics lecturer Nick Economou says that while the transport plan could be good politics, much of it was empty promises.

"The sort of money that Brumby is talking about would mean that the Commonwealth would have to shell out an enormous amount to Victoria - and that is unlikely to happen," he says.

At least $13 billion of the $38 billion plan is predicated on federal funding. But the Rudd Government's Building Australia Fund, originally to hold $20 billion, now holds only $12.6 billion because of the global economic downturn. Of that, $4.7 billion has been earmarked for the national broadband network - leaving $7.9 billion to be divided among all of the states for general infrastructure.

Add it up, and the Victorian Transport Plan starts to sound all too familiar, Economou says.

"You keep promising to extend the rail line to South Morang (this Government started promising it in 1999 and in last week's plan promised it again) and you never actually do. The sales pitch from Brumby is just re-badging (old transport projects) and pie in the sky stuff," he says.

But it is likely to be enough to calm some angry drivers and commuters, he says. "At least it looks and sounds like a plan."

Economou says if transport can be nullified for the Premier as an issue as a result of the plan, it will help bullet-proof the Government until well after the 2010 election.

"The Brumby Government is travelling along quite nicely because it is seen as a can-do, achieving Government so far," he says. "The shipping channel has been dredged without a ripple of protest from anyone but a few Blue Wedgers. The desalination plant is getting built. And their road building program is going ahead with barely a ripple of dissent."

But anger is still mounting in the community, says Melbourne University's transport research centre chief Nick Low, because the public wants a real strategy to fix the problems - not just a grab-bag of promises and re-announcements.

But not all are critics.

Monash University historian Graeme Davison, who has written extensively about Melbourne's love affair with the car, says he has been surprised the new transport plan gives as much as it does to public transport.

"It's clearly an attempt at some form of balance, because it tilts the balance more towards public transport than any previous plan," says Davison, whose 2004 book Car Wars detailed the victory of the car in Melbourne.

He praises the idea of extending the regional rail line to Geelong so that it goes through growing areas of suburbia around Caroline Springs and Tarneit.

He is less keen on the "extravagant" $4.5 billion rail tunnel from Footscray to the Domain - "all it does at present is to relieve a bit of congestion at the centre" - but respects that it marks a shift in thinking within the Government.

But many of the city's transport obsessed are sick of this Government's transport promises.

The Public Transport Users Association is one, describing the transport plan as nothing more than a way of getting people off buses, trains and trams and into cars.

The plan, presented by the Government as "sustainable", promises 122 kilometres of new roadways, and 36 kilometres of new rail track through new areas.

"No ordinary person was asking for diverting Geelong trains through Tarneit, or a second set of rail tunnels under the CBD. But they were asking for suburban rail extensions to Rowville and Doncaster and Melton and the airport, more trains to the western and eastern suburbs, and for buses every 10 minutes," says PTUA secretary Tony Morton.

Melbourne could have it all for far less than $38 billion, he says.

"There will be nothing for the family in (suburban Melbourne) that has no useable bus service to the railway station," says Morton. "(That family) faces a one-kilometre walk if they do manage to park their car there, and basically can't have a life unless they drive everywhere."

Cheap, simple alternatives to multibillion-dollar rail and road tunnels are needed instead of expensive tunnelling proposals, Morton says.

"They need to build South Morang for $60 million, not $650 million," he says. "The balance (should be spent) completing the rest of the suburban rail network. They need to run buses the same way they run trams. And they need to actually co-ordinate the network so it takes you from anywhere to anywhere without falling in a heap at every transfer point."

The president of the Planning Institute, Jason Black, says the problem with the transport plan is that it acts as if a new land use strategy, Melbourne @ 5 Million released four days before the transport plan, did not even exist.

"The transport plan and the land use plan are not connected," Black told a forum at Melbourne University last week. "The notion of sustainability relies on these plans being aligned, integrated, and they just aren't."

If Melbourne's suburbs and its transport services were not planned together "greenhouse gas emissions will never drop, we will never see a shift away from providing `a missing link' somewhere in the road network - which seems to be a constant in Melbourne - and we will never see a shift away from the reliance on (cars) over public transport", Black says.

For other planning experts, the problem with the Victorian Transport Plan is far more profound.

RMIT transport and planning academic Paul Mees says it is "a pretend plan" that puts forward a list of public transport projects the Government has little chance of delivering.

"You can tell that from the fact that, two years ago we couldn't run any more trains on the train system unless there was a third track on the Dandenong line," he says.

Meeting Our Trans-port Challenges in 2006 promised a third rail track running from Caulfield to Dandenong. That project has since been abandoned.

But several new "mega" transport projects - most of which have a delivery timetable between 2017 and 2021 - have now been announced.

"You can say anything you want," says Mees, "and it's not that as a politician you actually have a direct intention not to deliver it - it's just that you know you won't be there when the time comes."

Mees often compares Melbourne's poor performance on delivering new public transport infrastructure with that of Zurich - renowned around the world for its ruthless efficiency.

"If you go to the Zurich (transport agency's) website, there you will find their capital works plan for 2011 to 2014, which was released in July this year. All of it will happen.

"This (Victoria's) transport plan," says Mees, "it is just media-release issuing as a substitute for real planning."

Clay Lucas is transport reporter.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Thanks to Greg Barber

2008-12-14T09:34:00.006+11:00

The first politician to do anything in Kensington regarding the tunnel was Greg Barber (Greens). He organised a public meeting, and the Greens distributed hundreds (thousands?) of No Road Tunnel green triangles. Many, many residents, regardless of the political allegiances, displayed these on their houses.

Thanks Greg.

And now there's more detail coming out about West Footscray, it's looking like the fight may increase there. And Colleen Hartland and the Greens are still in there fighting.

Thanks from Lindsay Tanner

2008-12-11T21:42:00.002+11:00

...I am glad to see that local communities can communicate with government,
make their opinions heard, and continue to be influential on the
outcomes.

Thank-you again for having contacted me about this issue and I hope this
information is of assistance....

Part of an email sent to anyone who send Lindsay Tanner an email about the East-West tunnel

Thanks from Bronwyn Pike

2008-12-11T21:36:00.002+11:00

Many community members raised concerns about the impact of the Eddington Report Recommendations on J.J.HollandPark, through your efforts and my advocacy I can assure you that the Plan specifically rejects the use of the park for either staging or construction of a road tunnel. Once again thank you to everyone who made a submission.

Read more here - http://www.bronwynpike.com/

And Bronwyn, the residents of Kensington thank you for your efforts!

Park saved from tunnel for good, Pike tells residents - Melbourne Times

2008-12-11T21:13:00.003+11:00

Bianca Hall

KENSINGTON'S JJ Holland Park will never be used for a freeway staging post, Melbourne MLA Bronwyn Pike has promised.

The Victorian Government released its long-awaited $38.5 billion transport blueprint on Monday, in response to Sir Rod Eddington's east-west transport plan.

Sir Rod controversially recommended the Government construct a road tunnel and freeway between the Western Ring Road and Eastern Freeway, using Royal Park in Parkville and JJ Holland Park as staging posts.

In July, Ms Pike invited Premier John Brumby to tour JJ Holland Park, which is heavily used by housing estate residents and sporting community groups.

"Being able to bring the Premier down in person and getting him to see what the park means in person was a real turning point," she said.

The promise was welcomed by Save Holland Park campaigner Cory Boardman. "I'm ecstatic that it does mention JJ Holland Park by name - I think the community's really got behind this."

But the Government committed to constructing a road tunnel from Footscray to the Port of Melbourne, and it has indicated it intends to build a road from the port to the Eastern Freeway in the future.

The blueprint also includes a plan to investigate south-bound overpasses on Hoddle Street at Johnston Street, Victoria Street, Bridge Road and Swan Street to relieve congestion off the Eastern Freeway at Clifton Hill.

Richard MLA Richard Wynne said the transport plan closely resembled his submission to the Eddington inquiry, placing emphasis on public transport over roads.

Chief among public projects is a rail tunnel between Footscray and the Domain, at a cost of more than $4.5 billion. The Government plans to begin construction of the section between Footscray and Flinders Street first - probably by the middle of the next decade.

Transcribed from The Melbourne Times

No Freeway 4 West Footscray - Public Meeting

2008-12-11T10:19:00.005+11:00

No Freeway 4 West Footscray are holding a public meeting in light of the Victorian Transport Plan, to learn more about the 'Westgate alternative' tunnel proposal and the Truck Route. Support your neighbours, and anyway, seeing how Kensington Road and beyond lead to/away from this tunnel, it may effect you more than you think!

Date:	Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Time:	7:30pm - 10:30pm
Location:	Bluestone Church
Street:	Hyde St Footscray (Next to Maribyrnong Council)
City/Town:	Melbourne, Australia

Public Meeting with Minister Tim Pallas and local MP Marsha Thomson to answer concerns about the Road Tunnel & Stage 2 Truck Route as announced.

More details as follows
http://www.nofreeway.org/
or for those on FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=50092648017&ref=share

Funds may be uncertain, but the need to proceed is definite - TheAge

2008-12-09T10:40:00.003+11:00

Marc Moncrief
JOHN Brumby's $38 billion plan to redesign Victoria's transport system depends on Federal Government money that is unbudgeted, uncertain and — as far as the public knows — uncommitted.

Delivering the much-awaited plan yesterday, Brumby said he would need $13 billion from the Federal Government over 12 years to clear Melbourne's streets, link the city's major road arteries and boost capacity on the state's rail system.

Tunnel vision for Brumby's billions
Victorian Premier John Brumby announces $38 billion transport plan, with tunnels getting priority

The figure includes $2.8 billion in money already promised by the Commonwealth and an additional $10.2 billion in money hoped for from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Building Australia Fund.

It is not the first time the $10 billion figure has been floated, and it is a figure that comes with some controversy.

The state has been pressuring the Commonwealth for a commitment of at least $10 billion since federal Treasurer Wayne Swan publicly questioned whether the global financial crisis would allow the Government to deliver on its promise of $40 billion to invest in transport, health and education....

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

Funny that when I clicked on the video (above), it ran an ad for GM Holden.

Something for everyone — and therein lies the problem - TheAge

2008-12-09T10:38:00.001+11:00

Tim Colebatch
A TRANSPORT plan as big as this — investing $38 billion over 12 years — can transform the city it serves, or give it more of what it already has. But this is John Brumby's plan, so it tries to do both.

Melbourne is one of the world's most spread-out cities, small islands of high-density housing amid a vast sea of low-density, mostly single-storey homes set in gardens. It is inevitable that a city like that will rely on cars for its transport needs.

