racv, monash uni join etc transport summit

The Eastern Transport Coalition, RACV and Monash University will each be stating their case for the critical need for improved public transport in Melbourne’s east during the Commuters Count Transport Summit held on Wednesday, April 9.

It’s about time there was a concerted effort to see an integrated public transport network for Melbourne’s eastern suburbs if we want to see continued economic growth and social connection for local communities who continue to be overly car reliant.

For too long we’ve been waiting for projects like Rowville Rail, critical to supporting Monash University as well as reducing road congestion.

Paul Barton from Monash University will be speaking about their concerns at the summit, as will Brian Negus, RACV’s General Manager for Public Policy.

The Commuters Count Transport Summit is a unique event bringing together representatives from each of the major parties alongside other key stakeholders in the transport arena, and is a great opportunity to examine policies and promises prior to the state election.

If you’d like to hear the discussion you’re most welcome. The summit will be held:

When:Wednesday, April 9 from 9am

Where: City of Greater Dandenong community facility at Springvale Reserve, Newcomen Road, Springvale
Cost: absolutely free of charge

Don’t forget to like Commuters Count on facebook and use hashtag #commuterscount on Twitter.

Speakers at the Commuters Count 2014 Transport Summit include:

Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Gary Blackwood,
Shadow Minister for Planning, Major Projects and Infrastructure, Brian Tee
Leader of the Victorian Greens, Greg Barber
RACV’s General Manager for Public Policy, Brian Negus
Paul Barton from Monash University
Executive Director of Bus Association of Victoria, Chris Lowe will be one of the panel members

You can find the Eastern Suburbs Transport Poll results on the ETC website here, www.etc.org.au.

 

 

commuters count summit, public welcome

Public transport in the outer suburbs will be the topic of discussion at the Commuters Count Summit in April.

Yarra Ranges residents are invited to join in the day, organised by the Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC).

The ETC represents close to 1.1 million people across seven council areas, including the Yarra Ranges.

Former chairperson Yarra Ranges Councillor Samantha Dunn said the summit was part of the group’s ongoing advocacy efforts for improved public transport in Melbourne’s outer east.

“We know that public transport will be a major issue in this year’s state election and we are keen to see the interests of the outer fringe of Melbourne represented,” she said.

“We believe there needs to be a much greater commitment to public transport infrastructure.”

Local government, business, MPs and education providers will present at the summit to discuss how current and future state budgets could be used to satisfy the transport needs of the region.

The ETC recently submitted to the state budget planning process aiming to increase the investment in rail and public transport infrastructure.

The April Summit will further discuss how this could be achieved.

More information on the ETC is available online.

Residents can join the summit:

When? Wednesday 9 April 9am – 1pm
Where? At the Community Building, Springvale Reserve, Newcomen Road, Springvale.

public transport summit - a plan for the east

On Friday 4th July, I spoke at the Eastern Transport Coalition’s (ETC) Public Transport Summit. I was making the case for why we need a duplication of the Lilydale and Belgrave rail lines. The case for rail to Rowville and Doncaster also featured at the summit. (vist http://www.etc.org.au/ for copies of the presentations)

The summit was well attended with over 200 people including community members, public transport advocates, Greg Barber (MLC for Northern Metropolitan), Ted Bailleau (Leader of the Opposition), politicians, Mayors and Councillors from across the eastern region.

Speakers included Professor Peter Newman from Curtin University who spoke about the significant role public transport has to play in addressing greenhouse gas emissions as well as peak oil. Professor Graham Currie from Monash University spoke about getting the planning right around public transport with some great examples from around the world as well as Perth, Adelaide and Sydney. Telling in Professor Currie’s talk was that there were no examples of recent, well thought out public transport planning in Melbourne.

Rob Hudson MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Public Transport spoke as well as Peter Daly from the RACV. I shared a session with Cr Alex Makin from Maroondah who spoke passionately about the need for an updated, new approach at Ringwood railway station.

There is no doubt what our community needs is a fast, frequent and well connected public transport system. That’s not what we have now. Supporting information from the recent Eddington East West Link Needs Assessment show single track sections reduce capacity on a corridor and affect scheduling flexibility. The Lilydale line experienced the highest number of cancellations in the last year, 770 in total, was this due to the single track?

A recent survey conducted by the ETC (blog entry 29 April 2008) shows that only 26% of commuters at the Belgrave station believe the train service meets their needs.
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In peak trains can carry up to 60,000 passengers an hour, one freeway lane of traffic can carry 2000 people an hour. Timetabling of services for Belgrave and Lilydale show the limitations of having single tracks. It is easy to understand that a train delayed in a single track section will have an impact on trains waiting from the opposite direction. Delays can only be accommodated so far in our timetable so it is inevitable that the ripple effect of a delayed train will lead to cancellations. Single tracks limit the provision of services.

Car parking at all stations along these lines is insufficient to meet demand. At the summit Rob Hudson announced additional parking for Lilydale, well quite frankly additional car parking at Lilydale alone just doesn’t cut it. All the car parking at stations are overcrowded and all along the line commuters are parking wherever they can, often in spaces for community use, shoppers and traders, in local streets, legally and illegally. Better connecting bus services are an answer too, if this was a reality people could leave their cars in the driveway.

The fact is rail transport is many times more efficient than car travel. We need to think to the future, we need to get serious about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, we need to get serious about peak oil.

I hear our community when they say we need better public transport NOW.

public transport in the east - summit

I'm the Yarra Ranges Councillor representative on the Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC), the ETC advocates for sustainable and integrated transport services in the Eastern region of Melbourne which focuses on the travel needs of the community and reduces the level of car dependency.

The ETC are holding a major public transport summit on the 4th of July to discuss what changes we need to accommodate for the increase in public transport patronage in our area, now and in the future.

The summit will feature keynote speaker Professor Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University. Professor Newman is a renowned West Australian academic and planner who is credited with coining the term ‘automobile dependence’ — an expression describing the creation of cities reliant on cars.

The Summit will also hear from Professor Graham Currie, Monash University Chair of Public Transport and Peter Daly, Chief Engineer from the RACV.

The Summit is an opportunity to highlight the Eastern Suburb's basic requirements of a transport plan for our region. If you're interested in improving public transport in Yarra Ranges you should come along and if you can't make it you can still send in your ideas (to: info@etc.org.au).

There is no doubt that Yarra Ranges needs better public transport, the summit is our plan for the future.

Details
Friday 4 July, 8:30am to 11am
Manningham City Council,
Doncaster Road, Doncaster
To RSVP to the summit by Friday 27 June contact Melissa Sparrow
e-mail: melissa.sparrow@knox.vic.gov.au or phone 9298 8126