Session Details
Room: Portico
Format: Discussion session
Host name: Jackie Fristacky
Your name: James Reynolds
How does Melbourne's public transport system reflect the city?
Melbourne has a radial train network, with a limit crosstown connections outside the inner areas. The network is predominantly focused on the centre of Melbourne. Reflective of a ‘view’ that the jobs in the centre of Melbourne are the most important, but is this really the case?
How can we change this?
Challenge is to develop a true network across the Melbourne area, which allows connections across the city. This ties in with the activity centres concept from Plan Melbourne and other larger scale planning documents.
Where do we go? Do we seek to use light rail? Improve buses?
- Improving links across Sunshine and to Melbourne Airport.
- Peter Langtree from Queen Victoria Market: use express bus corridors (central lane) to a hub at the Queen Victoria Market and out to the west.
- Links through Monash University, Doncaster, Broadmeadows to the airport
- Les from Yarra Trams: how do we get some of these ideas onto the planning agenda. Problem that Melbourne Metro will suck up a lot of funding. There’s a lack of a transport plan.
- Jackie Fristacky: The lack of central planning is a problem, and telling that the City of Melbourne is now looking at going ahead with its own plan. Funding is an issue.
- James Reynolds: Potential for bike share systems to provide cross-town links across town.
- Peter Langtree: lack of forward planning is a major problem.
- Brendan Pender from Phillip Boyle and Associates: problem of risk averse government, and the need for no-losers and cost-neutral change. For example the Deakin-Burwood to Box Hill, route 201, poorly resourced, but there are buses elsewhere on the network.
- Mike from Duncan solutions: Dedicated lanes for shuttle between satellite parking and city.
- Michael from RACV: Continuing on from bike share corridors, also consider using car share to support station access. Potential to have councils give approval at train stations and have approvals to have car share spots in estates.
- Ben Murphy from Phillip Boyle and Associates: problems associated with car share systems is that they require a round trip. Lots of capacity in the counter peak direction, and Melbourne perhaps doesn’t celebrate it’s existing orbital bus network.