But it's the 21st century, and car emissions cause global warming. Melbourne's population is nearing 4 million, heading for 5 million, and its roads are congested as never before. The planners say that instead of building out, we should build up, creating a different kind of city where trains, trams and bicycles can take us where we need to go.

And where is the Brumby Government on this? Everywhere.

Last week John Brumby announced yet another expansion of Melbourne's urban boundaries, pledging to rezone enough rural land for 134,000 new homes. Yet he also made a fresh move to get Melbourne to build up, selecting just six of the 116 activity centres identified by Melbourne 2030 as priority business centres, to create momentum for their redevelopment.

We are moving ahead at full speed, in both directions.

Brumby declares the new Victorian Transport Plan "transformational", and in a sense it is. In recent times, 80 to 90 per cent of the state's transport investment has gone into roads and only 10 to 20 per cent on rail. In this plan, it's roughly 50/50, and it proposes investment in rail on a scale not seen since the 19th century.

Assuming Commonwealth funding — and the plan assumes Canberra will pay a third of the total cost, although it has committed only $3 billion so far — by 2020 Victoria will build two significant new rail lines, extend or electrify five others into rapidly developing suburbs, and invest $4.5 billion on new trains, trams, and buses.

In 1999 Steve Bracks promised to spend $80 million to upgrade rail tracks on four lines. Regional Fast Rail ended up costing more than 10 times that, and even then many of its best ideas were jettisoned to keep costs down. Now the money is there, or assumed to be there. These projects are staggeringly expensive. For the South Morang line, to build 3.6 kilometres of track and a new station, duplicate five kilometres of track closer in, and enlarge Thomastown station will cost $650 million. To electrify 15 kilometres of track to Sunbury will cost $270 million. To electrify the track as far as Melton (with new stations and improvements, of course) will cost $1.3 billion.

The two tunnels in Sir Rod Eddington's report on east-west options were costed at $16 billion as a preliminary estimate. And few voters saw them as meeting their own transport needs.

So instead, Brumby is offering us a smorgasbord: 60 projects, in roads, rail, trams, buses, bicycles, ports, even regional airports. Some are already under way or programmed. Others are new projects, whether on roads, tracks, buying new trains, trams and buses, freight terminals, etc. There's something for everyone.

Half that spending would be on four big projects: two road, two rail. What remains of Eddington's road tunnel is a $5 billion tunnel under the Maribyrnong River and the western suburbs to link the Dynon Road freight terminal to its supply sources, via the Geelong road and the Western Ring Road. We need roads like this for Melbourne to work, yet remain liveable.

The second road costs even more: $6 billion-plus to build a nine-kilometre freeway underground from Greensborough to Bulleen. It's the link our rulers left out of the Outer Ring Road, because they assumed it would have to go through Eltham, and even Jeff Kennett was not game to try that. But if money is no problem, we can build it underground, without going anywhere near Eltham. Just don't be surprised if it ends up as a toll road.

The Tarneit-Sunshine rail link proposed by Eddington would be expanded into a $4 billion line from Werribee to Southern Cross, creating a dedicated double track for regional passenger trains from Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, with a spur line to serve the new suburbs of Tarneit and Wyndham Vale.

Eddington also proposed a rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield. Brumby has promised to build only the central bit. Even that would cost $4.5 billion, a cost he defended as kicking off "the development of a metro system in Melbourne".

But it doesn't do that, and can't, unless we have planning policies that create population densities where public transport becomes our best option for getting around. This plan sets some good priorities, but in trying to please everyone, it lacks a clear strategy.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Is this our future? - TheAge

2008-12-09T09:24:00.002+11:00

Paul Austin
...It was in May 2006, that Brumby's predecessor, Steve Bracks, announced as part of his grand transport plan that $5 million would be spent commissioning an "east-west needs assessment" by international transport guru Sir Rod Eddington.
Sir Rod's brief was to advise on new transport connections between the Western Ring Road and the Eastern Freeway. The headline recommendation in his report, released in April this year, was a road tunnel from the west to the Eastern Freeway. That tunnel came to symbolise in the public mind what the Eddington Report was all about.

Yesterday's plan was the Government's response to Eddington (and a lot more besides). But guess what? The most compelling part of Eddington is not even in Brumby's plan, which we are assured is a blueprint for the state through to 2021.

Cabinet has determined that all the other plans and projects listed in the Brumby plan are more important than Eddington's tunnel.

The Brumby plan makes considerable sense as a staged "closing the gap" exercise, particularly on the road network. So the roadblock at the end of EastLink is dealt with via a ring road around Frankston to Mount Martha. There will be a new road tunnel under the Maribyrnong, a "competitor" to the West Gate Bridge. Provision is made for an outer metropolitan ring road (starting at Avalon Airport and going around to the Hume Highway). And there is a commitment to build the "missing link" in the metropolitan ring road, to join the Eastern.

But a direct east-west road connection becomes the new "missing link". Brumby's message to those long-suffering commuters coming in on the Eastern is that his plan will do more for them than the Eddington tunnel ever would. It's an argument sure to test their patience.

The premier points out that the Eddington recommendation was for a tunnel with no off-ramps into central Melbourne. Brumby says, the "bulk" of the people queueing up at the end of the Eastern each morning are not trying to drive through to the west, but rather are edging towards the left lanes to turn south into Hoddle Street.

There's the next bottleneck. So guess what? Brumby announced yesterday as part of his grand transport plan that $5 million would be spent commissioning a north-south needs assessment, to advise on ways to free-up traffic flows down Hoddle Street, probably involving tunnels or fly-overs. And so the cycle continues, as successive governments try to keep up with the transport needs of a rapidly growing city. It is an endless work-in-progress...

Read the whole article at TheAge.com.au

Quite an obvious take on the VTP - that a LOT of it is asterisked that it is dependent upon Commonwealth funding. Even so, it is still concerning the amount of pro-East West Link car tunnel rhetoric that is still out there.

VICTORY!

2008-12-08T18:20:00.002+11:00

La la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaa

2008-12-08T13:46:00.001+11:00

http://www3.transport.vic.gov.au/vtp/pdfs/vtp.pdf

Take a look, if you can get thru...

And here it is in writing boys and girls. Pages 105 AND 155. The fat lady is now singing, loud and strong!

VERY GOOD NEWS!

2008-12-08T13:09:00.002+11:00

Many of the recent newspaper reports suggest that the East-West Link road tunnel was not going ahead.

However, a number of friends of SaveHollandPark.org.au have heard from Bronwyn Pike herself that the State Government's forthcoming Transport Blueprint states JJ Holland Park by name, stating that it will never be used for a staging point for any transport development.

We have learned that Bronwyn Pike worked hard to ensure that the park was mentioned in the report.

So... if you wanna let out a huge HURRAH... then go ahead, I'm with you. However, my full celebrations won't happen until I read it in print.

And a BIG thanks to each and every one of you - no matter how you contributed - emailing politicians, sending in a submission on the Eddington Report, attending a rally, or perhaps just discussing it with your friends and neighbours.

Brumby's $40bn plan to get Victoria moving - TheAge

2008-12-08T07:47:00.003+11:00

PLANS to buy 52 trains and 50 trams for Melbourne, as well as 20 trains for regional Victoria, will be unveiled today as John Brumby seeks to lay claim to the title of "the public transport Premier".

The $4.2 billion buy-up of rolling stock will be accompanied by a promise to build Melbourne's first metro-style underground suburban rail line — a 17 kilometre cross-city tunnel from Caulfield to Footscray via St Kilda Road and inner Melbourne — as well as a new surface rail line through the rapidly growing western suburbs and a long-awaited extension of the Epping line in the north.

The Age believes the Government's transport blueprint, to be revealed today, will involve nearly $40 billion of purchases and projects.

Mr Brumby will claim the plan will create tens of thousands of jobs and transform Victoria's road network and public transport system into Australia's best.

But the Opposition will claim the timeline for many of the major projects is so long that there can be no guarantee Labor will deliver them.

Commuters on the Eastern Freeway will have to wait years for relief from the daily congestion as they hit Hoddle Street, with cabinet rejecting a recommendation from its transport adviser, Sir Rod Eddington, for a $9 billion road tunnel from the end of the Eastern Freeway under North Carlton to the western suburbs.

Instead, Mr Brumby will announce that the Government will commission an engineering study to consider building underpasses or flyovers south along Hoddle Street at the intersections with Johnston Street, Victoria Street, Bridge Road and Swan Street.

But there will be quicker action to get freight traffic out of residential areas of the inner-west, notably Francis Street in Yarraville.

Mr Brumby will announce plans to build an elevated road from West Gate Freeway to Hyde Street, to carry trucks along Footscray Road to the Port of Melbourne, at a cost of about $380 million.

About $80 million will be allocated to build a 3.5 kilometre Dingley bypass road in the south-eastern suburbs, between Perry and Springvale roads.

The Age has confirmed that, as part of the Government's public transport push, today's statement will include:

$1 billion to buy 50 low-floor trams. But the first of the trams, which can carry up to 200 passengers, will not start operating until 2012-13.
$550 million for 20 V/Line trains, to add more than 1500 extra seats to the regional.
$650 million for a further 20 X'Trapolis trains, to be added to the 18 already on order and due to start operating from late next year.
$2 billion for 32 "new generation" trains, with 30 per cent more carrying capacity and extra doors. These trains will not start operating until all 38 X'Trapolis trains have been rolled out.

The transport plan is also expected to include:

An investigation of potential routes to extend the Metropolitan Ring Road from Greensborough to EastLink at Ringwood, possibly through environmentally sensitive areas such as Diamond Creek and Warrandyte.
Buying up land for a road in an arc from Avalon Airport to the Hume Highway as the start of a new outer ring road.
A bypass road around Frankston, costing about $750 million.
Extra bus services for Doncaster and surrounding eastern suburbs.
About $100 million — but spent over 12 years — for new and improved bike paths across the state.
More than $30 million to fund extra transit police, especially on train lines with high levels of violence and vandalism.

Mr Brumby would not discuss details of the transport blueprint yesterday, but emphasised it was for the entire state, not just Melbourne.

"It is transformational in terms of its scale," he said.

But the Opposition said the fact that the plan was being unveiled nine years into the life of the Government showed Labor had failed to plan adequately for the state's population boom.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said: "We keep getting told this is a plan for the future, but it seems to be a plan to have a heap more plans and studies."

Read the original report at TheAge.com.au

Tunnel vision on track - news.com.au

2008-12-08T07:46:00.001+11:00

THE $38 billion transport package will revolutionise the way you move around this city. It will also change the way goods are moved.

Train travel will become quicker and less prone to disruptions with construction of a $9.5 billion tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield.

Stations are expected in the university and hospital precinct in Parkville, at the Domain interchange and possibly in the CBD.

