The Eastern Transport Coalition asked the major parties to commit to specific projects that will improve public transport in Melbourne’s east as part of the Federal Election.
We asked them to commit to the following projects:
- Remove all remaining level crossings on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines
- Duplicate tracks on the Belgrave and Lilydale lines to allow a substantial increase in services
- Fund major upgrades and safety improvements to old, crowded stations, such as Huntingdale, Croydon and Box Hill
- Commit funding to finally build the Westall Road extension and creating a dedicated bus lane on Springvale Road
- Extending the Route 75 tram to Upper Ferntree Gully Station, providing access to heavy rail for tens of thousands that don’t currently have it
- Commit to amenity upgrades to bring all train stations in Melbourne’s east up to standard
- Fund construction of regional trails, including the Yarra Valley Trail, the Warburton Trail to Taralla Creek Trail, and extend the Box Hill to Ringwood Trail
See Labor’s Candidate for Deakin, Shireen Morris’ response below. If you want to know more about the Labor Candidate for Deakin, visit her Facebook here.
Thank you for writing to me regarding Labor’s plan for infrastructure investment in Eastern Melbourne.
I too am deeply concerned with the increased congestion in Deakin following years of the Coalition Government’s lack of investment in infrastructure.
I am proud that a Labor Government will make investment in public transport, the cornerstone of reducing congestion. By shifting commuters off the road and onto public transport, we will alleviate traffic congestion and create a pipeline of new jobs.
In addition to these plans we will make a number of changes to Australia’s infrastructure operations to reduce congestion. These include:
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Returning the independent Infrastructure Australia to the centre of decision-making about nation building and ensuring that major projects are the subject of cost-benefit analysis before they receive Federal Government investment.
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Infrastructure Australia will administer Labor’s new $10 billion infrastructure investment facility.
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Labor will take a mode-neutral approach to competing options for eliminating bottlenecks in our traffic networks with projects offering the highest economic, social and environmental returns to be prioritised.
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Labor will establish a Major Cities Unit within Infrastructure Australia. It will be tasked with identifying opportunities where federal leadership and infrastructure investment could assist states, territories and local councils build more productive, liveable and sustainable urban communities including growth areas.
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Labor will appointing a Minister for Cities to work with the infrastructure minister in reducing congestion in Melbourne.
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Labor will update the National Urban Policy and reconvene the Urban Policy Forum to publishing annually the State of Australian Cities Report.
In Government, Labor will always listen to the views of key stakeholders when developing policy. After the election, it would be fantastic to sit down with the Eastern Transport Coalition to discuss the options that you have already explored.
Kind regards,