BUSINESS and industry groups and opposition members of Parliament want the state government’s coming budget to consider transport needs in the west.
The government has suggested it favours the East West Link, an 18-kilometre inner urban freeway connecting the Eastern Freeway, CityLink and Western Ring Road.
A submission to federal government body Infrastructure Australia has requested $30million for planning.
The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s pre-budget submission urged the state government to detail its timeframes and milestones for East West Link construction.
East West Link is a key project that VECCI chief executive Mark Stone says needs to be accelerated to take pressure off city bottlenecks.
LeadWest chief executive Anton Mayer said it was paramount the west was included in early stages of any new road link to improve access to the Port of Melbourne and take trucks off residential streets.
“Our view is that the old Eddington [East West Link Needs Assessment] is closer to the mark,” Mr Mayer said.
“We need the east-west link but the important part is to start first on the western part that connects the Western Ring Road to the port.
“If the issues in the west are not tackled, what do you do in the interim?
“There’s no way the community in the west can be expected to tolerate another decade of government inaction and the cost to consumers of inefficient transport links.”
The Greens, however, oppose the East West Link plan and want a truck route connecting the West Gate Freeway with Hyde Street, as well as improved public transport and rail freight infrastructure to freeup road congestion.
Footscray MP Marsha Thomson said the state government was slugging public transport users with a fare increase, introduced on January 1, but was not making improvements to the network.
“Every time a Footscray commuter boards a train, tram or a bus, they will be reminded how little [Transport Minister] Mr [Terry] Mulder cares,” Ms Thomson said.
“… how he has broken his government’s promise to cut the cost of living with this fare slug.”
Maribyrnong Council chief executive Vince Haining said the council supported a link to ease growing transport problems in the west, and dealing with the impact of increasing numbers of trucks on residential streets. “The council has long advocated to fix transport problems in the rapidly growing west,” Mr Haining said. “Many residential areas have become traffic bottlenecks. We support proposals to help restore amenity for our residents.”
Mr Haining said the council wanted greater emphasis on public transport and on using rail freight across the west.