The project is designed to carry about 40,000 passengers an hour.
Metlink chief executive Bernie Carolan said the tunnel was essential in ensuring the delivery of reliable commuter train services into the future.

Inner network problems needed to be fixed before extensions, such as to South Morang, could be fixed, he said.

The $1.5 billion Tarneit link, from Sunshine to Werribee, is designed to improve metropolitan and country services.

V/Line services to and from Geelong will be more reliable because they won't get stuck behind suburban trains.

You might be more likely to get a seat in future thanks to an immediate order for 20 trains and a further order for 35 next-generation trains.

Quicker trips to and from Doncaster can be expected with enhanced bus services.

But don't expect a quick, seamless drive from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink any time soon.

Another of Sir Rod Eddington's major recommendations, an east-west road tunnel, has proven to be more politically difficult than the rail tunnel.

But relief is in sight for motorists with a $240 million upgrade of the West Gate Bridge, revealed by the Herald Sun last week, to provide a medium-term alternative.

A further reason to delay the east-west road tunnel will be a plan to build flyovers along Hoddle St.

Motorists will also get an easier run through the notorious Springvale Rd level crossing at Nunawading, rated the worst in the state for safety, which will be replaced.
What is less obvious is a growing problem around the ports area: more capacity to move freight around is desperately needed.

Resident anger is building around the inner-western suburbs as truck numbers increase.

The solution is the first stage of Sir Rod's road tunnel, underneath Footscray to the ports, and better connections to Hyde St and Footscray Rd, allowing trucks to bypass residential areas.

Read the original article at news.com.au

$6 billion super link - news.com.au

2008-12-08T07:32:00.000+11:00

EXCLUSIVE: THE biggest road project in Melbourne's history to connect the northern and eastern suburbs will spearhead today's transport plan.

The 9km North East Link, with tunnels under the Yarra River, will cost at least $6 billion - more than the combined cost of the CityLink and EastLink freeways.

But the Brumby Government won't say whether it will have tolls.

The road will link the Melbourne Ring Rd at Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen.
Tunnels will be bored for 4.5km from Rosanna to Bulleen to protect the environment and homes.

Premier John Brumby today will commit to the project, which will run through and under suburbs including Greensborough, Rosanna, Heidelberg and Bulleen.

The North East Link will be one of dozens of projects in the $38 billion transport plan.

Mr Brumby said the plan would eclipse recommendations by transport expert Sir Rod Eddington.

"This is a bigger plan, this is bigger than Eddington in terms of its scale, its impact, its investment, jobs, the profound changes it will make to our transport system," he told the Herald Sun.

Details of the plan already revealed by the Herald Sun include:

AN $8.5 BILLION rail link from Footscray to Caulfield.
THE Frankston bypass, to cost $700 million.
A ROAD tunnel under Footscray connecting to the port area, to cost several billion dollars.
THE $240 million plan to convert emergency lanes on the West Gate Bridge to regular traffic lanes.
A TRUCK route through inner-western suburbs to cost $380 million.
The eastern section of an inner-suburban east-west road tunnel is set to be shelved, with the Government convinced the North East Link would take significant pressure off Hoddle St and other arterial roads.

The Government is also considering a series of flyovers and underpasses to resolve Hoddle St bottlenecks.

At least half the North East Link will be tunnels while the rest of the freeway will use existing roads, which may need to be widened.

Dubbed the "missing link", the Melbourne Ring Rd would be lengthened from Greensborough to Rosanna before tunnels take traffic beneath the Yarra and under heritage areas including picturesque land around the Heide Museum of Modern Art.

The Government's preferred option is to minimise environmental damage at the Banyule Flats - the scene of many landscapes by the Heidelberg School of artists.

Planning for the North East Link will begin immediately but construction may have to wait until 2012.

The transport plan is crucial to the Government's future with road congestion and public transport chaos threatening to seriously undermine Labor's run to the 2010 election.

Some of today's projects will not begin until after 2010 but some smaller projects are likely to begin almost immediately.

Shadow transport spokesman Terry Mulder doubted Labor would deliver on the plan.

The Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged the Government to set down time limits for long-term projects.

Read the original article at News.com.au

On your bikes, says Brumby

2008-12-07T10:04:00.002+11:00

COMMUTERS will be asked to leave their cars at home, share the drive to work, get on motorcycles and scooters or take to their bikes in a sweeping package of reforms to be unveiled as part of the State Government's transport blueprint this week.

But the Brumby Government's plan to upgrade bike paths — believed to amount to $100 million over 12 years — is likely to disappoint cyclists, adding only $800,000 to existing annual funding statewide.

"They have made the time scale very long," Bicycle Victoria chief executive Harry Barber said. "With this commitment, they are clearly not moving quickly enough to turn car trips into bike trips to relieve congestion."

Premier John Brumby yesterday confirmed that his much-anticipated transport plan will be released this week, possibly as early as tomorrow.

The Sunday Age believes the plan's road-building focus, which reportedly includes the Frankston bypass, a port to CityLink freeway and possibly an outer ring road, will be offset by a large campaign to convince people to stop driving their cars to work.

Part of the campaign will be a push to make motorcycles and scooters safer, increasing their appeal to commuters as low-emission alternatives to cars.

The Sunday Age believes the Government will also aim to set a carbon emission target for its vehicle fleet. This is likely to mean state bureaucrats will in future be driving more hybrid Camrys and locally made small cars, such as the Ford Focus, instead of the traditional six-cylinder Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons that dominate the fleet now.

It is understood the transport plan will closely match the Government's ambitions to create newly designated business centres at Broadmeadows, Box Hill, Dandenong, Frankston, Footscray and Ringwood. Significant transport projects are likely to be focused around these areas in a "decentralisation" of Melbourne's transport strategy.
In his recommendations to the Government, Sir Rod Eddington said $60 million worth of new east-west bike tracks should be built in Melbourne. The transport plan's bike funding will commit $100 million over 12 years across Victoria, replacing the previous commitment of $75 million from 2006 to 2016. Cycling advocates were hoping for a much bigger investment. A new statewide bike strategy is expected next year, with upgrades to existing bike paths, new and extended paths, priority traffic signals for cyclists and better separation of cyclists and cars...

Read the entire article at TheAge.com.au

So... what bicycle will you be riding Mr Brumby!? (Don't worry... I'll escort you on the one I ride every single day, if you like. I'll even give you some tips!)

Getting Melbourne moving - TheAge

2008-12-07T09:09:00.000+11:00

The government's response to Sir Rod Eddington's transport report is imminent. Here are the most pressing problems and some possible solutions...

Yet another article of conjecture prior to the release of the State Government's Transport Blueprint. Click here to read it at TheAge.com.au

North-south road tunnel next on employers' list - TheAge

2008-12-06T22:11:00.002+11:00

VECCI release their wish list.

A POWERFUL employers' group has announced its wish list of transport projects for Melbourne, including a road tunnel from Hoddle Street in Collingwood to CityLink in South Yarra.
The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry was instrumental in putting the plan for a $9 billion east-west road tunnel from Footscray to Clifton Hill on the State Government's agenda.
The first stage of that project is expected to be among the promises in the Government's transport plan expected to be released on Monday.
The chamber believes the Government must begin planning the next wave of transport projects. Key among them is a north-south road tunnel, beginning at the end of the Eastern Freeway in Collingwood and emerging at CityLink in South Yarra.
Other projects it said should be built over the next two decades included a rail line to Melbourne Airport and a rail link to Avalon Airport.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Funding for road upgrade brought forward - TheAge

2008-12-06T22:04:00.001+11:00

The $2.25 billion upgrade to Melbourne's Western Ring Road will commence six months ahead of schedule to help boost the national economy during the global financial crisis, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

The overall upgrade will add extra lanes and enhance traffic management systems and improve traffic flow on the 38 kilometre road between the Princes Freeway in Laverton North and the Greensborough Freeway, Greensborough.

In Melbourne on Saturday, Mr Rudd said the federal government committed $900 million at the last election towards the project and has brought forward $5 million in the 2008-09 budget for construction to begin immediately.

The early works will commence on the extra Altona-bound lane from the Deer Park Bypass to Boundary Road and is expected to be complete by mid-2009.

Mr Rudd said bringing the project forward was important stimulus for the economy during the financial crisis.

"Good infrastructure, but also at a time like this, (is) a good investment in the national economy," he said.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said his government was delighted with the announcement.

"This road, which so many Victorians use every day, will be immeasurably improved by the bringing forward of funding and the substantial investment that we are partnering together today," Mr Brumby said.

The road currently carries up to 142,000 vehicles a day, of which 16 per cent is freight traffic.

The upgrade is also expected to help improve safety for motorists on a road that has seen nine fatal and 750 casualty crashes in the past five years.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

The case against a tunnel

2008-12-05T10:48:00.000+11:00

NO one likes sitting in traffic jams. But there is a lesson we are now beginning to learn: we can't build ourselves out of congestion.

So, however tempting it is to relieve the frustrations of motorists on the West Gate Bridge, the State Government should not build the Eddington road tunnel from the Eastern Freeway, under Parkville and out to the Western Ring Rd.

This tunnel is an engineering project in search of justification. It does not need to be part of any systematic plan to provide for transport needs across the whole city, and across different modes of transport.

Although Sir Rod himself backed the tunnel (a project put to him by VicRoads), the detailed analysis in his report can be interpreted to tell a different story.

Try to think of roads like drainage systems. Water flows from small pipes from households into large fat pipes, then to sea.

Unlike drainage systems, road systems discharge people and cars back into narrow channels - the local streets and roads that contain people's destinations.

Brian Negus: Do we tunnel east to west?
John Ferguson: Labor starts after stalling
Editorial: Premier needs to get moving

But, like water, the traffic will back up when the large pipe enters the small pipe system. So freeway off-ramps always become congested.

The Eddington analysis shows clearly that drivers crossing the West Gate Bridge or those entering the city from the Eastern Freeway have many destinations throughout the inner and middle suburbs.

Most drivers do not want to travel right across the city east-west or the reverse.

So relieving congestion at the ends of these freeways merely transfers the traffic congestion to the streets of inner Melbourne - on both sides of the city.

It opens the way to even more freeways, spaghetti junctions and flyovers throughout inner Melbourne. That's devastating to the local environment of homes, schools and parks.

Sir Rod Eddington recognised this problem and that's why he recommended providing no off-ramps on a tunnel that would run under Parkville and Royal Park.

But the analysis then showed that the road tunnel could not be justified economically because too few motorists would use it for a through east-west trip.

The only economic justification for the tunnel is the increased productivity that comes from reduced time spent in travel.

But the tunnel would return only 45 cents in value of time saved for every dollar spent. That's not a responsible use of our taxes. Yet even that calculation was optimistic.

But what would you do if you could save a few minutes on the journey - get to work earlier or get out of bed later? Time will be saved, for a few people, for a while.

But soon people and businesses will adjust their locations further apart to take advantage of the time saving.

In the long run, time spent in travel stays much the same, but distances increase.

We must face the fact that travel time per person has not fallen in Melbourne over the last 30 years, despite successive governments having built more freeways and relieved more bottlenecks than any other Australian state capital.

Like city people all over the developed world, Melburnians are discovering that car travel is indeed expensive.

The oil price has come down, but they know that it will go back up just as soon as global growth kicks off again.

They are transferring to public transport, causing congestion on trains.

Their demands that governments provide high-quality public transport before they spend more money on unproductive and environmentally damaging roads make sense.

And billions spent on an east-west tunnel is money not spent on public transport.

Prof Nicholas Low is head of Melbourne University's transport research centre

Read the original article at News.com.au

Do we tunnel east to west?

2008-12-05T10:44:00.001+11:00

RACV's pro-tunnel statement, in today's Herald Sun.

THERE has been widespread speculation the east-west road tunnel will not be included in the State Government's transport plan.

The RACV has a clear view that a road tunnel from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink, with an extension to join the Western Ring Rd, is an essential part of a rational and comprehensive transport plan for Melbourne's future.

The West Gate-Monash corridor is being upgraded, including five lanes each way on West Gate bridge with an active emergency management system in place, but Melbourne is now totally reliant upon this route.

If something happens along it - especially given it serves the Port of Melbourne - the entire metropolis grinds to a halt.

The Eddington east-west project will provide an essential alternative to the West Gate-Monash corridor and this will "future-proof" Melbourne long-term.

Prof Nicholas Low: The case against a tunnel
John Ferguson: Labor starts after stalling
Editorial: Premier needs to get moving

This project will also significantly reduce traffic through Parkville, the inner north and upper part of central Melbourne, improving the amenity for workers and residents in these vital areas. And there will be less delay to both traffic and public transport travelling north-south.

RACV is aware some commentators have said there is not enough through traffic to justify the tunnel.

We do not agree and are aware that the Eddington team reviewed previous studies, including the northern central city corridor work and came up with a contrary analysis.

The RACV is strongly urging the State Government to deliver the Eddington blueprint for this project in its entirety and not just "cherry-pick" selected parts suiting interest groups.

We have proposed a comprehensive suite of road and public transport projects and initiatives that are integral to getting Melbourne moving properly.

The key longer-term issues include strategies for land use, new outer road and public transport corridors on Melbourne's west and north, consideration of cross-town heavy and light rail options within 10km of the city.

We need a dedicated airport rail link, too.

The transport priorities we need delivered in the next decade include:

FINISHING the Metropolitan Ring Rd. The end at Greensborough must be joined to the Eastern Freeway and EastLink to provide a proper route around Melbourne.

BUILDING the east-west rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield.

MAKING key public transport and road improvements in the outer growth suburbs (see RACV's Connect Outer Melbourne report at racv.com.au)

GOING ahead with the Tarneit rail line from west of Werribee, and joining the northern group of rail lines, to serve Wyndham and relieve V/Line congestion.

RELIEVING a blockage at the Frankston end of the Monash and EastLink freeways by building a bypass link to the Mornington Peninsula.

RACV has also proposed a ramp-up of the SmartBus network to cover the Doncaster corridor. New rail to South Morang and Epping must go ahead.

We're urging the Government to ensure that all these critical projects are in the transport plan and especially the complete east-west tunnel project.

A plan without this key project will not sufficiently ease Melbourne's congestion or improve life in the inner suburbs.

Brian Negus is RACV general manager public policy

Emergency lanes to make way for more traffic on West Gate Bridge

2008-12-04T07:24:00.002+11:00

Ashley Gardiner

EXCLUSIVE: EMERGENCY lanes on the West Gate Bridge will make way for more traffic in a bid to tackle Melbourne's congestion crisis.

An extra lane across the bridge in both directions could make room for 40,000 more motorists a day.

The Herald Sun believes the plan will be a major plank of the State Government's transport blueprint, to be released within days.

A $2 billion road tunnel under Footscray is also tipped, as is a substantial increase in suburban rolling stock to cope with booming public transport numbers.

At least 20 extra trains and about 100 trams will be bought, and the Preston tram depot is set for a $200 million expansion.

Victoria's peak motoring organisation, the RACV, confirmed yesterday it had promoted the West Gate expansion idea.

The expansion plan would mean the scrapping of a proposal to change the direction of one lane according to the time of day.

RACV public policy manager Brian Negus said the organisation had lobbied against the so-called contra-flow lane plan.

"We have been saying that's not a desirable outcome," Mr Negus said.

Traffic would be monitored constantly, as it is on CityLink, by closed-circuit television.

A similar arrangement will be in place along CityLink's southern link when the current upgrade is finished.

Lanes could be closed in an instant from a control room using electronic overhead signs, as is done in the tunnels, to compensate for the lost emergency lane.

The bridge would be strengthened to carry the extra traffic.

VicRoads has been conducting a detailed structural investigation.

A source said the Government had decided to build only one section of the east-west tunnel proposed by transport expert Sir Rod Eddington. The tunnel would run under Footscray and the Maribyrnong River underneath Buckley St.

It would connect Geelong and Sunshine roads with Dynon and Footscray roads.

By providing a new link to the ports area, the tunnel would remove much of the truck traffic from the inner western suburbs.

A source said a decision not to build a road tunnel under Kensington, Carlton and Fitzroy for now was politically easier.

The Herald Sun has previously reported the Government's decision to go ahead with the first stages of the underground rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield.

The Tarneit rail link, between Sunshine and Werribee, will also form part of the package, as will electrification of the rail line to Sunbury. Extending rail services to South Morang is also expected.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said the Government appeared to be ignoring several of Sir Rod's recommendations.

"The road (tunnel) project doesn't appear to be what Sir Rod wanted," Mr Mulder said.

Releasing his report on east-west transport this year, Sir Rod cautioned against cherry-picking his recommendations.

"Not only are they cherry-picking, but also altering the recommendations of Sir Rod," Mr Mulder said.

The decisions on which projects to adopt have been affected by the global financial crisis.

State Government transport spokesman George Svigos declined to comment when contacted by the Herald Sun yesterday.

Read the original article at HeraldSun.news.com.au

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City transport plan revealed - TheAge.com.au

2008-12-04T07:13:00.002+11:00

Paul Austin

A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR expansion of Victoria's rail network and the go-ahead for some of the most controversial roads ever built in Melbourne are the key elements of the State Government's transport blueprint.

The Age believes Premier John Brumby will announce a "metro-style" rail tunnel from the western suburbs to the south-east, a new rail link to free-up the Geelong and Ballarat lines, and an extension of the Epping line in the rapidly expanding outer north-eastern suburbs.

Mr Brumby is also expected to flag the Government's intention to build the so-called "missing link" in the Metropolitan Ring Road through some of the city's most environmentally sensitive areas in the north-east and east.

He will also signal plans to start work on a new outer-metropolitan ring road, and to build the long-mooted Frankston bypass.

But it is understood the plan will pull up short of an immediate go-ahead for the contentious east-west road tunnel recommended by the Government's transport adviser, business leader Sir Rod Eddington.

Instead, the Government plan is expected to include only a new road in the inner west, designed to cater for increased freight traffic from the Port of Melbourne and to free up residential roads such as Francis Street, in Yarraville, that are clogged with trucks.

Mr Brumby will sell the plan as a blueprint to ease Melbourne's road and train congestion and to transform a suburban transport system into a modern, metro-style network.

But the Opposition, which expects transport congestion to be one of the major negatives for Mr Brumby in the lead-up to the 2010 election, will accuse the Government of failing to act quickly enough to enable Melbourne to cope with its population boom.

The Government last night refused to comment on the plan, expected to be released within days. But The Age believes it will include:

A rail tunnel from Caulfield to Footscray via St Kilda Road and the central business district, which the Government will describe as the start of a European-style underground network. It is expected to cost about $8.5 billion, and construction is unlikely to start for several years.
A "Tarneit link" surface rail line from Werribee to Deer Park, providing services for residents in that growth corridor, and freeing up the Geelong and Ballarat lines. The new link will cost about $1.5 billion.
An extension of the Epping rail line to South Morang, with construction to start in the election year of 2010 and the first trains to start operating in 2013, at a cost of about $650 million.
A detailed study of routes to extend the Metropolitan Ring Road from Greensborough to the EastLink tollway at Ringwood, possibly through environmentally sensitive areas such as Diamond Creek and Warrandyte.
A bypass road around Frankston to Mount Martha, costing about $750 million and jointly funded by the State and Federal governments.
Setting aside land for a road in an arc from Avalon Airport to the Hume Highway as the start of a new outer ring road.
Extra bus services for Doncaster and the eastern suburbs.
About $30 million for more transit police on train lines that have high levels of violence and vandalism.

Fast-tracking the extension of the Epping line will be welcomed by public transport advocates and residents.

The Bracks government two years ago promised to begin duplicating the track from Keon Park to Epping in 2016 and to extend the double-line to South Morang from 2021.

Mr Brumby will announce that both projects will begin in 2010, to provide services for the booming Plenty Valley.

South Morang will be a "premium station", staffed from first train to last, with about 380 services a week, a 500-space car park, a taxi rank and timetables linked to local bus services. Trains will run about every 10 minutes in peak times and 20 minutes during off-peak.

As part of the project, Thomastown station will get a second platform and will be upgraded to improve access for disabled and elderly passengers — as will Epping station.

Once the second rail bridge now being built across Merri Creek at Clifton Hill and the South Morang extension are finished, the line will have two tracks all the way from South Morang to the City Loop.

"This time it's actually going to happen," one Labor insider said last night of the long-promised project.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

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Peak-hour drivers give major freeways the flick - TheAge

2008-12-03T09:02:00.001+11:00

Clay Lucas
JUST days before the State Government releases its much-anticipated Victorian transport plan, new figures show car numbers on two of the city's biggest freeways are falling.

Roads agency VicRoads has released data that shows the number of cars using the West Gate and Eastern freeways during the morning rush hour have fallen consistently over the past six years.

On an average day in 2008, there were 20,400 cars using the Eastern Freeway in the morning peak, from 6am to 10am.

Six years earlier there were 22,600 cars using the freeway each morning.

Figures for the West Gate show a similar situation.

This year, the West Gate averaged 22,900 cars each morning, while in 2002 an average 24,000 cars used the road.

A VicRoads spokeswoman said the reduction had occurred because the two freeways were too choked to fit any more cars. "Peak traffic times are spreading out to deal with the increase in congestion," VicRoads' Ayllie White said.

Other figures released by VicRoads yesterday showed that if all Melbourne's arterial roads were taken into account, freeway traffic was growing.

But where the Government has made public transport options available, drivers appear to be taking them.

On the Eastern Freeway, bus patronage jumped 11 per cent in the past year, a result of the Brumby Government's boost in express bus services.

And the Department of Transport predicted in April that patronage on overcrowded western suburbs' trains would grow by 9.5 per cent a year.

The freeway figures could cast doubt on Sir Rod Eddington's proposed $9 billion freeway from Clifton Hill to Footscray.

In April, Sir Rod proposed what would be one of the world's longest road tunnels: an 18-kilometre freeway between the Eastern and the West Gate.

The tunnel would relieve growing pressure, he said, in travelling between the east and west of Melbourne.

But critics say Sir Rod provided little fresh evidence of the need for the road, which a government taskforce rejected in 2003 because of a lack of travel demand.

That taskforce used the government's own transport planners, whereas Sir Rod used traffic consultants Veitch Lister — who were re-employed to work on the Victorian transport plan.

Since the release of the Eddington report, Roads Minister Tim Pallas has warned of a looming congestion crisis between the Eastern and West Gate freeways. He has called for the first stage of the Eddington road project to be built, saying he supports building a freeway to cross the Maribyrnong River.

"Victoria's reliance on the West Gate Bridge into the long term is unsustainable," Mr Pallas said last month.

The head of Melbourne University's transport research centre, Nicholas Low, said people wanted better public transport, not more freeways.

"Tim Pallas wants to build lots of new roads but he is out of step with public opinion, which wants the money spent on better public transport," he said.

Confidential VicRoads data obtained by The Age in July showed zero growth in car use on Melbourne's roads over the past year.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Planners attack sprawl, question transport plan

2008-12-03T08:56:00.001+11:00

Clay Lucas
PLANNERS have asked why the State Government has released a major strategy to let Melbourne's sprawl extend without first releasing a detailed transport plan.

The Government announced yesterday that it would rezone 50,000 hectares of farmland on Melbourne's city fringe into building lots.

"Where is the transport plan?" Planning Institute president Jason Black asked.

The community needed to know how growth areas would be accessible by public transport and road, Mr Black said.

A proposed metropolitan rail line between Werribee and Sunshine must form part of the Government's transport strategy if Melbourne's west was to have adequate public transport, he said.

The $1.5 billion rail line was proposed by Sir Rod Eddington in April.

Government sources have confirmed that the rail line, known as the Tarneit link, will be included in the Government's transport plan, due out within days.

Mr Black said the city's expansion had been driven more by population growth projections than by a strategic plan for Melbourne.

And housing would not be made more affordable by the release of more land, Mr Black said.

Last month Curtin University's Peter Newman published a study with global engineering company Parsons Brinckerhoff that showed development of housing on the urban fringe cost $85,000 more per block than on existing inner-city sites.

"Governments just don't know how to stop sprawl, because they don't know how to facilitate high-density building," Professor Newman said.

The expansion will further increase Melbourne's carbon emissions. The city produces 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, compared with 8.5 million tonnes in London, despite having almost half the population.

Read the original article in TheAge.com.au

Any chance of delivery on transport promises, Premier? - TheAge.com.au

2008-12-01T14:03:00.001+11:00

Peak hour at Flinders Street station. Photo: Paul Rovere.

Sick and tired of rubbish public transport? You're far from alone.

FOR too long public transport has been the poor cousin to what the Government considered were more pressing policy areas, and commuters have suffered.

This has occurred at a time when train patronage has grown by more than 30 per cent in the past three years. Indeed, on one morning last October at the Caulfield station, most trains between 8am and 8.30am carried more than 900 passengers, with the 8.23 squeezing in 1035. Similarly at Clifton Hill, the 8.13am and 8.20am services averaged more than 1000 passengers. And this when the Government considers any more than 798 passengers in a six-carriage train "a load breach".

Transport plan: 60-second opinion
Experts in transport and key government officials were given the opportunity to spend 60 seconds explaining how they see the upcoming Victorian transport plan.

Premier John Brumby will soon deliver Labor's umpteenth "transport plan". He needs to deliver major improvements in service. An Age/Nielsen poll published last week made this clear when almost two out three Victorians said spending on public transport was more important than expenditure on roads.

The same proportion are unhappy with the Government's performance on public transport. Too many people in inner Melbourne can no longer turn up at a station and expect to board a train and get to work on time. Nor can they expect to find room to even board their local train. Rather, they just watch dangerously overloaded trains pass by.

Meanwhile, too many people in Melbourne's growth areas rarely see public transport. A recent parliamentary study found just one in 100 outer suburban residents used public transport to get to work.

While Melbourne has gained an average of one new freeway every 10 years over the past four decades, since Sir Henry Bolte was premier, the last suburban link built was the Glen Waverley line in the 1930s. As train line building ceased, Melbourne's population grew from 1.5 million in 1954 to almost 4 million now - no wonder the trains are full.

The deficiencies in the public transport system are the result of successive governments finding other priorities for taxpayers' money.

For much of the 1990s premier Jeff Kennett was fixated with cutting costs, reducing debt and building up a large cash surplus. The newly elected Labor government in 1999 had to find hundreds of millions of dollars to deliver its promised regional fast rail project.

When private rail operator National Express decided to walk away from the train contract, the Bracks government had to step in with an additional $1 billion funding over five years. So while the present Victorian Government could argue that an extra $1 billion was spent by Bracks on public transport, none of it was spent on extra trains, trams or buses.

In recent years there have been ad hoc transport plans, most recently the Government's marketing extravaganza in 2006 known as "Meeting Our Transport Challenges", which boasted a "25-year vision" for Melbourne's transport needs.

Just two years later the Government conceded the plan massively underestimated public transport demand. Yet it continued to find other spending priorities.In July 2006 it committed almost $5 billion to new water projects. By the November 2006 state election, its focus had shifted to rebuilding every government school.

Now there are signs the Government may be dampening expectations for its latest public transport announcement as the financial crisis hits Government finances. Treasurer John Lenders has said Victoria was expecting at least $10 billion from Canberra and warned if the money was not forthcoming the Government's transport plan would have to be scaled back.

One option the Government may be considering is pushing projects back, with some to be delivered in decades to come.

What is clear is that hollow transport promises will not help one commuter. The new transport plan must include real projects with deliverable timelines. If state borrowing is the only way to fully fund the urgently needed upgrades, the Government should do it. There is no doubt people are prepared to pay more for reliable, accessible public transport.

On the day Mr Brumby was sworn in as Victoria's 45th premier, he listed "accelerating public transport improvements" as a priority. Now is the time to deliver. No more empty promises, public transport's time has come.

Jason Dowling is city editor.

Read the original article in TheAge.com.au

Pro-tunnel Doyle new Lord Mayor

2008-12-01T07:56:00.002+11:00

ROBERT Doyle is Melbourne's new lord mayor after voters flocked to the former Liberal Party state leader in the hotly contested election.

Mr Doyle easily outpolled his nearest rivals but had to rely on preferences to be calculated late last night to be crowned mayor.

Mr Doyle said he was delighted with the support voters had shown him.

His strong vote was reminiscent of the performance of outgoing Lord Mayor John So at the 2004 election and will give him a mandate to pursue his contentious policy of returning cars to Swanston Street.

Other Doyle priorities include more police patrols in the CBD, a review of the Melbourne City Council voting system and a forensic examination of the council's finances.

Mr Doyle said he would like to meet the Premier, Police Minister and Roads Minister as soon as possible to begin work on his new agenda.

Mr Doyle, a Liberal Party member, has said he believed he could work well with the Brumby Labor government.

Mr Doyle led the mayoral vote count from the start, but a field of 11 candidates and complicated preference deals meant the result was not confirmed until 10.45pm.

Others who had a chance of winning until late included the bookies' favourite, Labor-aligned Peter McMullin, the Greens' Adam Bandt, former councillor Catherine Ng and former deputy lord mayor Gary Singer.

Mr Singer said Mr McMullin's "negative" election campaign, which included leaflets attacking other candidates, had put off voters.

"I think people didn't like the McMullin negative campaign; I felt that way myself," he said. "A disappointing way of conducting themselves."

A senior Labor Party source said Mr McMullin's vote had been below expectation.

Mr Singer said Mr Doyle would struggle to return cars to Swanston Street because the other candidates and councillors opposed the policy.

Unlike Mr So, Mr Doyle will not have a majority of councillors behind him and will need to negotiate policies through the council.

Ms Ng, who polled below expectation following personal attacks against her during the campaign, had no regrets.

"I have run a clean and good campaign and I am very proud of that," she said.

The Greens' Mr Bandt said he was "thrilled with our vote" — the second highest number of primary votes.

But he said Labor's decision to preference Mr Doyle ahead of the Greens might have helped Mr Doyle win.

The results for the Melbourne city councillors indicate more than two-thirds of the previous council will not be returned.

Councillors Brian Shanahan, Carl Jetter and Peter Clarke will return. New councillors include John So's former chief of staff, Kevin Louey, the Greens' Cathy Oke, Ken Ong and Jennifer Kanis.

Overall, voting for the Melbourne City Council was down, with only 62% of the nearly 100,000 eligible voters casting a ballot...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

Rotten system makes a mockery of democracy

2008-12-01T07:08:00.000+11:00

PROFILE counts — that is the lesson out of the contest for Melbourne's next lord mayor.

Just as John So swept the field in 2004 after building up a strong public profile, Robert Doyle attracted by far the most primary votes in the race for the mayoralty based on a strong public profile — but in an embarrassment for the council voting system, it still did not guarantee him victory.

Doyle ran a quiet campaign, he made few public appearances, did not door knock and spent modestly.

But his four years as state Liberal opposition leader gave him brand recognition, made him familiar with voters, and gave him an image of a steady hand. He was no unknown.

On the other hand, the bookies' favourite, Labor's Peter McMullin, was known by relatively few four weeks ago.

The former Melbourne deputy lord mayor and mayor of Geelong spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last few weeks building up his brand — and attacking that of others. It failed to attract a majority of primary votes, with Doyle attracting double the votes that went McMullin's way.

The Greens' Adam Bandt also attracted more votes than McMullin, with strong support from residents.

McMullin's rivals were lining up last night to attack his big spending, and often negative campaign. One estimated that more was spent on every vote he received then ever before in a Victorian council election.

Doyle, on the other hand, has resurrected a moribund political career, having been severely damaged by the drubbing he received at the hands of Steve Bracks at the state election in 2002.

He said last night he would not consider a return to state politics following his strong lord mayoral vote.

But he has been clearly energised by his strong showing, and win or lose, Victorians will be seeing more of him on the public stage.

If elected, Doyle has committed to reforming the Melbourne City Council voting system — something that is long overdue.

Last night Doyle had almost twice as many votes as his nearest opponent but any one of five of the 11 candidates who stood for lord mayor could still win.

Such a system raises the question of who really decides the outcome: the voters or the back-room dealers who decide preference deals?

The best policies — not the best preference deal — should count.

The Melbourne City Council voting system must be reviewed, and Doyle has vowed to lead the charge.

If successful, the man with the profile will have the prestige of mayoralty and the support of voters to push for change.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Fixing the road ahead

2008-11-27T11:10:00.002+11:00

TRANSPORT is the new health. The transport portfolio has become the hottest potato on the state cabinet table. Angry train commuters kept waiting on stations have replaced frustrated hospital patients kept waiting on trolleys as the staple nightly news item that serves as a reminder all in Victoria is not working as well as it should.

It is no coincidence that the highest profile shadow cabinet minister is the Liberal Opposition's transport spokesman, Terry Mulder, whereas in the final years of the Kennett government it was the Labor opposition's health spokesman, John Thwaites. Mulder is, and Thwaites was, a talented and conscientious politician, but they've had plenty of material with which to embarrass the government of the day.

It is also no coincidence that the transport portfolio, traditionally the task of one minister, is now split between two. Peter Batchelor struggled with the task for the first seven years of this Government. Then Steve Bracks gave the public transport component to senior minister Lynne Kosky and roads and ports to his trusted former chief of staff Tim Pallas. They've struggled too.

It is no surprise that the latest Age/Nielsen poll shows a big majority of voters giving the Bracks/Brumby Government the thumbs down on public transport. The poll, taken this month and published this week, found 61 per cent of those surveyed were dissatisfied (including 27 per cent "very" dissatisfied) and only 27 per cent satisfied (including just 2 per cent "very" satisfied).

Even among Labor voters, fully 54 per cent declared themselves dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their Government's performance on public transport.

Nor has it escaped the attention of either side of politics that transport woes can be even more politically damaging for an incumbent government than health woes, for the simple reason that most voters will see the inside of a busy hospital rarely, whereas most will take their chances on the congested roads and/or trains daily.

If this is a political crisis, it's been a long time coming. When The Age published a series in 2005 on public transport called "Off the rails", Bracks was stung. Cabinet was on to the problem, he insisted. Indeed, a cabinet sub-committee had been working for months on a transport and liveability policy statement, which would cater for the city's population boom and deal with not just public transport but roads and ports.

That statement was duly delivered in May 2006, under the title "Meeting our transport challenges". In the glossy documentation, Bracks talked about "our vision of a world-class transport network". Here was an "action blueprint" for "an ongoing program of transport projects over the next 25 years". "Victoria's transport system is in good shape," he declared. "But as our population grows and our lifestyles and work patterns change, we must make sure that our transport system keeps up with our travel needs."

Clearly, the Bracks statement failed on this score. That's not the verdict only from the clogged streets and railway carriages of Melbourne, it's also implicitly acknowledged around the cabinet table at Treasury Place. So, 2½ years later, Bracks' successor, John Brumby, is about to do it all again.

And guess what? Brumby wants you to know cabinet is on to the problem. Indeed, a cabinet sub-committee has been working for months on a transport and liveability policy statement designed to cater for the city's population boom and deal with not just public transport but roads and ports. (Incidentally, Brumby has been a key member of both cabinet sub-committees.)

The Brumby statement will be delivered within days. You can be sure it, too, will be accompanied by glossy documentation and sweeping rhetoric. Brumby is already talking about a "transformational" plan that will hasten the evolution of what is basically still a suburban transport system into a modern, metro-style network. Expect to hear that your Government is planning not just for the short term but for future generations.

The starting point for the Brumby plan is Sir Rod Eddington's report, commissioned by Bracks in 2006 and delivered to Brumby in April this year. Eddington, who has a gift for diplomatic language, is more forgiving of the performance of our state politicians on transport than many commuters might be.

"Victoria has been well served over a 15-year period," he told a business audience in Melbourne on Tuesday. "When you compare our infrastructure with the infrastructure of many cities in the world, we're in good shape." But he added this warning: "We will only enjoy the title of 'the world's most liveable city' if we continue to make smart investments in infrastructure."

That was the message in his report, too. "Doing nothing is not an option," Eddington wrote. "A failure to take action will undermine Melbourne's future prosperity and reduce the benefits being generated by the city's growth and development."

There's no chance of Brumby doing nothing. Indeed, he is expected to commit to most — although not all — of Eddington's major recommendations. Expect Brumby to promise a rail line from Werribee to Sunshine — the so-called Tarneit link. Expect him to commit to a 17-kilometre "Melbourne metro" rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield via the CBD and St Kilda Road (but watch for a long time lag). Expect at least the western bit of Eddington's proposed east-west road tunnel to get the go-ahead, pending business cases, environmental studies and funding deals with the private sector and/or Canberra. And expect lots of new bus routes and bike paths across the suburbs and into town.

It will indeed be a big plan — bigger than Bracks' — for a big city. But the big trouble for Labor is that an obvious and potentially effective political response is available to the Opposition. It can embrace whichever parts of the plan win community support, while making the point that it would have been good if Labor had got around to it much earlier. In other words, the Opposition will be able to say to voters: if you like Brumby's transport plan, it doesn't matter whether you vote for us or Labor, because both sides will implement it; but if you want to punish anyone for allowing Melbourne's transport system to become so clogged, the decade-old Government should be your target.

The politics of transport are about to become still more intense.

Paul Austin is state political editor.

Read the original article in TheAge.com.au

Urban sprawl may grow with new outer ring road

2008-11-27T11:02:00.001+11:00

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

Twenty20 Cup at Holland Park

2008-11-26T21:55:00.005+11:00

Some pix from this afternoon.

Myki running late again - TheAge

2008-11-25T11:06:00.001+11:00

THE controversial myki smartcard has slipped behind schedule again, with the first public outing of the $1.4 billion smartcard next month to be reduced to a launch among selected "customers" only.

The first public test of the ticket system, which is three years late and $350 million over budget, was due to begin in Geelong on December 8.

But that launch date has slipped again, with the first public release now restricted to a small group of selected travellers, who each will be given a smartcard.

The cards will be used on 24 Geelong buses, on the McHarry's and Benders lines.

A Transport Ticketing Authority spokesman confirmed use of the myki ticket in Geelong would be restricted to selected customers, and that the public would not be able to buy a card.

"A small number of … customers will be given myki cards to use for their everyday travel on selected Bellarine Peninsula routes," spokesman Adrian Darwent said.

Myki is a smartcard that calculates the best fare for travellers and allows them to top up the card online.

The Transport Ticketing Authority has said only that myki would start being rolled out in Melbourne some time next year.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky has also declined to name a launch date for Melbourne.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Major project funding off COAG agenda - TheAge

2008-11-25T11:04:00.000+11:00

WEEKS of agitating by the Victorian Government have failed to put debate over $40 billion pledged to major projects onto the agenda for a meeting of premiers with the Prime Minister later this week.

Kevin Rudd's office last night confirmed to The Age that the meeting would not discuss the funds despite weeks of pressure from Premier John Brumby and his Government.

The decision means Victoria will be forced to deliver its response to Sir Rod Eddington's $20 billion plan to redesign Melbourne's transport system with billions of dollars in federal funding in doubt. The Government is scheduled to release its plan by the end of the year.

Mr Brumby and Treasurer John Lenders have repeatedly called on their federal counterparts to back up their budget promise to deliver $40 billion for investment in health, education and transport, and have focused attention on Saturday's meeting as an important forum.

Relations between the state and the federal government have been icy since Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan said earlier this month that only $26 billion of the promised $40 billion had so far been set aside and the global economic crisis meant he could not guarantee the rest.

Victoria wants at least $10 billion from the package, and Mr Lenders has said that if the money is not delivered it will limit the state's spending on transport projects.

But the state is at the mercy of the Federal Government, which sets the official agenda at the meeting.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said the Building Australia Fund — the fund dedicated to major projects like roads and rail lines — will not be on the agenda. "This is not a COAG decision," he said. "It will be determined by the Commonwealth."

A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd, who is in charge of the agenda, endorsed the remarks.

In a speech to the National Press Club last week, Mr Brumby called the meeting on November 29 "a once-in-a-generation opportunity" and said that, among many other things, it must deliver "action from the Commonwealth to significantly lift its commitment to infrastructure"...

Read the entire article at TheAge.com.au

Fix public transport, Brumby urged

2008-11-25T09:24:00.001+11:00

ALMOST two thirds of Victorians are unhappy with the State Government's handling of public transport, and an equal number say new public transport should be given priority over roads.

As the Brumby Government prepares to release its multibillion-dollar transport plan next month, Victorians have sent a clear message of frustration to the Government over its handling of public transport.

A special Age/Nielsen poll found 61 per cent of people are dissatisfied with the Brumby Government on public transport — and only 27 per cent are satisfied.

And the poll, of 1009 Victorians taken between November 10 and 14, found 62 per cent want the Government to give public transport priority over roads, compared with 24 per cent who want roads to have priority.

In Melbourne, support for public transport was even stronger, with 68 per cent wanting more funding directed to it instead of roads; just 19 per cent support roads as the priority.

Despite this, support was strong for a proposed $9 billion road tunnel linking the western suburbs to the Eastern Freeway.

Fifty per cent of people supported construction of the road tunnel, compared to 45 per cent who want a proposed $7 billion rail tunnel built from Footscray to Caulfield via the CBD.

Just under half of all Melburnians surveyed about the rail tunnel said they had "no opinion" on the proposal, indicating it has failed to capture the public's imagination.

The RACV said it was no surprise the public was demanding better public transport.

"Public transport services are overcrowded and inadequate, and improvements are required to both the frequency of services, (and to) improved new routes," spokesman Brian Negus said.

Congestion on the road system was also at a "critical level", he said. "This impacts on the freight system, (and) has obvious effects on the economy and the operation of trams and buses."

The Public Transport Users Association said people were angry about the state of the public transport system. "Everyone, whether they shoe-horn themselves onto packed trains, trams and buses every day or not, knows the Government has dropped the ball on public transport," president Daniel Bowen said...

Read the entire article at TheAge.com.au

Experts predict only half of east-west tunnel will be built - news.com.au

2008-11-24T16:15:00.001+11:00

ONLY half the east-west road tunnel proposed by the Eddington report will be built, a leading transport expert predicts.

Prof Nick Low, of Melbourne University's urban planning program, said the economic crisis would force the Government to drop the eastern half, which would have tunnelled under Carlton and Royal Park.

But he said a tunnel from the Tullamarine Freeway to the Western Ring Rd at Sunshine would still ease traffic problems.

The eastern half would be left for a future government.

Speaking at the Melbourne Conversations transport forum, Prof Low said the Government's plans were no secret.

"The Government has given a lot of parties (an idea of) where their thinking has been," he said.

"They think they have heard what the different lobbies want. It's not a secret. So I can put it all together."

Prof Low said the Government would also commit to:

BUILDING the railway line from Epping to South Morang.

EXTENDING electrified train services to Melton.

CONNECTING Greensborough to EastLink.

No commitment would be made to rail extensions to Doncaster or Rowville.

Prof Low said the "half" tunnel would transfer congestion from the West Gate into the heart of the city.

"Road building is only really justified by the aggregate of time savings in journeys," Prof Low said.

"With all the road building that has occurred over the last 20 years, one should expect to see some reduction in the time spent in travel, especially in Melbourne.

"Instead we see an increase. Not only that, we see an even bigger increase in distance travelled.

"So what building roads does, and this is true almost everywhere in the world, is it increases the distance people travel per year by car."

The State Government is expected to release its plan by early next month.

Read the original article at News.com.au

Who WAS JJ Holland?

2008-11-24T15:33:00.001+11:00

by Mark Perica.

John Joseph Holland was Old School Labor. A social justice Catholic and working class autodidact he was born in Carlton in 1877. He learned his political craft as a militant activist fitter and postal mechanic in the Postal Mechanics Union ,as a Trades Hall Council Delegate, and as president and secretary of the Flemington Branch of the ALP. He was also a left wing shock jock on the Labor Hour on 3KZ from 1931 until 1946

Jack entered parliament in 1925 as the MLA for the seat of Flemington. He was a Minister for Public Works for five days in 1943 until the United Australia Party Coalition brought down the first government of John Cain Senior. Taking into account the redistribution between 1945 to April 1955 [where his seat was renamed Footscray] Jack represented Flemington, Kensington, North Melbourne and Parkville for over thirty years

If Jack had stood for Labor preselection today his prospects would be doubtful because he seemed to have had a habit of advocating non market solutions. He headed a State Committee to investigate a shorter working week, he championed increases in unemployment insurance, pensions and child endowments. The other great passion of his working life was co-operatives and he served on the boards of a number of Flemington and Kensington Co-operatives including a thirty five year stint on the Victorian Public Servants Credit Co-operative.

Jack was about as Kensington as they come. He lived in McConnell Street for over fifty year and he died there on Christmas Day 1955. Befitting a long term Kensington bloke his Requiem Mass was held at Holy Rosary Church in Flemington. Following the service then Deputy Labor Leader Mr. Shepherd said of Jack: "the greatest tribute we could pay Jack Holland is to recall his long and honest service to the Labor Movement during the past 45 to 50 years".

Jack had five kids including a son Kevin who followed in his Dad's footsteps, serving the people of Flemington, Kensington and Ascot Vale with distinction. Kevin went to School at Holy Rosary and Saint Mary's CBC West Melbourne. Like his Father Kev had a distinguished career in service to the community in which he lived. He took the seat of Kensington over from his Dad and held it from 1956 until 1964. Kev also served on the Melbourne City Council for the Hopetoun Ward for twenty years from 1955 until 1975.

Kev showed great personal courage and commitment to the Party when as a devout Catholic he resisted denunciations from the pulpit and the privations of Bob Santamaria and his immoral gang during the Split. Jack Galbally and Kevin remained staunchly Labor during this torrid time

Ironically, on Kev's death in 1996 John Brumby said in Parliament;"Kevin's service to the Labor Party, The Parliament of Victoria and the Melbourne City Council will not be forgotten, nor his extraordinary commitment to the people of the Western Suburbs."

Between Jack and Kevin Holland they served as the State parliamentary representatives for the people of Flemington, Kensington and North Melbourne continuously from 1925 until 1964 a period of 39 years.

Now the Labor Party is thinking about destroying a park dedicated one of it great families - so much for their contribution "never being forgotten"!

RESPECT THE MEMORY OF JJ HOLLAND AND SON BY SAVING HOLLAND PARK!!!!

Virtual lap of the KensingTAN

2008-11-23T12:35:00.002+11:00

Hastily put together yesterday, in a brief window in the inclement conditions, this video was to be a 'virtual lap' of the KensingTAN, so people could 'run' around in front of the big screen. (GREAT idea Kate!)

A lap of the KensingTAN, Holland Park, Kensington VIC from baudman on Vimeo.

McMullin firms for lord mayor role, but is he a little bit stale?

2008-11-23T12:32:00.001+11:00

A serial seat chaser or a passionate servant of the community? Meet the lawyer who may lead Melbourne.

NEXT Sunday Melbourne will have a new lord mayor. There's barely a political commentator in the state brave enough to predict the winner - the city's electoral system is too quirky and the preference flows too unpredictable. But yesterday the bookie's favourite was a man called Peter McMullin.

So, who is Peter McMullin and what sort of lord mayor would he make?

In the race to Town Hall, McMullin, 56, has stood out. He is the biggest spender, producing a letterbox-clogging tide of paper. He is the man the State Government wants to win, although it is not saying so publicly (the Labor Party has decided not to officially endorse a candidate). And the Labor lawyer, who once ran one of the state's biggest legal aid practices, has thrown more mud than anyone else (in two mail-outs, attacking The Greens and current councillor Catherine Ng, and recently targeting former Liberal leader Robert Doyle for not turning up to community forums).

McMullin has also secured two important endorsements, one from former premier Steve Bracks, who said he "couldn't think of a better person" to be the city's next mayor, and the other from Lord Mayor John So, who described McMullin as "someone I have always held in the highest regard".

The mediation lawyer would probably be vaguely remembered as deputy lord mayor in the late 1990s and for his run for lord mayor in 2001. He has a long record of community service and is deputy president of the state's business lobby group and Museums Victoria.

He certainly has his enemies - mostly within the Labor Party. Many members were upset by his choice of deputy, Liberal Party member Tim Wilson, most Melbourne local branch members preferring the more left-leaning Will Fowles, a fellow Labor candidate. The local members were overruled by ALP head office, which is run by McMullin's right faction, Labor Unity, the same faction as Premier John Brumby.

Perhaps the best indication of Lord Mayor Peter McMullin is his 2005-06 stint as the mayor of Geelong. Jim Cousins, the chairman of the Committee for Geelong, said McMullin did not get much of a chance to prove himself as mayor because it was a year-only term and the city's culture was very anti-change. "He's very politically, well, astute," said Cousins. "He knows how to get the best out of a particular position. Peter can do the job, but it comes down to the best person on the day."

His stint on the Melbourne council, however, gets less favourable reviews. Former City of Melbourne Labor councillor Kevin Chamberlin, who served with McMullin in the 1990s, said he was dubbed Marcel Marceau because "he never said anything" when meetings became heated. He will do whatever the State Government wants, Chamberlin predicts.

Rob Maclellan, who was the Kennett government's local government minister when McMullin was deputy lord mayor, told The Sunday Age he was "the darling of the Kennett government", always ready to follow the premier's line.

Maclellan said he believed Melbourne deserved better. "I don't think he would be a puppet of the State Government, I think he would be a puppet of his own ambitions."...

Read the whole article at TheAge.com.au

Trading in ConnectEast shares frozen as toll road fails to fire - TheAge

2008-11-21T16:44:00.001+11:00

FAR fewer drivers are using EastLink than predicted, forcing operator ConnectEast to freeze trading in its shares while it raises money to cover its $1.9 billion debt.

Fewer than 150,000 trips a day are being made on the road.

When it offered shares in the toll road in 2004, ConnectEast predicted it would have 225,000 trips a day by this stage.

Industry analysts say the road must generate at least 156,000 trips a day to cover an interest bill of about $15 million a month. But despite the road's poorer-than-expected performance — CitiGroup last month described ConnectEast as "a looming default risk" — it is the third-busiest route in Victoria.

The Ringwood end of the road is carrying near the levels of traffic predicted. But to the south, near where the State Government wants to build the Frankston bypass, traffic drops off.

Premier John Brumby, who will release the Victorian transport plan next month, has signalled he will support building the $700 million Frankston freeway.

But the performance of EastLink will cast further doubt on the viability of a $9 billion tolled tunnel from Footscray to Clifton Hill, as proposed by Sir Rod Eddington. The credit squeeze has heightened dramatically since Sir Rod's $20 billion transport plan was released in April.

Road builders and operators are shying away from big projects, with ConnectEast and Transurban telling The Age this month they were not interested in major new projects. ConnectEast has requested that the Australian Securities Exchange freeze trade in its shares until Monday next week, while it raises as much as $450 million from investors.

Before the freeze, the shares were trading at 67 cents. When ConnectEast was floated in 2004, its shares were worth $1.

But the drop is minor in comparison to BrisConnections, the company that started building a $4.8 billion Brisbane toll road this month.
Investors paid $1 for shares in the seven-kilometre airport link in June, and must shell out another $2 in the next 18 months to keep them. The shares were worth just 0.1 cent yesterday.

Read the entire article at TheAge.com.au

Analysis of the Eddington Report Submissions

2008-11-21T10:50:00.004+11:00

Kate Wilson, from The University of Melbourne, has conducted a detailed analysis of all 2149 submissions that were forwarded to the Department of Transport, in response to the East-West Link Need's Assessment, often called the 'Eddington Report'.

Take a look at it here (pdf). Below are a few key quotes.

4.9 Specific Issues
According to Eddington: “The EWLNA Study Team has also assessed the environmental impacts of all options considered by the study, as well as giving close attention to issues of community and neighbourhood amenity.”47 Kensington in particular feels like this has not been the case as JJ Holland Park is a proposed construction site for the east-west tunnel. The destruction of JJ Holland Park was the single biggest specific issue from the submission process. Submissions were received from children and their parents, sporting clubs using the park and community organisations. The Kensington Association is concerned with specific impacts the tunnel would have on JJ Holland Park and “strongly opposes to the use of JJ Holland Park as a staging point for any construction, or as an exit for the road tunnel proposed in Recommendation 4.”48 Many different groups and individuals use the park for passive and structured relaxation and leisure activities and if the use of the park goes ahead it will result in a backlash for the Brumby Government. Similarly, Royal Park in Parkville also mobilised mass community support for the park and was a big issue for a number of submissions....

And from the conclusion...

The obvious conclusion to be drawn from the submissions is that there is widespread opposition to the tunnel. Almost 78 percent of submissions were opposed to the tunnel compared with almost 8 percent who were in favour of it. Individual submissions were overwhelmingly against the tunnel, with 93 percent of them opposing it. Opposition for the tunnel was based primarily on the need for public transport instead of more roads and the impact of the tunnel on climate change. Specific issues were the next biggest contender, in particular the use of JJ Holland Park in Kensington as a staging point for construction of the tunnel was met with widespread opposition.

$8.5b rail tunnel to rescue us from gridlock - HeraldSun

2008-11-21T09:55:00.001+11:00

THE Brumby Government wants an $8.5 billion rail tunnel between Melbourne's west and southeast to get the city moving again.

The Herald Sun can reveal the 17km metro-style tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield will be the big ticket item in the Government's Innovative Transport Plan to be revealed early next month.

In its much-anticipated transport blueprint, the Government will also back construction of the Tarneit Link, a new rail line between West Werribee and Sunshine, costing $1.5 billion.

But the allocation of at least $5 billion in federal funding will determine when the rail tunnel can be built.

The Herald Sun believes the Brumby Government wants to start construction in about six years, in line with recommendations in international transport expert Sir Rod Eddington's East-West Needs Assessment report.

But concerns over whether Victoria will get its promised funding from the Rudd Government could delay the project for at least 10 years, causing chaos on our rail system...

Read the whole article at News.com.au

Interesting that it's being reported that the rail tunnel, and not the road tunnel, is now the big ticket item.

Also interesting to note that Sir Rod Eddington is on the board of News Corporation, who publish this newspaper.

Lobby group gets on Bandt-wagon

2008-11-19T14:42:00.003+11:00

Bianca Hall

The Kensington Association - founded by ALP members - has for the first time publicly endorsed an Australian Greens Candidate, Adam Bandt, for Melbourne lord mayor.

The residents' association and lobby group has also endorsed current Melbourne councillor and independent, Catherine Ng.

Both candidates have been the subject of a concerted negative campaign run by Geelong councillor Peter McMullin, a member of premier John Brumby's dominant ALP right faction.

The group's endorsement of Mr Bandt is largely due to the Greens' long-running and successful campaign against Sir Rod Eddington's proposed east-west tunnel link, which would join the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road.

In his plan, Sir Rod identified JJ Holland Park as a likely staging post for the freeway, and residents have organised massive protests against the plan, in collaboration with the Greens.

In June, facing strong pressure from hundreds of protesters and residents, Melbourne Council voted to oppose the tunnel.

The association canvassed lord mayor candidates on a range of issues facing the community.

"In terms of reading the mood of the neighbourhood, the responses ranged from outstanding to abysmal', secretary David Ettershank said.

"The panel's lowest marks went to the Robert Doyle-led Activate Melbourne ticket. Robert Doyle has a proud history of service to the Victorian public, but his team's response was extremely poor in terms of local priorities," Mr Ettershank said.

Mr Doyle told TMT last week he was a strong supporter of the proposed tunnel, and if he elected he would also open Swantson Street to traffic 24 hours a day.

"(Swanston Street) is not just a mess, it's a failed experiment," Mr Doyle said.

"It was a far-left idea that we could turn it into a European boulevard."

And he said he would overturn the council's opposition to the east-west freeway.

"Are you there as a reflection of a large and vocal group, or are you there to make decisions that are best for all people?"

Transcribed from The Melbourne Times.

On that last quote, by 'large and vocal group' I assume he's meaning the transport lobby? ;)

Googled! Mayoral race turns to cyber warfare

2008-11-19T09:50:00.000+11:00

Surprise: How a Google search for Cr Catherine Ng leads to her rival.

LORD mayoral candidate Catherine Ng got a rude surprise late on Saturday when she typed her name into Google.
Instead of a link to her website, the first item to show up on her name search read like this: "Vote 1 Peter McMullin. The safe choice for Lord Mayor."
This was no isolated cyber incident. Google searches for other lord mayoral candidates — including Gary Singer, Adam Bandt, Gary Morgan and Robert Doyle — were all leading to the same place: the rival McMullin campaign and its website.
But at what cost? Cr Ng estimates Cr McMullin has been paying Google hundreds of dollars a day for his "sponsored link" to appear when other candidates are searched.
A legitimate use of technology? Or a questionable act of cyber warfare?
Cr Ng's initial reaction was to find it "really annoying". She resolved to fight back, buying a "sponsored link" of her own to appear on Google — but only when her name is typed in.
The cyber spat shows how far council electioneering has gone beyond the old ways of doorknocking, letter drops and posters. Big billboards, YouTube films and volunteers who leave messages on answer machines are among the new arsenal.
Former state Liberal leader Robert Doyle has a billboard on Racecourse Road, a website, a YouTube message and has done letterbox drops. But despite describing his campaign as "back to basics", he hasn't knocked on a single door.
Cr McMullin has been doorknocking with John So, the retiring Lord Mayor. Residents have also been receiving phone calls from members of the McMullin camp — all volunteers, according to campaign director Kimberley Kitching. She said the Google ads were aimed at busy voters. "We know that people are looking for campaign information more and more from the internet and Google ads is one way of doing that," she said.
The Greens' Mr Bandt has doorknocked, spoken at forums, attended council meetings and used websites such as Facebook.
Cr Singer has an ad on Google. But like Cr Ng's, his ad only appears when his name is typed.
Serious lord mayoral campaigns are said to cost at least $120,000, with just one mailout to the electorate costing about $70,000. Mr McMullin is said to be spending $650,000. Ms Kitching denied it was that high.
In Hobsons Bay, council candidate Kate Kennedy has a cheaper plan. Inspired by Barack Obama, she has adopted a web-based approach which she says will cost several hundred dollars. "We're still considering whether we can afford posters," she said.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

market 3031

2008-11-18T18:59:00.004+11:00

Market 3031 is an annual event, and a friend of Save Holland Park.

3031 is the postcode for the area of Kensington / Flemington located in Melbourne's inner west. Market3031 is an artist market that helps to profile and showcase local peoples work.

The first market was held in November 2007.

The next market will be Saturday 22 November 2008 at the Scout Hall, 55 McCracken St, Kensington, Victoria, 10am-4pm.

Get yourself along, before heading to Holland Park Alive!

Kensington Residents go for Greens and NG

2008-11-17T10:56:00.003+11:00

Media Release from Kensington Association.

A detailed survey of would-be Melbourne Lord Mayors and Councillors has seen the Kensington Residents Association give the highest marks to two very different tickets: the Greens and the C Melbourne Grow Team of Catherine Ng.

The survey of candidates sought views on a range of key local issues including the controversial Eddington Tunnel proposal, local community, services, traffic and transport and sustainability issues.

“The Assessment Panel was really impressed with the work done by candidates in responding to the survey and we express our thanks to them all” said Association Secretary David Ettershank.

“However in terms of reading the mood of the neighbourhood, the responses ranged from outstanding to abysmal.”

“The two really impressive responses were those of the Adam Bandt led Greens ticket and Catherine Ng’s C Melbourne Grow team. Both of these teams showed a level of detail and sophistication that genuinely impressed the judges.”

“The responses of the Will Fowles-led Fresh Vision Team and the Peter McMullin-led For Melbourne’s Future also rated strongly.”

The Panel’s lowest marks went to the Robert Doyle led Activate Melbourne ticket.

“Robert Doyle has a proud history of service to the Victorian public but his team’s response was extremely poor in terms of local priorities” said Mr Ettershank.

Candidates will have the opportunity to speak directly to the electors of Kensington with a candidates meeting at 7.30 PM on the 17^th of November at the Holy Rosary Primary School, Gower St Kensington.

A summary of the panel’s assessment is attached and a full copy of the assessment along with scanned copies of the survey responses can be found on the Kensington Association website www.kensingtonassociation.org.au.

For further comment contact David Ettershank, Secretary Kensington Association on 0418 519 892.

Aspirant councillors get 90 seconds each - TheAge.com.au

2008-11-16T22:06:00.003+11:00

Click here for the video as compiled by The Age.

Save Holland Park

What the East-West Tunnel means for our community

Core sampling for the Metro tunnel

City of Melbourne improvements continue

Libs ramp up priority for freeway - TheAge

Good mornin'

Tunnel(s) back on the agenda? - TheAge

JJ Holland Bike track

Personal Training

Funding for road tunnel(s) unlikely

Dog leashed/unleased and prohibited areas

Changes to dog off-leash areas

Here we go again?

Initial plan for BMX track redesign

Spring has arrived, in abundance

Fake grass

Arden-Macaulay Structure Plan consultation

Soccer Pitch getting closer

A little homework

An email from Kensington Association

More detail on the metro rail link

Melbourne rail revamp revealed

State Government releases more info on the WestLink road tunnel

Winter Sunshine in the Park

Works on the soccer pitch continue

Traffic diversion

Out with the old...

Funding plea puts east-west tunnel back on agenda - Melbourne Leader

Work on the soccer pitch commences

Stage One of the BMX track refurbishment complete

Freeway not worth cost

Déjà vu

Dogs in JJ Holland Park

BMX Track - Community Meeting March 16th 5pm

The big wet

The Venny

At it again...?

Soccer, or trees? Your call

Winter sports at a premium

More new speed humps

Autumnal sports

Fri Mar 13th - Movie and Fundraiser

Activities Include:

Cost:

Summer in the Park

Construction continues

Sprawling transport not up to par

Roads plan raises new truck route fears

The road to perdition - TheAge

Fed Govt to review priority infrastructure projects

Tim Pallas Underestimates the West, Pays the Price

Tunnel mooted to fix Hoddle traffic - TheAge

Doubt cast on need for new rail tunnel - TheAge

You can say that again, and again, as spin cycle blows a fuse

Mark Knight Cartoon - Herald Sun

Transport plan? The joke's on us

Melburnians fare badly when paying for public transport - TheAge

On a road to nowhere? - TheAge

Thanks to Greg Barber

Thanks from Lindsay Tanner

Thanks from Bronwyn Pike

Park saved from tunnel for good, Pike tells residents - Melbourne Times

No Freeway 4 West Footscray - Public Meeting

Funds may be uncertain, but the need to proceed is definite - TheAge

Tunnel vision for Brumby's billions

Something for everyone — and therein lies the problem - TheAge

Is this our future? - TheAge

VICTORY!

La la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaa

VERY GOOD NEWS!

Brumby's $40bn plan to get Victoria moving - TheAge

Tunnel vision on track - news.com.au

$6 billion super link - news.com.au

On your bikes, says Brumby

Getting Melbourne moving - TheAge

North-south road tunnel next on employers' list - TheAge

Funding for road upgrade brought forward - TheAge

The case against a tunnel

Do we tunnel east to west?

Emergency lanes to make way for more traffic on West Gate Bridge